Ministry of External Affairs has said that several issues came during the discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Addressing the media in New Delhi , External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that during the meeting, Prime Minister referred to India’s concerns and underlined that both sides should show sensitivity to each other’s core concerns. He added that the concerns should be be guided by the three mutuals which are mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity.
In reply to a question on the attack on the commercial vessel MT El Gaia off the coast of Oman, Mr Jaiswal said that targeting commercial shipping, seafarers, civilians, and civilian infrastructure in the region is unacceptable to India. He said, India also urges that free and safe navigation, as well as the flow of commerce through international waterways in the region, be restored at the earliest. He said, the attack on the vessel occurred off the coast of Oman involving a Panama-flagged vessel carrying 14 Indian national seafarers. He said, of them , 13 have been rescued and one Indian national, a seafarer who was on board the vessel, remains missing. Mr Jaiswal informed that search and rescue operations are continuing with the assistance of the Omani authorities, and Indian Embassy is in close contact with them.
When asked about announcing a reward of 70 lakh Pakistani rupee by Pakistan on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that such gimmicks and attempts at hoodwinking by Pakistan are not new as India has seen similar gimmicks in the past as well. Mr Jaiswal said that Pakistan must take concrete action rather than making announcements that are ultimately of no consequence.
