Jaishankar holds bilateral meetings with counterparts from ASEAN countries

    Vientiane (Laos), Jul 25 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the Philippines, Norway and Cambodia and discussed strengthening bilateral collaboration and priorities in the Indo-Pacific region.
    Jaishankar, who arrived in the Lao People's Democratic Republic’s capital to participate in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), said he was looking forward to further deepen India's ties with ASEAN as New Delhi marks a decade of Act East Policy.
    "Good to meet Foreign Minister @EspenBarthEide of Norway today. The India-Nordic partnership in clean energy and trade continues to deliver. Committed to implementing European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) to the better advantage of both countries. Also spoke about the geopolitical situation,” the minister said after the meeting with his Norwegian counterpart.
    On his part, Eide described his meeting with Jaishankar as "very good".
    "I congratulated him on the election results and his re-appointment as India’s Minister of External Affairs. Norway looks forward to hosting the next Nordic-India Summit," Eide said in a post on X.
    Stating that he was “delighted to meet” his friend Enrique A Manalo of Philippines, Jaishankar said in a post on X: “Discussed the strengthening collaboration between our two democracies and partnership in the Indo-Pacific, especially in upholding the rule of law and ASEAN centrality.”
    China, which claims most of the South China Sea, is in confrontation with the Philippines. The two sides recently signed an agreement to end the confrontations.
    Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Timor Leste’s Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Cambodia Sok Chenda Sophea.
    “Pleasure to meet FM Bendito Freitas of Timor Leste on the sidelines of #ASEAN meetings. Our Delhi to Dili friendship continues to diversify and deepen. Also exchanged views on our shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said in a post on X after the meeting with Freitas.
    “Glad to meet DPM & FM Sok Chenda Sophea of Cambodia. Noted the progress in our bilateral ties, including air connectivity, defence and heritage conservation. Looking forward to further building on it,” he said in another post on X.
    Jaishankar’s visit to Laos is of particular significance that this year marks a decade of India's Act East Policy, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 9th East Asia Summit in 2014, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi ahead of his visit.
    Foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations and top diplomats from key partner countries such as the United States and China have gathered here for the three-day meet. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are among the attendees.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)