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India inks key pacts with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam as Jaishankar holds meets
This was the first time that India hosted such a special meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The foreign ministers agreed on several initiatives to drive Asean-India ties.
India signed several agreements with Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam as external affairs minister S Jaishankar had a series of bilateral engagements on the margins of the special Asean-India foreign ministers meeting.
This was the first time that India hosted such a special meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The foreign ministers agreed on several initiatives to drive Asean-India ties.
Jaishankar and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi held the bilateral joint commission meeting on Friday and discussed ways to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides. They signed an agreement on exemption from visa requirement for diplomatic and official passport holders and witnessed the exchange of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the National Narcotics Board of Indonesia on combating trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, and an MoU between the National Sugar Institute in Kanpur and the Politeknic Perkebunan LPP in Yogyakarta.
The ministers discussed international and regional issues, including the Indo-Pacific. Jaishankar expressed solidarity with Indonesia for its chairmanship of the G20 and supported its priorities.
Jaishankar and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah witnessed the exchange of notes for mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccination certificates. They decided to give fresh momentum to relations, with the focus on economic and trade ties in sectors such as palm oil and hydrocarbons.
Vietnam’s foreign minister Bui Thanh Son and Jaishankar held a meeting at the new chancery building of the embassy of Vietnam and discussed a range of bilateral issues, and regional and global developments. Following the meeting, an MoU on cybersecurity between India’s Cert-In and Vietnam’s VNCERT was exchanged.
In his meeting with Brunei’s foreign minister Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof on Thursday, Jaishankar reviewed bilateral relations. The ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, hydrocarbons, space, agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
Jaishankar met his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday and discussed different aspects of bilateral relations, including trade and investment, the digital economy and fintech, green growth and connectivity. They also discussed global geopolitical challenges and regional developments, and agreed to give the bilateral relationship a new impetus.
The special envoy of Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Pornpimol Kanchanalak, also met Jaishankar on Thursday.
