External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said terrorism and terrorists operating out of Afghanistan remain a concern for the world, as he also highlighted the humanitarian situation in the war-torn country, which he says is not getting the attention it deserves. Delivering a joint press conference alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jaishankar said the world must not forget what the situation is in Afghanistan and pointed out how India is supporting Afghan people in the difficult phase of their history.
“Today it is not getting the attention that it deserves. There is a humanitarian situation and at least where India is concerned, we have stepped forward by providing food, medicines, and vaccines and trying to find by which support the Afghan people are supported in a very difficult phase of their history,” he said. “The international community with good reasons, have concerns about terrorism and terrorist who operate out of Afghanistan. There have been commitments, which have been given in this regard. It’s legitimate that the international community and especially the neighbours today work together to ensure that there is no terrorism threat that comes out of Afghanistan,” he added.
Jaishankar arrived in Moscow on Monday as a part of his two-day visit to Russia, in continuation of the regular high-level dialogue between the two sides. During his meeting with Lavrov, he reviewed the entire gamut of the India-Russia relationship. “Just concluded comprehensive discussions with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Reviewed the entire gamut of our steady and time-tested relationship. Also exchanged perspectives from our vantage points on global and regional developments,” he said in a tweet.
With Russia’s Deputy PM Denis Manturov, Jaishankar explored cooperation in trade, investments, energy, fertilisers, pharma, agriculture and shipping. “A productive meeting with Co-chair of the Inter-Governmental Commission Deputy PM Denis Manturov. Discussed strengthening a durable and balanced partnership. Explored cooperation in trade, investments, energy, fertilisers, pharma, agriculture and shipping,” he said.
During a press conference in Moscow, the external affairs minister said India and Russia have a longstanding partnership that has served both countries very well over many decades. “This covers a range of practical cooperation in fields like trade, investment, commodity, etc, as well sensitive domains like defence, space, and nuclear,” he said. Jaishankar noted that his objective in coming to Moscow is to sit down with the Russian leadership to assess how India-Russia ties are doing. “My objective in coming here today is to sit down with Russian foreign minister Lavrov and Deputy PM Manturov to assess how we are doing. There are challenges, that we need to address and prospects that we are exploring,” he said.
Jaishankar said, in recent years, India and Russia have grappled with how to expand the bilateral trade and introduce more factors of long-term stability and growth. “Some of these discussions are now yielding results, accelerated by the stresses that the global economy is currently expressing, including as a result of the Ukraine conflict,” he added. The external affairs minister said he and Lavrov have noted the significant growth in bilateral trade this year and focused on how to make it more sustainable.
“We are naturally concerned about the trade imbalance and I have raised with the Russian side how to address the impediments that stand in the way of greater Indian exports,” he added.