Confident that India will continue to shape big debates of our times: EAM Jaishankar

PTI, May 25, 2021, 11:06 AM IST

New York: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed confidence that India will continue to shape the “big debates of our times” as he interacted with Permanent Representative Ambassador T S Tirumurti and other officials and diplomats from India to the United Nations.

Jaishankar arrived in New York on Sunday evening on his first visit to the US after India entered the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member in January this year and will meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.

“A productive strategy session with @ambtstirumurti and our UN team in New York @IndiaUNNewYork. Confident that India will continue to shape the big debates of our times,” Jaishankar tweeted on Monday after his meeting with Tirumurti, Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu and diplomats from the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.

“Grateful to EAM @DrSJaishankar for guidance in focussing our efforts in @UN and in Security Council for 2021-22,” Tirumurti tweeted.

From New York, Jaishankar will travel to Washington where he is expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A State Department spokesperson said Blinken and Jaishankar would discuss a wide range of issues, including COVID-19, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad grouping, enhancing the UN and multilateral cooperation.

“The Secretary looks forward to meeting Minister Jaishankar during his visit, and to discussing a broad range of issues, including COVID-19 relief, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad, enhanced UN and multilateral cooperation, and a range of other shared regional security and economic priorities,” the spokesperson said.

In addition to meeting his counterpart, Jaishankar is scheduled to meet US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, other senior officials of the Biden administration, influential lawmakers, think-tanks, leaders of the corporate sector and members of the Indian American community.

Neither the State Department nor the Ministry of External Affairs have announced the day and timing of the Jaishankar-Blinken meeting.

Blinken on Monday left for a quick trip to the Middle East as part of the efforts of the Biden administration’s peace process in the region.