S.Jaishankar News

Pakistan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), for the upcoming Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in October this year, reported The Times of India. However, it is unlikely that Modi will visit Islamabad, though it remains to be seen if he will delegate a minister to represent India, as has been done in the past, considering the strained relations between the two nations, the report added. Pakistan is set to host the CHG meeting on October 15-16, as it currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the council, the second most important decision-making body within the SCO, following the Council of Heads of State. While Modi regularly attends the heads of state summits, he skipped the recent one in Kazakhstan due to a scheduling conflict with a Parliament session in early July.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comments on India's crude oil trade with Russia may not have been in the right spirit, coming hours after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv during which New Delhi explained the market rationale for oil imports given its substantial requirements. Emphasising on India's «global influence», Zelenskyy suggested that India can help end Moscow's war in Ukraine by halting the oil trade that significantly funds the Russian military. «You can stop Vladimir Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place,» Zelenskyy told members of the Indian media on Friday night in Kyiv, referring to his meeting with Modi earlier in the day.

Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India by purchasing Made-in-India products and allowing Indian companies to open in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. He also said that Ukraine is also willing to establish companies in India. Zelenskyy held a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv, where he was asked if Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India and buy Made-in-India products.

Ukraine on Friday inked four agreements and resolved to enhance their cooperation in a range of key areas including defence, trade, pharmaceuticals, green energy and education with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reaffirming commitment to further develop the bilateral ties. In their wide-ranging talks, the two leaders also expressed mutual interest in working towards elevating the ties from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic one. Underlining the importance of defence cooperation, Modi and Zelenskyy agreed to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship in the sector including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing of military hardware in India. Modi arrived in Kyiv this morning on a special train on the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister after it became independent in 1991.

India's stand of "dialogue and diplomacy" and announced every possible assistance to resolve the Russo-Ukraine conflict, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in Kyiv on Friday following the PM's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The PM, Jaishankar said, stressed «India's willingness to contribute in all ways possible». The two leaders also discussed Modi's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow in July, Jaishankar said, adding India explained its position on energy ties with Russia. Modi invited Zelenskyy to visit India at a mutually convenient opportunity.

Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here on Friday, he first shook hands and immediately gave him a warm hug. The hug to the top leader of the war-torn country came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraine's arch enemy Russia, President Vladimir Putin. During a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the 'embrace' in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modi's meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. «In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of our's. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy,» Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned in as many words about Modi's embrace of Putin a few weeks ago.

Kuwait City: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Sunday met Kuwait's top leadership and discussed ways to take the bilateral ties to a higher level and also exchanged views on the geopolitical developments in the region. Jaishankar, who arrived here on Sunday on a day-long visit, called on Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and sought his insights on taking the bilateral ties to a higher level. «Honoured to call on His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait. Conveyed the greetings of the President and Prime Minister,» Jaishankar said in a post on X. "India and Kuwait share centuries-old bonds of goodwill and friendship. Our contemporary partnership is expanding steadily. Thank him for his guidance and insights on taking our ties to a higher level," he added.

Moosa Zameer and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will soon commence the handing over ceremony of the reclamation and shore protection project and the inauguration of the 4-lane Detour Link road project. The Maldivian Foreign Affairs Minister welcomed Jaishankar to Addu City on Sunday. Moosa Zameer took to X and highlighted that both these projects are facilitated by the Indian government under the LoC of EXIM Bank.

Maldivian Democratic Party has welcomed the recalibration of the India policy by President Mohammad Muizzu-led government and said that the Maldives is confident that India will always be the first to assist it in times of emergency. Abdulla Shahid, the president of the Maldivian Democratic Party, made the remarks after he met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here on Saturday. Jaishankar is on a three-day official visit to Maldives to reset the bilateral relationship, the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation's pro-China President Muizzu assumed office last year. «Great pleasure to warmly welcome and meet Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar to the Maldives with my colleagues from @MDPSecretariat,» Shahid, the former foreign minister, said in a statement posted on 'X' late Saturday night.

ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) signed an agreement on Saturday to grant assistance for the launching of the Nepal-built Munal satellite, according to an official statement. Munal is an indigenous satellite developed in Nepal under the aegis of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the MEA said. Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), a Nepalese space startup, has assisted Nepalese students in the design and fabrication of this satellite. The satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the earth's surface, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement. The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from MEA and Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL.

