EAM Jaishankar Meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Reviews Bilateral Ties

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 2nd March. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that during a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken here, he reviewed ties with the US and discussed global issues.

Jaishankar said after the meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises here that he was pleased to meet US Secretary of State Blinken on the sidelines of the G20FMM.

“Opportunity to review bilateral ties and discuss global issues,” tweeted the external affairs minister.

Blinken arrived in the national capital on Wednesday night to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, which is being held here today as part of India’s G20 presidency.

Blinken posted on Twitter earlier today, “I went to the #G20 today with two imperatives: First, to ensure that the G20 — with India at the helm — advances our shared goals, and second, to demonstrate how the U.S., together with our partners, is acting to meet the needs of the world. We succeeded at both.”

The White House said in a statement yesterday that Blinken will reaffirm the bilateral relationship during his three-day visit to India.

“They will talk about our strategic partner partnership but really focus on how we’re working together in the Asian Quad, in the G20, what we’re doing on defence cooperation and the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies that is being run out of the White House and the prime minister’s office,” Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, had said.

The US Secretary of State, who arrived here after a visit to Uzbekistan in Central Asia, is also scheduled to attend a Quad meeting of foreign ministers on Friday.

During his visit to New Delhi, Blinken will also take part in the Raisina Dialogue.

Among those attending the G20 FMM are Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang today on the sidelines of the G20 FMM.

Earlier this morning, Mr Jaishankar addressed delegates at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (G20 FMM) in New Delhi, highlighting flaws in the global decision-making process at the United Nations.

He also discussed the agendas for today’s discussions, which included food, fertilizer, and fuel security challenges that are critical for developing countries.

Read Here: “Global Decision-Making Must Be Democratized,” says S Jaishankar at G20 Summit

Through a video feed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural speech at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) in the national capital.

The meeting takes place in the midst of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In his video address, Prime Minister Modi urged the G20 to reach an agreement and resolve differences, saying, “We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can.”

The FMM is the second ministerial meeting on the agenda for this year’s G20 summit, and it is presided over by EAM Jaishankar.