Gotabaya Rajapaksa also reiterated the need to reintroduce former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike's 1971 proposal to declare the Indian Ocean as a Peace Zone and urged India's support for this endeavor.
During his four-day visit to Sri Lanka, the Foreign Secretary is also slated to meet President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other top cabinet members.
The roster of officials Shringla discussed the Afghanistan situation included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla summoned the British High Commissioner to the foreign office and told him that British MPs should refrain from practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy.
India, Shringla noted, has supported the immediate commencement of negotiations in the CD on a FMCT. Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS), was another long-standing item on the CD’s agenda.
Shringla’s visit to Moscow on 17-18 February at the invitation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov is also aimed at sending a clear message to the Joe Biden administration that India would continue to deepen its time-tested friendship with Russia, notwithstanding continued American pressure.
At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.
In a virtual address to NASSCOM, Shringla said there is some anxiety among Indians and the industry about restrictions on H1-B visa due to the US administration's review of their non-immigrant visa regime.
Pastor Bryan Nerren was arrested in India last year on charges of travelling with $40,000 of undeclared currency.
