Vietnam
On March 11, India and Vietnam held bilateral discussions on issues pertaining to the United Nations Security Council. They discussed each other’s priorities during their respective tenures, with India as a non-permanent member of the Council and Vietnam holding the Presidency for the year 2021.
Vietnam was represented by Do Hung Viet, the Director-General, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with officials from the Department of International Organisations, the Department of Southeast Asia - South Asia - South Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Vietnam at New Delhi, and the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN. Meanwhile, Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary (UNP & Summits), led the Indian side, along with officials from the Southern Division of MEA, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in New York, and the Embassy of India in Hanoi.
Bangladesh
On Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the “Maitri Setu” bridge during a virtual meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. The Maitri Setu project was constructed over the Feni river, which flows between the Indian state of Tripura and Bangladesh, by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. The entire project, which is a 1.9 km bridge connecting Sabroom in India to Ramgarh in Bangladesh, cost around Rs. 133 crores. This bridge is a part of the Indian side’s vision to develop Tripura as a “Gateway of [the] North East”.
According to a statement published by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs prior to the inauguration, “The name ‘Maitri Setu’ symbolises growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh … It is poised to herald a new chapter for trade and people to people movement between India and Bangladesh.”
On the same day, Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated an Integrated Check Post at Sabroom, several State Highways, and other district roads. He further laid the foundation stone for the National Highway in the region, NH 208, and a Multi-Level Car Parking and Commercial Complex at Old Motor Stand.
This came shortly after a meeting between the Commerce Secretaries of India and Bangladesh, Anup Madhawan and Md. Jafar Uddin, in Dhaka. During Sunday’s meeting, the two leaders applauded both sides’ decision to celebrate Mujib Borsho, which marked the 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh’s Liberation War, along with 50 years of its diplomatic relations with India. Further, according to a press release by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, they held “extensive discussions” on several other issues, including “streamlining Certificate of Origin procedures, regional connectivity initiatives, anti-dumping duty on Jute products, harmonization of standards, removal of port restrictions, trade infrastructure-related issues, India-Bangladesh CEOs’ Forum, sharing of trade data, [and] upgradation of border trading infrastructure.” Further, they spoke of the need to expedite a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Next week, India and Bangladesh are also set to convene for the 13th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade, which is scheduled for 16 and 17 February.
Saudi Arabia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. During the discussions, the two leaders conducted extensive reviews of the bilateral Strategic Partnership Council, which was set up in 2019. They also celebrated the “steady growth” seen in their bilateral partnership. They further agreed to continue their combined efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 and continue to enhance “people-to-people links” between the two countries.
Moreover, according to a press release by the Indian Prime Minister’s Office, Narendra Modi proposed the expansion of the two sides’ bilateral trade and investments. He further discussed the opportunities provided by the Indian market for Saudi investors.
Japan
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday. During the discussion, they spoke of several issues of regional and global relevance.
According to a release by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders spoke of the “positive momentum” seen in the “India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership”, even through the COVID-19 pandemic. They said that the bilateral relationship continued to be “guided by mutual trust and shared values.” Moreover, they celebrated the conclusion of the Memorandum of Cooperation on Specified Skilled Workers and called for its expedited implementation.
Further, the Indian release added, “They emphasized that their engagement with like-minded countries such as Australia and the U.S. in the form of Quad consultations holds value and agreed that these useful discussions must continue.” The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, too, released a statement, highlighting the importance of the Quad. It said, “The two leaders shared the recognition that cooperation towards realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific is becoming increasingly important and to this end, shared the view to steadily advance both Japan-India bilateral cooperation and Japan-Australia-India-U.S. quadrilateral cooperation.”
Further, the Japanese release also said that Prime Minister Suga had raised serious concern about “unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and the South China Sea, China’s Coast Guard Law and the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)” Moreover, the release said that the Japanese side also sought India’s support for the “early resolution of the abductions issue by North Korea.”
Estonia
On the same day, India also conducted bilateral discussions with Estonia on several issues pertaining to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). They discussed their priorities during their UNSC tenure and agreed to collaborate and cooperate on key issues that are set to be addressed by the Council.
At the discussions, Lembit Uibo, Director General, Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia led the Estonian delegation and was accompanied by officials from International Organisations, Asia and Pacific Divisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Embassy at New Delhi and the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the UN. Meanwhile, the Indian side was represented by Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary (UNP & Summits), along with officials from the Central Europe Division of MEA, the Permanent Mission of India New York, and the Embassy of India in Helsinki.
Indian Diplomacy: Weekly Round-Up (6 - 12 March, 2021)
This week, Indian authorities convened several meetings with officials from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, amongst others.
March 12, 2021
SOURCE: PTI