On his way to Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday made a stopover in Tehran and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, covering various aspects of bilateral relations and regional developments. Jaishankar described the meeting as "productive".
"A productive meeting with FM @JZarif during a stopover in Tehran. Discussed strengthening our bilateral cooperation and reviewed regional developments. Thank him for his gracious hospitality," Jaishankar tweeted.
The Iranian foreign ministry, in a tweet, said that the two sides emphasised on their will to further expand bilateral ties in "all aspects". It is learnt that the Chabahar port project as well as the situation in the Gulf region figured in the talks.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also made a stopover in Tehran on Saturday on his return from Russia and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.
Later, Jaishankar will be travelling to Moscow on a four-day visit to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting scheduled for the foreign ministers of the 8-nation member organisation. It will be the third Council Of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting that India will be attending as a full member of the SCO.
During the same time, Jaishankar is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Both India and China are members of the influential regional bloc that primarily focuses on security related issues.
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"External Affairs Minister's visit in Moscow will include the participation in the Council of SCO foreign ministers and other bilateral meetings," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
