JAKARTA: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held productive discussions with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) nations and reviewed the progress in cooperation in areas like fintech, food security and maritime domains.
Jaishankar is here in the Indonesian capital to attend a meeting of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers. He also met Singapore's Indian-origin Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and noted the progress in implementing the comprehensive strategic partnership.
"A warm and productive ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers meeting this morning. Thank @VivianBala for co-chairing it with me. Noted the progress in implementing our comprehensive strategic partnership. Discussed greater focus on digital, fintech, food security and maritime domains. Exchanged views on the situation in Myanmar," Jaishankar tweeted.
Myanmar has been witnessing widespread protests demanding the restoration of democracy since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021. Myanmar's military has been using airstrikes targeting its opponents and those carrying out armed struggle against the ruling regime.
Jaishankar also met his counterpart from Brunei. "Good meeting with Brunei FM Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Ministerial. Our bilateral cooperation grows steadily. Focused on enhancing trade. Discussed food security, mobility and space cooperation," Jaishankar tweeted along with pictures.
The member countries of ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. On Wednesday, he held a series of meetings with his counterparts from several countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Vietnam.
The external Affairs Minister started his engagements here in the capital of Indonesia with a meeting with the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dr Kao Kim Hourn. During his stay in Indonesia, Jaishankar will meet his counterparts under the ASEAN framework in the format - ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum.
After Jakarta, Jaishankar will travel to Bangkok to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on Sunday. MGC, one of the oldest mechanisms of the lower Mekong region, is guided by India's Act East Policy, the External Affairs Ministry said.
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.
In Bangkok, Jaishankar will also attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat on July 17. BIMSTEC is an economic and technical initiative that brings together the countries of the Bay of Bengal for multifaceted cooperation. The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the BIMSTEC agenda and strengthen the organisation.