French Foreign Minister expected to visit New Delhi for India, Australia, France trilateral
Mar 18, 2021
New Delhi [India], March 18 : French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected to visit India in mid-April to attend the trilateral dialogue between India, Australia and France, sources said.
The visit has not been officially announced by Paris so far. Senior officials of three countries held their first virtual trilateral meeting in September last year. The meeting was co-chaired by India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Francois Delattre, Secretary-General, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Frances Adamson, Secretary, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
This year it will be a ministerial-level meeting and a physical meeting in which three leaders - External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Jean-Yves Le Drian - will hold discussions in New Delhi.
It is learnt that the key focus of dialogue will be Indo-Pacific. All three thriving democracies aim to ensure a peaceful, secure, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
Enhancing supply chains, sharing response against COVID-19, economic recovery, trade and investments will also be discussed during the meeting.
