EAM S Jaishankar launches lightning round of diplomacy meeting France FM

UNITED NATIONS: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar launched his lightning diplomacy rounds on Monday, meeting France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on the eve of the high-level meeting set to begin Tuesday.

 "Our regular meetings and telecons [teleconferences] enable us to maintain the momentum of our Special Global Strategic Partnership", EAM Jaishankar posted on X after their meeting.

"Regional and global issues, specifically the Ukraine and Gulf crisis, were discussed [and] also exchanged views on multilateral issues, including the reform of the UN Security Council", he said.

The EAM followed that up by meeting Ecuador's Foreign Minister Roberto Kury, where they discussed "strengthening our economic ties, including in energy and pharmaceuticals, mobility, training of personnel, development partnership and cooperation in multilateral fora, including the UN", he said on X.

As influential middle powers in a transforming geopolitical scenario, France and India elevated their relationship to a "Special Global Strategic Partnership", making it one of New Delhi's closest diplomatic tie-ups, during President Emmanuel Macron's visit to India in February for the AI Impact Summit.

A joint statement by Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would "guide bilateral cooperation in the coming decades", building on their defence tie-ups and prospects in joint energy development.

In its continuing outreach to the Global South, India has strengthened ties with Ecuador, nestled on South America's Pacific Coast, with vast oil reserves, and also a member of the non-aligned movement. (IANS)

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