Stating that India's policy in the past was influenced by "faith" and "vote bank", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that a change has taken place in the policymaking today.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday asserted that India's own national security interests are involved in its investigation into the alleged involvement of a government official in the plot to assassinate 'Khalistan' supporter Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The Katchatheevu Island is a "live issue" and didn't surface overnight, the minister said.
The issue pertains to the year 1974 when the then Indira Gandhi government had accepted the island was a Sri Lankan area under the India-Sri Lankan maritime agreement.
Jaishankar also firmly reiterated India’s support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty in the backdrop of Manila's running feud with China over the South China Sea.
During the meeting, they expressed their best wishes to Indian communities across the globe as they celebrated the festival of lights, it said.
Based on India’s insistence, Canada withdrew 41 of its diplomats. Melanie Joly, the Canadian foreign minister stated, “Revoking the diplomatic immunity of 41 diplomats is not only unprecedented, but also contrary to international law.
The external affairs minister assured the families of eight former Navy officers who are on death row in the Gulf country.
Reacting to their death sentence, the external affairs ministry had earlier expressed its "deep shock" and said that it was exploring all the legal options to challenge the Qatar court verdict.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will leave for a four-day visit to Portugal and Italy on Tuesday.
