Ajit Karn
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in Cape Town, South Africa, on the sidelines of the BRICS Ministerial.
The meeting occurs at a time when the West is persistently attempting to convince India to take a side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
PM Modi conferred with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21 and assured him that the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv would be resolved. This was the first encounter between the two leaders since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on February 24, 2016.
From 1 to 6 June 2023, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is on an official visit to African countries, South Africa and Namibia.
The EAM is currently in South Africa in order to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cape Town.
In addition to attending the meeting, he will confer with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor.
Jaishankar will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and is anticipated to conduct bilateral meetings with other BRICS Foreign Ministers and ‘Friends of BRICS’ Ministers. In addition, he will interact with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town, according to the statement.
EAM will then travel to Namibia from 4 to 6 June. This will be the first trip to Namibia by an Indian minister of external affairs.
According to a government announcement, EAM will confer with the country’s top leadership and other ministers during the visit.
EAM will also co-chair the inaugural session of the Joint Commission Meeting with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. In addition, he will interact with the Indian diaspora in Namibia.
It is anticipated that EAM’s visit to South Africa and Namibia will strengthen India’s already robust bilateral relations with these two countries.
Notably, India and China are proactively expanding their engagements with Africa.
While China has been involved in Africa’s infrastructure, mining, oil, and natural gas industries for many years, India, despite being a late entrant, has implemented training, education, and capacity-building programmes that have been well received by the countries.
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The Union Cabinet has recently approved the establishment of 18 new Indian missions in Africa between 2018 and 2021. This action is regarded as a significant stimulus to India-Africa relations.
