Brussels:External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met top leaders of the European Union and held wide-ranging talks on issues, including economic cooperation, climate change and capacity building, that would ‘benefit both India and EU’.
Jaishankar, who was in Germany during the weekend for the Munich Security Conference, arrived here on Monday to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned visit for the India-EU summit here next month.
The Foreign Minister met EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen and the two leaders discussed experiences in capacity building and development partnerships.
‘Coordination on these issues would be to the benefit of both India and EU,’ Jaishankar tweeted. The Minister also held ‘positive and productive’ parleys at the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU.
‘Thank the attending Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors & senior officials and most of all HR (High Representative) @JosepBorrellF. Looking forward to working together to strengthen this key partnership,’ he said.
Jaishankar also met EU Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan and ‘exchanged views on the prospects for India-EU economic cooperation.’
Jaishankar also had an open discussion with members of the European Parliament representing a broad spectrum of politics and member states.
Jaishankar’s visit comes weeks after the European Parliament postponed until March a vote on a joint motion, combining five different resolutions tabled by its members against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, which was debated at its Plenary session in Brussels.