Diplomatic roundup
With a successful start to a busy diplomatic schedule, the President of Portugal, Vice-President of Vietnam and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka visited India during the month of February
President of Portugal to India (Feb 13-16)
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal, visited India on his maiden state visit to the country. The last visit by a President of Portugal to India was in 2007. The Portuguese President met with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and held extensive delegation level discussions. President Sousa also met President of India Ram Nath Kovind and the two sides exchanged 14 MoUs and agreements in areas like maritime development, migration, start-ups, intellectual property rights, aerospace, nano-biotechnology, audio visual co-production, yoga, diplomatic training, scientific research and public-policy.
Vice President of Vietnam (Feb 11-13)
Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh was on an official visit to India from February 11-13. During the visit, the Vietnamese VP held bilateral delegation level talks with Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu and discussed views on political, defence, economic and security issues of mutual interest. VP Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh also called on the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, imparting momentum to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2016 between the two countries.
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (Feb 7-11)
After assuming office following a successful election in November, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, visited India on a five-day state visit. On his maiden overseas visit, the Sri Lankan leader met with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and held extensive delegation level talks. The two leaders agreed that stability, security and prosperity in Sri Lanka, coupled with the SAGAR doctrine (Security and Growth for All in the Region), will boost efforts to bring stability to the entire Indo-Pacific region and strengthen ties between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister of India Dr S Jaishankar visited Niger, Tunisia, Germany and Belgium
Niger (Jan 20-21)
External Affairs minister of India Dr S Jaishankar visited Niamey in Niger on an official visit that highlighted the importance India associates to bilateral relations with Niger. During the visit, EAM Jaishankar jointly inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre with the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou. EAM Jaishankar also held extensive discussions on bilateral and regional issues with Kalla Ankourao, minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of Niger.
Tunisia (Jan 22-23)
EAM Dr S Jaishankar visited Tunisia for an official visit spanning two days, making it the first high level visit from India after the successful presidential and parliamentary elections in Tunisia last year. During his visit, Dr Jaishankar met with Tunisian President Kais Saied and held extensive discussions with his counterpart Sabri Bachtobji, the minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia. An MoU was also exchanged between the two countries on establishing an India – Tunisia centre for innovation in ICT in Tunis, the Tunisian capital.
Belgium (Feb 17-18)
At the invitation of Josep Borrell Fontelles, European Union’s High Representative/Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, EAM Dr S Jaishankar visited Brussels on February 17th for a discussion with the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union. On his first visit to the EU after the assumption of office of the new Commission in December 2019, EAM shared with the council, India’s foreign policy priorities and regional and global perspective.
Germany (Feb 14-16)
EAM Dr S Jaishankar visited Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. During his visit, EAM was a part of discussions related to security relations in the Asiatic region and multilateralism across the world. During his three-day visit, Dr Jaishankar also met the foreign ministers from various countries on the sidelines of the conference.
