EAM S Jaishankar interacts with Indian community in Prague

The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, carrying forward the success of mission Operation Ganga to bring back all the Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine due to the Russia-Ukraine war, interacted with the Indian Community in Prague on Monday.

Addressing the Indian Diaspora here, the EAM shared with them the developments in India and progress in bilateral relations between the two countries. He also lauded the contribution of the community in maintaining the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Delighted to meet the Indian community in Prague. Good to see many of them doing so well. The expansion of the community has also been encouraging. Shared with them developments at home and the state of our bilateral relationship. Count on their continuing support," Jaishankar tweeted.

External Affairs Minister is on a two-nation European visit - Slovakia and the Czech Republic from June 2 to 6. The EAM visited Slovakia from June 2 to 4 and later moved to the Czech Republic on June 4.

During his visit, Jaishankar met the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Eduard Heger and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greetings and appreciation for support during Operation Ganga.

The two ministers held discussions on the expansion of political, economic and defence cooperation between the two countries.

Under Operation Ganga an evacuation mission to bring back all the Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine was carried out due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Around 20,000 Indians including students were stuck in Ukraine.

Four union ministers - Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gen VK Singh - who went to countries neighbouring Ukraine as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special envoys during the evacuation efforts.

Jaishankar, earlier on Sunday met Czech Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavsky to discuss bilateral ties between the two nations.

The discussions involved talks on taking the European Union-India partnership forward and steady progress in bilateral cooperation.

The ministers of the two nations focussed on steady progress in bilateral cooperation, including in trade, defence, S&T, and people-to-people exchanges, and highlighted the trade level crossing USD 2 billion.

Jaishankar's visit to Slovakia and the Czech Republic is to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the two Central European countries.

He began his engagements in Prague by meeting a delegation of Czech members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

The EAM also held discussions on India's ties with the EU and the Czech Republic, the Indo-Pacific, food and energy security, and digital cooperation.

(ANI)

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