NEW DELHI, Nov 7 : Various geopolitical issues, ongoing conflicts and India’s “security concerns” were discussed between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong during his visit to that country, the MEA said on Thursday.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, in his media briefing here also said social media handles and pages of an Australian media outlet have been “blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada”.
Jaiswal said Canada blocked the Australian media outlet hours after it broadcast the press conference of Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.
Jaishankar is visiting Australia from November 3-7 during which he and Wong also held a joint press briefing in Canberra and the Indian external affairs minister also fielded questions on the Brampton temple incident and the overall escalation in diplomatic row between India and Canada.
Asked if the Canada issue was discussed in his meeting with Wong, Jaiswal said, the external affairs minister “did discuss all our security concerns that we have with Australia”.
“The external affairs minister is in Sydney today. You would have seen him speaking to the business community there, addressing a CEOs’ roundtable. He also had a meeting with the Australia foreign minister where they together attended the India-Australia (Foreign Ministers’) Framework Dialogue,” Jaiswal said.
“And, as part of the dialogue, all issues were discussed…The external affairs minister did discuss all our security concerns that we have with Australia. So, I would like to confirm for you,” he said.
The MEA spokesperson, however, did not explicitly mention if the ongoing row with Canada and the associated core concerns of India figured in their talks.
Jaiswal further said when a foreign minister of a country goes abroad, he talks about geopolitical issues, regional issues and global issues.
So, what is happening in West Asia, what can be done to improve situation on the Russia-Ukraine issue, “these were discussed”, he said, adding India has emphasised on dialogue and diplomacy as a way forward.
Describing the Hindu temple incident in Brampton as “deeply concerning”, Jaishankar on Tuesday had said that in a way the “political space” is being given to “extremist forces” in Canada.
Responding to a query during his joint press briefing with Wong, he also accused Ottawa of developing a “pattern of making allegations without providing specifics”.
In Canada’s Brampton, protestors carrying Khalistani flags clashed with people at the Hindu Sabha temple and disrupted a consular event co-organised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate.
Jaiswal, in his comments, recalled the remarks made by Jaishankar in Canberra to reiterate India’s stand on the ongoing diplomatic standoff. (PTI)
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