In Prague, S Jaishankar takes up Indo-Pacific

Prague, June 5

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held a meeting with a delegation of Czech Members of European Parliament (MEP) and they had a “good discussion” on India’s ties with the EU and the Czech Republic, the Indo-Pacific, food and energy security and digital cooperation.

He also met his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky and had a productive discussion on the steady progress in bilateral cooperation. They also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the repercussions of the Ukraine conflict.

Jaishankar is here on the last leg of his tour to Slovakia and the Czech Republic to impart further momentum in ties with the two central European countries.

The Czech Republic will be taking over the EU presidency from July 1. He arrived in Prague on Saturday from the Slovakian capital Bratislava. In Prague, he began his engagements by meeting a delegation of Czech MEPs Jan Zahradil, Tomáš Zdechovský, Mikuláš Peksa and Veronika Vrecionová. “Began my engagements in Prague by meeting a delegation of MEPs. A good discussion on India’s ties with EU and the Czech Republic, the Indo-Pacific, food and energy security and digital cooperation,” Jaishankar said on Twitter. India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s aggressive military manoeuvring in the region.

China also claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.