External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that he held a discussion with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on issues pertaining to maritime security challenges, especially the Red Sea region. Jaishankar said that he exchanged perspectives on developments related to the Ukraine conflict. “Looking forward to realizing our extensive cooperation agenda for 2024,” the External Affairs Minister said.
“A good discussion this evening with my friend US @SecBlinken Our conversation focused on maritime security challenges, especially the Red Sea region. Appreciated his insights on ongoing situation in West Asia, including Gaza. Exchanged perspectives on developments pertaining to the Ukraine conflict. Looking forward to realizing our extensive cooperation agenda for 2024,” S Jaishankar said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has called a high-level inter-ministerial meet next week to discuss ways to insulate India's trade from the ongoing problems in the Red Sea, a senior official said on Thursday, as reported by PTI. Senior officials from five ministries: external affairs, defence, shipping and finance and commerce are set to take part in the deliberations.
The commerce ministry has also set up an internal strategic group, comprising additional secretaries of the ministry, to discuss global issues impacting the country's trade on a daily basis and prepare a strategy to deal with them.
"The idea of the inter-ministerial meeting is to see how we can strategise our trade so that it gets least affected in such a situation," the official said, as quoted by PTI.
The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants.