External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar on July 12 held a series of meetings with his counterparts from several countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Vietnam, and discussed bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern during his week-long visit to Indonesia and Thailand.
The union minister began his engagements in Jakarta with a meeting with the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dr Kao Kim Hourn. The leaders discussed the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership. Jaishankar suggested India-ASEAN dialogues in finance, cyber and maritime domains, noted the ongoing work in energy, disaster management and health and wellness, and agreed to expand their Track II engagement, he tweeted later.
During his stay in Indonesia, Jaishankar met his counterparts under the ASEAN framework in the format – ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. He met Vietnam Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Zambry Adbul Kadir, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao PDR Saleumxay Kommasith. He joined Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Australian counterpart Penny Wong for the 2nd India-Australia-Indonesia trilateral.
After Jakarta, Jaishankar travelled to Bangkok to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on July 16 and attended the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on July 17. The MGC is an initiative by India, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam to facilitate closer connections between the six member countries which share the Ganga River and Mekong River basins.
