New Delhi: On his way to Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday made a stopover in Tehran and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, covering various aspects of bilateral relations and regional developments.
Jaishankar described the meeting as “productive”
“A productive meeting with FM @JZarif during a stopover in Tehran. Discussed strengthening our bilateral cooperation and reviewed regional developments. Thank him for his gracious hospitality,” he tweeted.
The Iranian foreign ministry, in a tweet, said the two sides emphasised on their will to further expand bilateral ties in “all aspects”.
It is learnt that the Chabahar port project as well as the situation in the Gulf region figured in the talks.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh too made a stopover in Tehran on Saturday on his return journey from Russia, and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.
Jaishankar is travelling to Moscow on a four-day visit to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on September 10.
On the sidelines of the SCO meet, he is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Both India and China are members of the influential regional bloc that primarily focuses on security related issues.
Jaishankar’s trip to Moscow comes days after Defence Minister Singh visited the Russian capital to attend a meeting of SCO defence ministers.
On Friday, Singh held an over two-hour meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe on the escalating border row between the two countries in eastern Ladakh.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said Jaishankar will be attending the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of SCO to be held in Moscow on September 9-10.
It will be the third CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO.
“India has been taking active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation in this year. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future,” the MEA said in a statement.
It said that the CFM meeting in Moscow will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO summit and also exchange views on international and regional issues.
“External Affairs Minister’s visit in Moscow will include the participation in the Council of SCO foreign ministers and other bilateral meetings,” the MEA said.
