Jaishankar kicks off intensive bilateral engagements in New York with close partners

External affairs minister S Jaishankar met his counterparts from two close partner countries, Japan and Australia, where the leaders discussed bilateral and global issues and the minister put forth India’s perspective on Canada’s recent allegations, people familiar with the development said.

Jaishankar held the bilateral meetings — he was also scheduled to meet the French foreign minister later on Friday — after attending the Quad ministerial meeting in New York’s Lotte Palace Hotel. He arrived in the city where the world’s leaders have congregated for the UN General Assembly high level week after attending the special session of Parliament in Delhi on Friday morning.

It is understood that the conversations with both Japan and Australia spanned the entire gamut of respective bilateral issues as well as regional and global security issues, including China.

But with Canada’s allegations about the possible link of “agents of the government of India” to the killing of a terrorist on Canadian soil emerging as a key talking point in the world of diplomacy, India has also used this opportunity to present its viewpoint at the highest levels to friendly countries. Delhi believes it has a strong case given that Canada has not offered any evidence to back up the allegation in the public domain, and that other countries needed to be made aware of Canada’s track record in providing refuge to extremists and terrorists and the domestic political calculus at play in driving prime minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations.

Japan has a new foreign minister in Yoko Kamikawa. She participated in the Quad meeting and then held a separate meeting with Jaishankar, who tweeted, “Delighted to meet Foreign Minister of Japan Yoko Kamikawa at #UNGA78. Exchanged perspectives on our Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Discussed our regional, multilateral and global cooperation and taking them forward.”

Japan is the chair of the G7, which did not take up Canada’s allegations in a statement after a meeting held this week. Tokyo also played a constructive role in helping New Delhi arrive at a joint declaration during G20 leaders’ summit. Both India and Japan are strategically aligned when it comes to the threats posed by China in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Jaishankar then met Australian foreign minister Penny Wong. The two had a one-on-one interaction followed by talks where officials joined them. In the wake of Canada’s accusations, Wong had said that the allegations were concerning and emphasised the principle of sovereignty and rule of law.

At the beginning of the talks, as the press spray took pictures, Jaishankar was telling Wong about the women’s reservation bill passed into law by the Parliament and how it would alter women’s representation at all levels in politics.

After the meeting, Jaishankar tweeted, “Noted the positive trajectory of our ties and discussed specific steps to take them further. Our exchange of regional and global assessments are always valuable.”

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