Sukhmani Kooner, Pune
India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia on September 24 along the lines of a high-level meeting at the United Nations General Assembly’s 78th session in New York.
S. Jaishankar, leading the Indian delegation at the UNGA meeting, in a social media post expressed his pleasure of interacting with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra. Discussions were held on business, science & technology, education, economy, and traditional medicine. The bilateral talks with the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Elmedin Konakovic, focused primarily on the growing trade and economic relations of the two countries and the meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, was centered around exchanging the assessment of the present scenario in the transcontinental region spanning from Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The meetings encompassed discussions on the reforms in multilateralism and cooperation.
On Friday, the EAM began his nine day visit to the US. Along with the annual session of the UNGA, he will also be hosting an event on Global South, for which India is emerging as a leader after it hosted the G20 and emphasised for their cause. On Saturday, he held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Cyprus and Uganda. He called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to discuss the status of the bilateral development partnership. They also exchanged views on the situation of Myanmar aiming to expand their cooperation across defence and culture. He met his Madagascar counterpart, Yvette Sylla, on September 25. EAM Jaishankar discussed partnership with Madagascar in sectors of food production with special emphasis on millets and rice production along with digital delivery, and defence cooperation, with its foreign minister.
Madagascar is a SAGAR partner of India. SAGAR is a global initiative undertaken by India, which was started in 2020 to assist countries in the Indian Ocean Littoral states to help them through COVID-19. Under this, India extended help to Madagascar in terms of food aid and medical support. In March 2021, India shipped 1000 tonnes of rice to Madagascar.
The EAM also met UN secretary General, António Guterres to discuss India’s G20 Presidency and its contribution in strengthening the UN sustainable agenda.
The Indian External Affairs Minister will address the session on 26th September.