Maldives have signed an agreement to introduce the Unified Payments Interface in the archipelago nation, which will have a «very positive» impact on its tourism sector, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Friday during Jaishankar's three-day official visit to the Maldives. «Witnessed signing of MoU between (the) National Payments Corporation of India and (the) Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Maldives on (the) introduction of (a) digital payment system in the Maldives,» he said in a post on X. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar will pay a three-day visit to Maldives starting Friday as both countries look to repair the strained relationship since President Mohamed Muizzu came to power last year. This would be Jaishankar's first visit to Male since Muizzu was elected to office. During the visit, India and Maldives will inaugurate completed projects under High Impact Community Development Projects and Line of Credit facility of EXIM Bank of India and witness the exchange of the memorandum of understanding on areas for capacity building, commerce and trade, said Maldives foreign ministry on Thursday announcing the visit. «Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour and an important partner in India's 'Neighbourhood First' Policy and our Vision 'Sagar' i.e. Security and Growth for All in the Region. The visit is aimed at strengthening the close partnership between the two countries and to explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further,» the MEA said in a statement.

Indian High Commission in Bangladesh has said that it continues to remain operational and released helpline numbers for Indian nationals who reside there. According to sources, the diplomats and officials of the Indian High Commission continue to remain in Bangladesh, while non-essential staff and their families returned on Wednesday morning. The sources said, «To reiterate all the helplines of HCI Dhaka are working. The helpline numbers are being shared again below for reference: +8801958383679 +8801958383680 +8801937400591.»

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday to make way for the formation of an interim administration and released former prime minister Khaleda Zia from detention, a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as PM and fled the country amid escalating protests and civil unrest. Negotiations on composition of the interim administration continued through the day, even as law-and-order situation deteriorated, with attacks on minorities and Indian assets, including the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka, according to people familiar with the matter. The police, facing wrath of protesters-dozens of whom were reportedly killed in firing in recent weeks-issued an apology and declared an indefinite strike. 'US revokes Hasina visa, UK refuses asylum'

Jalpaiguri: Secretary of the North Bengal Exporters Association, Brij Kishore Prasad, stated on Tuesday that the ongoing protests in Bangladesh have led to significant losses for Indian exporters. According to Prasad, the closure of the border has resulted in vehicles being stranded and shipments already dispatched being unable to be unloaded. He added that with a curfew in place and banks closed, payments for shipped goods are not being received.

Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose on Tuesday appealed to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the «mortal remains» of Netaji from Tokyo's Renkoji temple. In separate letters to Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Congress president, Bose sought their intervention and persuasion upon the central government on the matter.

Quad Foreign Ministers on Monday condemned the ongoing attacks perpetrated by Yemen's Houthis against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Narendra Modi on Thursday said that terrorism in any form or manifestation cannot be justified and called on the international community to isolate and expose the countries that harbour terrorists, provide safe havens and condone terrorism. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar delivered these remarks on behalf of PM Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation being held under Kazakhstan's Presidency in Astana. Calling SCO a principle-based organization whose consensus drives the approach of its member states, PM Modi stated, «At this time, it is particularly noteworthy that we are reiterating mutual respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, equality, mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs, non-use of force or threat of use of force as a basis for our foreign policies. We have also agreed not to take any measures contrary to the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.»

annual summit surprised many in the international community, the genesis of this visit was two telephone conversations between President Vladimir Putin and the Indian PM this year. The two first spoke following Putin’s Presidential polls victory in March. This was followed by Putin’s call to Modi (first P5 leader to telephone the PM) after BJP-led NDA’s election victory on June 4. ET has learnt that during the conversations the two discussed the possible visit by Modi for annual summit and it was decided that the PM could probably visit Russia by middle of this year. The government on both sides then worked to firm up the schedule as it was felt that a political summit was imperative to give momentum to the strategic partnership. Earlier during his trip to Moscow last December External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had informed that Modi will visit Russia this year and he is also scheduled to attend the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, end of October.

Narendra Modi on Thursday said the 'Make in India' initiative can add to engines of global growth and help democratise the global economy, and highlighted the importance of creating multiple, reliable and resilient supply chains. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Astana to attend the SCO Summit, delivered Modi's remarks at the extended format meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State here in the Kazakh capital. Modi said that India has contributed significantly to enhancing the economic agenda of the SCO grouping with institutionalised mechanisms such as the SCO Startup Forum and Special Working Group on Startup and Innovation. With 130,000 startups in India, including 100 unicorns, our experience can be useful to others, a Ministry of External Affairs statement cited the prime minister as saying in his remarks.

India on Thursday made a big push to connect South Asia with SE Asia through The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar hosting his counterparts from the group's member states, including Myanmar, and exploring possibility of expanding the group to include three SE Asian states that have Bay of Bengal linkages. In his opening remarks at the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat Jaishankar called upon the BIMSTEC countries to come up with own solutions which becomes even more imperative given the current global and regional scenario. «The BIMSTEC Charter, for a start, has come into effect from May 20 this year. The global and regional developments also make it imperative that we find more solutions amongst ourselves.»