EAM Jaishankar holds talks with Philippines diplomat on strengthening ties

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met Philippines Secretary Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. in New Delhi on Sunday, where they held extensive talks on strengthening the multi-faceted partnerships. The meeting came nearly a day after the Philippines diplomat landed in the national capital on his official visit to India. "Pleasure to welcome Secretary of Foreign Affairs @teddyboylocsin of Philippines as he arrives in Delhi for an official visit. The visit will strengthen our multi-faceted partnership & advance the shared priorities of our countries in the Indo-Pacific," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Meanwhile, taking to the microblogging site, Jaishankar appreciated the insights and perspectives shared by  Locsin Jr on Indo-Pacific, Europe, Myanmar, Ukraine and Multilateralism. 

Ministers also held a meeting on strengthening India-Philippines ties in February

Notably, this was the second meeting of Jaishankar after he visited the Philippines in February this year. During his three-day visit to the Philippines, Jaishankar reviewed bilateral relations as both sides agreed to further expand economic cooperation and reaffirmed their strong commitment to a multifaceted partnership. The two Ministers also had a review meeting on bilateral relations in the virtual format in November 2020.

At that time, the statement released by MEA said that the ministers discussed the future trajectory of the wide-ranging engagement between the two countries. The two Ministers also had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in India for a two-day official visit on Sunday to strengthen India-EU strategic partnership. This is her first visit to India as the President of the European Commission. The President of the European Commission has been invited as the Chief Guest for this year's edition of Raisina Dialogue and will address the inaugural session on April 25, according to MEA.

(With inputs from ANI)