Vientiane (Laos): Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is currently in Laos for the ASEAN summit. During this time, apart from participating in the summit with ASEAN countries, he also held bilateral meetings with many countries. He also forwarded India’s message of maintaining peace and security in the world. Today, on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting, he met his counterparts Enrique M Manalo of the Philippines and Espen Barth Eide of Norway and during this time discussed strengthening bilateral relations and priorities of the Indo-Pacific region. Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Timor Leste Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas and Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sofia. Jaishankar and all other leaders are currently in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), to participate in the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) under the ASEAN framework.
Jaishankar’s talks with his South East Asian counterparts mainly focused on bilateral relations and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region, while he discussed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Norwegian leader. After the meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jaishankar said, “Today the meeting with Espen Barth Ide was good. India and Norway will continue their partnership in clean energy and trade. Both are committed to implementing the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) for the betterment of the countries. Geopolitical situation was also discussed. “Jaishankar said in a post released on the social media platform ‘X’ that he is “happy” to meet his friend Enrique A Manalo of the Philippines. He said, “Discussed our strengthening cooperation between the two democracies and partnership in the Indo-Pacific region, especially the rule of law and maintaining the prominence of ASEAN.”
Strategy made in the Indo-Pacific region
After meeting Freitas, Jaishankar said on the social media platform, “Glad to meet Timor Leste Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting. Our friendship from Delhi (capital of India) to Dili (capital of Timor Leste) will continue to be diverse and deep. Shared our views with each other on the shared priorities of the Indo-Pacific region.” In another post, the Foreign Minister said, “Glad to meet Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sofia. Noted the progress in our bilateral relations, including air connectivity, defense and heritage conservation. Looking forward to taking it further.”