Jaishankar holds bilateral meetings with counterparts from Asean countries

Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar on Thursday met his counterparts from the Philippines, Enrique A Manalo, and Norway's Espen Barth Eide on the margins of the ASEAN meet and discussed strengthening bilateral collaboration and priorities in the Indo-Pacific region. Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Timor Leste's Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Cambodia Sok Chenda Sophea. Jaishankar and all other leaders are in the Lao People's Democratic Republic's capital to participate in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). While with his South Asian counterparts, the talks were mostly about bilateral relations and geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific, he also discussed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during his meeting with the Norwegian leader. Good to meet Foreign Minister @EspenBarthEide of Norway today. The India