NAM summit opens, Jaishankar meets counterparts with ringside view of major conflicts

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, January 19

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had several informal bilaterals on the margins of the NAM summit which opened in Kampala, Uganda, on Friday. The NAM summit is being held after five years as India withdrew in 2020-21 due to the Covid.

Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation at the Summit which arrived in Kampala on Thursday. His significant bilateral with Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer said the two leaders “exchanged views on the ongoing high-level discussions on the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, as well as expediting the completion of ongoing development projects in the Maldives’’.

In a departure from the hostile statements from Male, Zameer said, “we are committed to further strengthening and expanding our cooperation”.

The 19th NAM Summit under Uganda’s leadership is being held under the theme ‘Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence’.

On Friday, Jaishankar met his Bolivian counterpart Celinda Sosa Lunda and discussed development cooperation, traditional medicine, and sustainable lifestyle. Bolivia is part of the ‘Lithium Triangle’ along with Chile and Argentina which together have over half of the world’s total lithium resources.

The minister also met the outgoing NAM Chair Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and discussed their bilateral relationship and exchanged views on regional matters. Ties have been tense and recently Azerbaijan accused India of fuelling an arms race by arming its adversary Armenia with Pinaka rocket systems and Towed Artillery Gun Systems.

Jaishankar met the Venezuelan FM Yvan Gil purportedly to revive the energy relationship which the Modi government had terminated in 2016 under American pressure. India is talking to Caracas to take $ 600 million in return for its stake in the San Cristobal Project.

The foreign minister also met two counterparts who have a ringside view of the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Jaishankar said he appreciated Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry’s assessment and insights on the ongoing conflict in Gaza. He had a ‘useful meeting’ with Belarusian FM Sergei Aleinik during which they discussed developments pertaining to the Ukraine conflict. While Gaza borders Egypt, Ukraine shares a long border with Belarusian.