EAM Jaishankar meets Saudi Arabia counterpart, discussions held on Afghanistan

In a significant development, the External Affairs minister, S Jaishankar, held talks with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan, and discussed multiple issues including the resumption of travel services and developments in Afghanistan. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, 'Good to talk to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Faisal bin. We discussed the resumption of travel and developments in Afghanistan'.

Earlier on Sunday, the Indian Foreign Minister met with the de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and discussed with him the strategic relationships and ways of strengthening the partnership between the UAE and India and ways to increase friendliness. After the meeting, Jaishankar said he was "deeply honored" to meet the Crown Prince. 'I am deeply honoured to call on HH Mohamed Bin Zayed. I value his continued guidance in the development of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,' he wrote on Twitter.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Jaishankar also interacted with the Transport Minister of Singapore S Iswaran, and discussed ways of improving the travel system between India and Singapore on Wednesday. I began my Singapore visit by meeting S. Iswaran, Minister of Transport, 'Discussed enhancing travel arrangements between the two countries,' he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Singapore is in discussion with Indian authorities for the partial resumption of international flights following the launch of a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) which allows quarantine-free travel for fully-vaccinated people coming from India. From November 29, the international borders of Singapore will be thrown open for Indians and those from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar from December 6. Those travelers who have recovered from COVID-19 and are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter Singapore without spending a single in quarantine chambers.

On Monday, Singapore announced that the authorities are preparing to launch a VTL with India as an initiative to resume travel service in a safe and calibrated manner for the convenience of travelers. This resumption will support people-to-people and business links between the two sides. The application procedure for the Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) will commence on November 22, and Indian travelers will start entering Singapore under the VTL form on November 29, 2021.

IMAGE: @DRSJAISHANKAR/Twitter
With Inputs from ANI