External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Tuesday, 21 September, began his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings with his global counterparts and held talks on contemporary issues, including Afghanistan and the Indo-pacific.
Jaishankar, who arrived in New York on Monday to participate in the high-level 76th session of the UNGA, began his day with a meeting with Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide of Norway.
The EAM then met his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein and discussed the two counties’ historical ties, economic, energy and development cooperation linkages.
Jaishankar then met UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to discuss the progress of Roadmap 2030. He also urged for an early resolution of the quarantine issue in mutual interest.
Holding a comprehensive discussion on Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific and other contemporary issues, Jaishankar met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
“India and France are solid partners in the UN Security Council”, Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Jaishankar also met India's Quad partner Australia and their Foreign Minister Marise Payne. He further met Iran's Foreign Minister H Amirabdollahian and held talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation.
During the week, Jaishankar will also be participating in the G-20 meeting that will focus on Afghanistan and the G-4 Foreign Ministers meeting with focus on Security Council reforms, news agency PTI reported.
Moreover, India will take part in three high-level meetings organised by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Climate, Energy and Food Systems.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the General Debate on Saturday, 25 September.
India's Permanent Representative to United Nations TS Tirumurti had said on Monday that the theme for this year's General Debate is, "Building resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of the people and revitalise the United Nations."
(With inputs from PTI)
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