India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed strong displeasure over the observations made by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on his predecessor Sushma Swaraj in his latest book. In his book 'Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love', which was released on Tuesday, Pompeo has described Sushma Swaraj as a "goofball" and "heartland political hack" and said that he never saw her as an "important political player".
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to make a visit to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka this week to discuss the debt restructuring process. “On January 19, the Indian foreign minister is expected to visit and we will continue to have debt restructuring talks with India,” Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said, according to PTI news agency.
The Sri Lankan president informed said that the country will be receiving $2.5 billion from the IMF, and nearly $5 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The sixth India-US Forum is scheduled to take place in India’s capital New Delhi this week and will be addressed by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, US Secretary of state Antony Blinken, among other top officials from the two sides.
The meet will take place from January 13 to January 14 and will be convened by Ananta Centre and India's Ministry of External Affairs.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, stated on Thursday that his nation wanted to maintain good relations with India, including "a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir conflict in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions."
According to The Express Tribune, he made the comments while speaking with Neil Hawkins, the recently appointed Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan.
With a renewed focus on South America, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar will travel to three key countries in the region Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay later this month.
In Paraguay, Jaishankar will inaugurate India's new embassy in the capital Asuncion likely on August 22. The Indian government in 2020 had given approval for the opening of three Indian missions, which also included Paraguay, by 2021.
This was followed by the minister’s announcement of appointing Yogeshwar Sangwan as the first Indian Ambassador to the country.