RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.458
TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2019
‘MEETING WITH RUSSIAN AND CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTERS’
458. SHRI P. BHATTACHARYA:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether any meeting have been held with Russian and Chinese foreign ministers for holding discussions between the three countries ; and ;
(b) if so, to what extent these countries have formulated action plan to give a fillip to their relationship and have agreed to have concrete plans of action on various issues?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) & (b) The Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China meet annually under the mechanism of Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministerial meeting to exchange views on various issues of mutual interest. The last meeting (15th) of the RIC Foreign Ministers
was held in New Delhi on 11 December 2017.
During the 15th RIC meeting, Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China reiterated the importance that the three countries attach to the trilateral format as a platform to foster closer dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest among
them. The three countries declared their wish to strengthen the trilateral dialogue for consultation and coordination on regional and global issues of mutual interest in the spirit of mutual understanding and trust. They deemed their cooperation conducive
to maintaining international and regional peace, stability and promoting global economic growth and prosperity. Among specific issues deliberated during the meeting included cooperation in areas such as Climate Change, Sustainable Development Goals, fair global
taxation system, international terrorism, combating drug-trafficking, non-proliferation, peaceful exploration of outer space, Information and Communication Technologies, reform of the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, among others. The three
Foreign Ministers also discussed cooperation in multilateral bodies such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, East Asia Summit, World Trade Organization, Financial Action Task Force, and other multilateral organizations.
To enhance practical cooperation between the three countries, various subsidiary mechanisms have been put in place, such as official level consultations, Trilateral Academic Conference and RIC Young Diplomats Programme, which take place regularly.
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