External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met visiting German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday and discussed wide-ranging issues including the Ukraine conflict, the Indo-Pacific region, and developments in Afghanistan.
Addressing a joint press conference with Baerbock in Delhi, Jaishankar said both ministers also touched upon the issue of multilateral issues, including the reforms of the UN Security Council and India's G20 Presidency.
"Today, we exchanged views on major international issues of the day, apart from our bilateral relationship. This included the conflict in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific strategic situation, and developments pertaining to Afghanistan and Pakistan to some degree," the external affairs minister said during the presser.
"We also discussed multilateral issues. India and Germany interact in the framework of the G4 when it comes to the reform of the UN Security Council. We had a discussion on India's G20 presidency, which comes just as Germany itself is concluding a successful G7 presidency," he added.
Among the issues we discussed was cooperation in the third country, Jaishankar said.
Noting the long history of close and warm relations between the two countries, he said India-Germany are marking the 70th year of the establishment of our diplomatic relationship last year.
"Our strategic partnership which is more than two decades old has really been bolstered by greater political exchanges, ever-expanding trade, more investment, and a stronger people-to-people relationship," he said.
The two ministers also signed an agreement on the comprehensive migration and mobility partnership.
On the trade front, Jaishankar said Germany is India's largest partner in the European Union. "We are today supporting the India-EU negotiations on trade, investment and geographical indicators. We hope that they will progress well. The third round of negotiations on the FTA has just concluded," he said.
"One issue which also came up with the visa challenges, and we hope that some of these are addressed in the coming months so that the backlog can be cleared. I have every confidence that there will be that effort made by our partner," he added.
Delivering his statement, Jaishankar also welcomed Germany's decision to participate in the India Pacific Oceans Initiative that India had announced in 2019.
Earlier today, Jaishankar welcomed the German Foreign Minister who began her two-day India visit.
During the two-day inaugural visit, cooperation in the energy transition away from oil, coal and gas will also play a role. Earlier today, Baerbock visited Rajghat in the national capital and paid her respects to Mahatma Gandhi.
On Friday, the German Federal Foreign Office said Baerbock will visit projects for renewable energies and sustainability in the rural surroundings of the capital New Delhi.
( With inputs from ANI )
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