Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday. The Russian Embassy in India shared an image of the two ministers shaking hands and sharing a light moment on social media platform X.
Russian Embassy in India stated on social media platform X, “#Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and #India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar @DrSJaishankar met on the sidelines of #ASEAN events.”
This meeting follows their previous encounter on July 3 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of State Council meeting in Astana. During that meeting, Jaishankar had raised “strong concern” about Indian nationals in Russia’s war zone and pressed for their safe return. The ministers also discussed the global strategic landscape and exchanged views on various issues.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “Good to meet Russian FM Sergey Lavrov in Astana today. Wide ranging conversation on our bilateral partnership and contemporary issues. Noted the progress in many areas since our last meeting in December 2023.”
“Raised our strong concern on Indian nationals who are currently in the war zone. Pressed for their safe and expeditious return. Also discussed the global strategic landscape and exchanged assessments and views,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Jaishankar participated in the ASEAN meeting, emphasizing that political, economic, and security cooperation with ASEAN is of utmost priority for India. He stated that ASEAN is the cornerstone of India’s Act East policy and its Indo-Pacific vision.
The minister thanked Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for his role as country coordinator and expressed eagerness to work with the Philippines as the next coordinator. Jaishankar also congratulated Laos on its ASEAN chairmanship and welcomed Timor-Leste as an observer.
He said, “I extend our fullest support for the successful chairmanship [to Lao PDR]. I also thank our colleague and Lao PDR for the warm welcome and hospitality.”
Jaishankar is on a visit to Vientiane from July 25-28, during which he aims to strengthen ASEAN-India relations through substantive cooperation as outlined in the ASEAN India Plan of Action.
(Inputs from ANI)
