Capetown: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the BRICS Ministerial in Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting comes when the West is constantly trying to make India pick sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Earlier on May 21, PM Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima and assured him to resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. This was the first meeting between the two leaders since the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began on February 24 last year.
Jaishankar is on an official visit to African countries, South Africa and Namibia from June 1 to 6, and will call on the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
He is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other BRICS Foreign Ministers, as well as, ‘Friends of BRICS’ Ministers. He will also have an interaction with the Indian diaspora in Capetown, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Notably, India and China are developing their engagements with Africa proactively. While China has been in Africa’s infrastructure, mining, oil and natural gas sectors for many years, India, despite moving late, has worked through training, education and capacity-building programs – which have been very well-received by the countries.
