India and Cambodia today signed four MoUs in the areas of culture, wildlife and health. The MoUs were inked following bilateral talks between Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit at Phnom Penh. During the meeting, wide-ranging discussions were held on several issues.
Earlier, addressing the 19th ASEAN-India Summit, Vice President Dhankhar said that India-ASEAN relationship forms the central pillar of India’s Act-East policy. He said, deep cultural, economic and civilizational ties have existed between India and South East Asia from time immemorial. Mr Dhankhar emphasized that India places great value on ASEAN as an important pillar of regional, multilateral and global order.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is also accompanying the Vice President who arrived in Cambodia yesterday to participate in the ASEAN India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit. Dr S Jaishankar met his Canadian counterpart, Melan Joly, at Phnom Penh. The two leaders held discussion of Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific, bilateral cooperation, and community welfare. In a tweet, Dr S. Jaishankar appreciated steps being taken to address visa challenges by Canada.
Earlier in the day, Dr Jaishankar met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed grain initiative and nuclear concerns amid the Russia-Ukraine conlict. The External Affairs Minister also met Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.
