EAM Jaishankar thanks Oman for supporting India's repatriation flights from Afghanistan

Dr S Jaishankar, India's Minister of External Affairs, praised Oman on Wednesday for assisting India's Afghan repatriation planes. During a phone discussion, Jaishankar reviewed Afghanistan and the COVID-19 issue with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi. The talks between them came a day after the US completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US has ended its two-decade-long war in Afghanistan.

Indian Ambassador to Qatar met Taliban leader

India is closely monitoring the developments in Afghanistan. In the first formal and publicly acknowledged contact, Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai on Tuesday.

Mr Jaishankar also spoke to his British counterpart Dominic Raab on the situation in Afghanistan. This is his second such conversation in a week. With the rapid developments in Afghanistan, especially after the Taliban took over the country on August 15, India has remained in constant touch with all major countries. Earlier on August 25, the foreign minister also spoke to Raab on the Afghanistan crisis.

Mr Jaishankar will be visiting Slovenia, Croatia, and Denmark from September 2 to 5, as part of a tour to assess the bilateral ties with the three Central European countries. According to a statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit will provide a chance to evaluate progress in India's bilateral ties with these three nations as well as deepen India's multifaceted relationship with the EU.

EAM to meet EU counterparts to discuss matters on common interest

Apart from calling on Slovenia's leadership, EAM will hold a bilateral meeting with Slovenian Foreign Minister Dr Anze Logar. Jaishankar will participate in a panel discussion on "Partnership for a Rules-Based Order in the Indo-Pacific" at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) in Slovenia. He will also meet with his EU counterparts to discuss matters of common interest. On September 3, EAM will visit Croatia and hold bilateral talks with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, as well as call on the Croatian leadership. EAM will co-chair the 4th round of the Indo-Danish Joint Commission Meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod during his visit to Denmark on September 4-5.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP & PTI