Foreign Ministers of India, Japan, US held trilateral meet; emphasizes on peaceful resolution of disputes

New York, September 19: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday had a Ministerial Trilateral with US Secretary of State Tillerson and Japanese FM Kono and emphasized on the need for ensuring freedom of navigation, respect for international law and peaceful resolution of disputes.

 

Notably, all the three ministers held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The ministers during the meet emphasized the need for ensuring freedom of navigation, respect for international law and peaceful resolution of disputes, as they held a trilateral meeting in the backdrop of Doklam crisis and assertive Chinese behaviour.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono also exchanged views on maritime security, connectivity and proliferation issues. The three top ministers also discussed on connectivity initiatives, the importance of basing them on universally recognized international norms, prudent financing and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity was underlined. The three Ministers directed their senior officials to explore practical steps to enhance cooperation.

Interestingly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in New York to attend the 72nd annual session of the UN General Assembly. She is scheduled to address the United Nations on September 23. During her week-long stay here, the minister is likely to hold between 15-20 bilateral meetings in addition to several multilateral and trilateral meetings.

Minister Sushma is scheduled to have a series of other meetings today including that with Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, and her Bolivian counterpart Fernando Huanacuni Mamani.

Minister Swaraj will also participate in a high-level meeting on UN reforms, hosted and chaired by US President Donald Trump.India is among the 120 countries which have supported the reform efforts of the UN Secretary-General.