FM holds bilateral meeting with foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held bilateral meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan and also with Sweden’s Tobias Billstrom on the sidelines of Raisina Dialogue and few others.
“Glad to meet FM Sameh Shoukry of Egypt. Welcomed his participation in the G20 meeting yesterday. Our discussions focused on the follow-up to President @AlsisiOfficial’s successful visit in January 2023,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
“A good conversation this morning with FM @FaisalbinFarhan of Saudi Arabia. Appreciate Saudi Arabia’s support in the G20. Also discussed global developments,” he added.
The Raisina Dialogue is the flagship think-tank event organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
During the Raisina Dialogue, the Quad Foreign Ministers took place presided over by Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi and US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken.
The Quad Foreign Ministers reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific and strongly supported the peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threats or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight.
“Our meeting today reaffirms the Quad’s steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient. We strongly support the principles of freedom, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight and oppose any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” according to the statement released by Quad.
These statements came against the backdrop of growing China’s assertiveness in the region.
In the meeting, Foreign Ministers said the Quad, as a force for regional and global good, will be guided by the priorities of the Indo-Pacific region through its positive and constructive agenda.
Quad Foreign ministers sought support in the region through practical cooperation on contemporary challenges such as health security, climate change and the clean energy transition, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure and connectivity. The Foreign ministers also addressed the debt crisis, space cooperation, cyber-security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime security and counter-terrorism.
