EAM Jaishankar Holds Bilateral Meetings with Development Ministers of Germany, Australia

Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held separate talks with German Development Minister Svenia Schulz and her Australian counterpart Pat Conroy, focusing on bilateral relations and cooperation within the G20 framework. The meetings took place on the sidelines of the G20 Development Ministers meeting in Varanasi.

I am pleased to kick off the G20 Development Ministers meeting with German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development @SvenjaSchulze68. We discussed our common priorities that #G20DMM seeks to move forward. He also talked about sustainable development summit and third country partnerships,” Jaishankar tweeted. In his meeting with Conroy, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Australia was taken up in the talks.

“Happy to welcome Australian Development Minister @PatConroy1 to Varanasi for #G20DMM. Naturally, we talked about PM @narendramodi’s recent visit to Australia. We also discussed how our two countries can collaborate on development issues in the Pacific,” Jaishankar said in another tweet.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also held talks with Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebecca Greenspan.

Good meeting with the Secretary General of UNCTAD, @RGrynspan on the sidelines of #G20DMM. Agreeing that the G20 plays an important role in alleviating the concerns of the Global South. He will also work closely to ensure the advancement of the SDGs,” tweeted Jaishankar. He also had separate talks with EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen “A great meeting with EU Commissioner for International Partnerships @JuttaUrpilainen. Discuss the G20 meeting. It has also been moved forward. Our conversation is about the synergy of the global portal with development partnership initiatives in India.”

India is hosting the meeting of development ministers of the G20 member states from June 11-13 as the current chair of the group. It is expected to focus on disruptions to global supply chains, food and energy security challenges, and the effects of climate change, among other issues.

The meeting of G20 development ministers follows the Global Voice of the South Summit hosted by India in January, and decisions taken at the Varanasi meeting will also contribute to the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September. Foreign Affairs said.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)