Sushma talks investment, trade ahead of UN speech
: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj met nine leaders from across the globe in a whirlwind of bilateral interactions and spoke at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summity.
She began her day on Monday by attending the event on counter-narcotics convened by US President Donald Trump, where she was seated at the front row. India is one of 129 countries that have signed the pledge drafted by Trump on commitment towards international war on drugs.
Although it was not a formal meeting, she greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she came to the UN, India’s permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj met the foreign ministers of Australia, Spain, Ecuador, Colombia, Mongolia, Nepal, Morocco, Lichtenstein and Federica Mogherini, the European Union (EU) high representative for foreign affairs.
The topics discussed during the meetings with the foreign ministers depended on the relations with those countries and ranged from strategic cooperation to trade and investment.
Meanwhile, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale participated in the special meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) – a 26-member forum for cooperation in promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
Ruchi Ghanashyam, the secretary (west), spoke at the Africa Adaptation Initiative High-Level Roundtable.
The organisation aims at facilitating finance and cooperation for the continent’s development.
After Swaraj’s meeting with Australian foreign minister Marise Payne, external affairs ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted: “Strategic partnership gaining momentum!”
The two countries have been building up their strategic relations reinforced by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that includes the US and Japan.
UNITED NATIONS