Ahead of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Cape Town today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor and reviewed the progress of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

“A warm meeting with FM Naledi Pandor of South Africa. Thank her for hosting us in the Indo-Atlantic city of Cape Town. Reviewed the progress of our strategic partnership and agreed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic ties in a fitting manner,” EAM Jaishankar tweeted. “Exchanged views on BRICS, IBSA, G20 and UN where we have a strong tradition of cooperating closely,” he added.

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The foreign ministers from the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) are presently in Cape Town to attend the meeting from 1-2 June.

South Africa, the bloc’s current chair, is hosting the BRICS foreign ministers conference in the South African capital.

Jaishankar also met the Foreign Affairs minister of Saudi Arabia in Cape Town and had a productive exchange of views on the global situation.
“So nice to see FM HH Prince @FaisalbinFarhan of Saudi Arabia. A productive exchange of views on the global situation. Look forward to advancing bilateral cooperation through the Strategic Partnership Council,” the EAM wrote on Twitter.

The two ministers met and exchanged views on the topics on the agenda of the BRICS Friends Ministerial Meeting.

“Both Ministers also exchanged views on the topics on the agenda of the BRICS Friends Ministerial Meeting. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi, the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, Sultan Al-Angari, and the Director General of His Highness’s Office, Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Dawood,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia tweeted.

Earlier today, he also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 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.

The External Affairs Minister is on an official visit to African countries, South Africa and Namibia from June 1-6.

During his visit to South Africa, Jaishankar will call on the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa and 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 an official statement.

EAM will thereafter visit Namibia from June 4-6. This will be the first visit by an External Affairs Minister of India to Namibia.

During the visit, EAM will call on the country’s top leadership and meet with other Ministers of the Government, the government release informed.

EAM will also co-chair the inaugural Session of the Joint Commission Meeting with the Namibian Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. He will also interact with the Indian diaspora based in Namibia.
EAM’s visit to South Africa and Namibia is expected to strengthen further India’s strong bilateral relations with these two countries.