External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar was seen interacting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi briefly on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
The interaction happened when Wang was walking down the podium and Jaishankar was walking up the podium for a panel discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister. The two foreign ministers were seen engaging in an animated conversation. The impromptu interaction, after months of no communication, added intrigue to the diplomatic setting.
There have been minimal high level contacts between the two sides since the Galwan crisis. The two last met in Indonesia on the sidelines of ASEAN meet in July 2023.
The Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2024 got underway on February 16 in the German capital and will conclude on Sunday. It is being held at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, according to an official statement.
On the sidelines of the event, Jaishankar held a meeting with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and exchanged views on contemporary politics.
In a post shared on X, Jaishankar stated, “Useful exchange of views on contemporary politics with former US Secretary of State @mikepompeo.”
He also held a meeting with German Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Jens Plotner.
Sharing details regarding the meeting, Jaishankar on X posted, “Great meeting German Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Jens Plotner today evening. Appreciate his insights and assessments.”
Apart from that, Jaishankar met with with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party chairman, Friedrich Merz. Jaishankar recognised Merz’s strong support for India’s ties with Germany and European Union. He also met his counterparts from Norway Poland, Belgium, and Portugal.
Jaishankar calls for a “permanent fix” to Israel-Palestine conflict
Meanwhile, speaking at a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference, Jaishankar called the Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 an act of terrorism. He further pointed out “Israel should have been very mindful of civilian casualties in its response and emphasised its obligation to observe international humanitarian law.”
He outlined key dimensions of the Israel-Palestine conflict so as to have a long term and a permanent solution to the issue.
Sitting at the conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, Jaishankar said, “Well, I don’t have advice for my colleagues, though I particularly, I think all of us follow the enormous efforts which Tony (Antony Blinken) is putting in right now. But look, the way we look at it, there are different dimensions, different elements to this.
“Number one, we must be clear that what happened on October 7th was terrorism. No caveats, no justification, no explanation. It was terrorism. Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should be, should have been very mindful of civilian casualties, that it has an obligation to observe international humanitarian law,” he added.
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Published: 18 Feb 2024, 08:31 AM IST