Finance
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will go to France and Belgium from June 8 to 14, only days after visiting Germany. The visit is significant since a multi-party political delegation recently visited France and Belgium to rally support for India’s stance on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Jaishankar will first travel to Paris, then to Marseille.
During this tour, he will go to Paris and Marseille to hold bilateral discussions with his French counterpart, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean Noel Barrot, as well as meet with the country’s senior leadership. He will also take part in the inaugural Mediterranean Raisina Dialogue, which will be place in Marseille.
The Ministry of External Affairs said India and France have completed 25 years of strategic partnership. “Our relations with France are rooted in deep trust and commitment, and our two countries cooperate closely across all domains of strategic and contemporary relevance besides sharing similar outlook on many regional and global issues,” it said in a statement.
In the second leg of the visit, he will travel to Brussels. Here he will carry out talks with the EU as well as Belgian counterparts.
During the visit, Jaishankar will hold a strategic dialogue with the EU High Representative and Vice President Kaja Kallas, and will engage with the senior leadership from the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The MEA statement said: “India-European Union strategic partnership has strengthened over the years across diverse sectors and got a big boost with the first-ever visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India in February this year.”
During his visit to Belgium, he will hold bilateral meetings with Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, as well as meet with Belgium’s senior leadership. He will engage with members of the Indian community.
“India and Belgium share warm and friendly relations along with a very robust economic partnership. Today the collaboration between the two countries spans various domains like trade and investment, green energy, technology, pharmaceutical, diamond sector and strong people to people ties,” the MEA said.
According to the ministry, the EAM’s visit is expected to strengthen India’s friendly relations with the European Union, France, and Belgium while also reviving cooperation in a variety of fields.
Jaishankar met visiting UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Saturday, and said that India follows a policy of “zero tolerance against terrorism” and expects its partners to understand that Delhi will never “countenance” the equivalence of perpetrators and victims. This message will be conveyed to counterparts in Belgium and France as well. This was the first visit by a Foreign minister from a P-5 country to India, after the India-Pakistan hostilities last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to visit Canada for the G7 leaders’ conference from June 15 to 17. During his tour, he will meet with counterparts from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among others.
Source: IE
