EAM Jaishankar holds talks with his counterparts from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held separate talks with his counterparts from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam on Friday with an overall aim to further expand bilateral cooperation in the key areas of trade, defence and connectivity.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Vietnam's Bui Thanh Son and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were in India to attend an India-ASEAN conclave on Thursday.

India's ties with the three Southeast Asian nations have been on an upswing in the last few years.

After his talks with Marsudi, Jaishankar said the meeting was "productive" and that its focus was on cooperation in several key areas, including defence and security, trade and connectivity.

The talks were held under the framework of the India-Indonesia Joint Commission.

"Just concluded a productive 7th India-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting with FM Retno Marsudi," Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.

"Reviewed entire gamut of our ties in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with focus on political, defence and security, economic and trade, S&T and space, connectivity and p2p ties," he said.

On his talks with Thanh Son, the external affairs minister said advancements in cooperation in the areas of defence, economy and energy were recognised.

"Delighted to meet @FMBuiThanhSon at the new Embassy building of Vietnam in New Delhi. Our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has made significant progress. Recognized advancements in our political, defence, economic, energy and development cooperation," Jaishankar said in another tweet.

Ahead of his talks with Abdullah, the external affairs minister said the dialogue will take forward the "enhanced strategic partnership".

"Welcome FM of Malaysia @saifuddinabd to our meeting today. Our conversations will take forward our Enhanced Strategic Partnership," Jaishankar tweeted.

On his part, the Malaysian foreign minister talked about the civilisational links between the two countries.

"Malaysia and India share civilisational links, which can be strengthened with peaceful co-existence approach. We will work together via an attachment programme for the exchange of knowledge and experiences, in line with Malaysia's cultural diplomacy initiative," Abdullah tweeted.

Abdullah's visit to India came days after Malaysia joined several other countries in the Arab world in denouncing certain controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by two BJP leaders who have since been removed from party positions.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi unit media head Naveen Jindal for allegedly making the derogatory comments.

The external affairs minister also met Pornpimol Kanchanalak, the Special Representative of the Thai foreign minister on Myanmar.

"Glad to receive Pornpimol Kanchanalak, Special Representative of Thailand FM on Myanmar. As its land neighbours, exchanged perspectives on our concerns and assessment regarding Myanmar," Jaishankar tweeted.

India hosted the ASEAN foreign ministerial conclave to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

It was attended by the foreign ministers of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, while Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand sent representatives of their foreign ministers.