New Delhi, November 9 (ANI): India and Lebanon held their first-ever Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi on Monday, reviewing the full range of bilateral relations and discussing ways to strengthen cooperation across political and security, economic, and sociocultural sectors.
In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the meeting was co-chaired by Secretary (CPV&OIA), Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan, and Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, secretary-general of Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants.
“The first India-Lebanon Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi today, co-chaired by Secretary (CPV&OIA), Ambassador @ranganathan_sr and Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Lebanon. The meeting reviewed the entire gamut of India-Lebanon bilateral relations and discussed ways to further strengthen it across political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars,” Jaiswal said in his post.
Both sides identified cooperation in trade and investment, digital public infrastructure, and pharmaceuticals as priority areas.
“They also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest,” Jaiswal added.
The consultations follow an official visit by Secretary Ranganathan to Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon from August 16 to 21.
During her visit to Lebanon on August 21, the Indian Embassy in Beirut shared details of her engagements.
The embassy said in a post on X that India’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Noor Rahman Sheikh, received Ranganathan upon her arrival in Beirut.
In another post, the embassy said, “Secretary CPV&OIA H.E. Amb. Sripriya Ranganathan met H.E. Amb. Abdel Sattar Issa, Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lebanon today. They reviewed the entire gamut of India-Lebanon bilateral relationship and exchanged views on further strengthening cooperation across areas of mutual interest. They also discussed the evolving situation in the region.”
The embassy further said that Ranganathan called on Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
“Amb. Sripriya Ranganathan called on H.E. Dr. Nawaf Salam, Prime Minister of Lebanon. They had fruitful discussions on India-Lebanon relations, building on the strong platform of bilateral cooperation. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments of mutual interest,” the embassy said in a post on X. (ANI)
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