'Our Discussions Reflected Trust': EAM Jaishankar Meets French President Emmanuel Macron
Last Updated:
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met French President Macron and thanked him for France's support against terrorism.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met President Emmanuel Macron here and thanked him for France's strong message of support in the fight against terrorism.
Jaishankar is on a three-nation visit to Europe to boost bilateral ties and reaffirm India's policy of zero-tolerance against terrorism, especially in the wake of April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Honoured to call on President @EmmanuelMacron of France. Conveyed greetings of PM @narendramodi.Thanked him for France's strong message of support in the fight against terrorism.
Our discussions reflected the trust, comfort and ambition of our Strategic Partnership.
🇮🇳 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/4eeGwKjFP8
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 12, 2025
'Honoured to call on President @EmmanuelMacron of France. Conveyed greetings of PM @narendramodi. Thanked him for France's strong message of support in the fight against terrorism," Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting.
'Our discussions reflected the trust, comfort and ambition of our Strategic Partnership," he added.
Jaishankar was in Brussels on Wednesday where he met top European Union leaders and discussed ways to further strengthen the EU-India strategic partnership.
The April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives prompted India to carry out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.
First Published:
June 12, 2025, 14:49 IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
20 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Elusive global unity against terrorism
The 'Operation Sindoor' has shown us how deeply fragmented the fight against terror has become. There is a widely held conviction among all major powers that Pakistan is indeed harbouring terrorists and terror groups on its soil and using them as strategic assets against India, just as it had once used the earlier avatar of Taliban. They do not need more convincing. However, while there was widespread condemnation of the terror attack in Pahalgam, no country has called out Pakistan or even asked it to cooperate with apprehending the perpetrators. This is where facts diverge from reality. Before 'Operation Sindoor' was launched, all that the European Union (EU) did was to call the 'rising tensions between India and Pakistan' 'alarming' and advise India that 'escalation helps no one.' It was obvious that rather than taking a stand of zero tolerance to the menace, the EU continued to see terror attacks through a politically frosted glass – the frost that set in due to India's stand on the Ukraine war. The EU, which was peeved over India's abstentions on the UN votes on Ukraine, saw this as an opportunity to pay back in the same coin. However, what they have conveniently forgotten is that when China aggressed our borders in Galwan, all the European Council President could say in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was: 'The relationship between the EU and China is complex. We need to tackle different issues and support all the efforts to maintain a channel of dialogue to find peaceful solutions.' Thank you, EU, for this candid admission.. In fact, when an important member of the EU called India in February 2021 to express its indignation at India's stand in the UN Security Council on the Ukraine vote, India asked them politely to send us a copy of their statement issued when the Galwan clashes happened. There was silence at the other end, since it had issued none. Sometimes it is easy for the EU to forget that international relations did not start with the Ukraine war. The United States have, however, been more forthright on terrorism, though all their actions have to meet the touchstone of domestic acclaim in the US. President Donald Trump's administration has jettisoned the narrow internal focus of Joe Biden's administration on REMVE, or racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism. The recent post of FBI Director Kash Patel on X, calling out a 'Pakistani citizen' being extradited to the US for 'support to ISIS and attempting to commit acts of terrorism', signalled a robust anti-terror policy. The extradition of 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Rana from the US to India is a welcome development. However, the US has also found a sudden bonhomie with Pakistan, calling them 'a phenomenal partner' in combating terror. Consequently, while pursuing zero tolerance to terror, the US does not discriminate between whom it is willing to work with as long as its ends are met. This explains its embrace of former Al-Qaeda leader and current President of Syria, Al Shaara, and a separate deal with the Houthis for stopping attacks on American shipping. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on the other hand, are now focusing narrowly on terror since the main ambition of most of its members, especially of the Gulf countries, is to break the shackles of their history of support to Islamic radicalism, spawning terrorists and terror groups around the world. Their desire for regional stability and integration with the 'outside' world has made them lukewarm to the Palestine issue and developments in Gaza, the West Bank and the Middle East. India should not expect much from them vis-a-vis Pakistan's terrorist misadventures either. The Saudi minister's shuttle diplomacy immediately after the Pahalgam attack was similar to the one it undertook after the Pulwama attack, ironically by the same minister, and yielded the same results – nothing. The litmus test will come next month when Pakistan takes over the presidency of the UN Security Council. We will see how the OIC countries in the Council – and there are five of them – treat the issue of terrorism and whether they will use Islamophobia to dilute the fight against terror. How the US and the UK react will be the other litmus test. the fight against terror in Africa has been orphaned. The Global Terrorism Index 2025 points out that the Sahel is now the epicentre of terrorism, accounting for over half of all terrorism deaths in the world. But the outside world has no time since it is not affecting them directly. It is a dismal commentary on our collective fight against terror. The inference is simple and, of course, has been self-evident for a long time. Each state will react as per its own geopolitical and other compulsions, especially when it affects it directly. This was how it was before 9/11 happened – the era of 'your terrorist' and 'my terrorist'. That era is returning. The fragmentation of this fight against terror is worse than ever before. In this scenario, Pakistan is not going to stop with the Pahalgam attack unless it knows that the price it will have to pay for sponsoring terrorism will be unacceptably high. It should be India's endeavour to ensure that this happens, if Pakistan is to be deterred. That is why it is even more necessary now for India to take the lead and sustain the high level of engagement to put forward our narrative and call out those responsible. This engagement should also extend to our neighbours. If sending multi-party delegations to neighbours proves to be sensitive, the foreign secretary can visit our neighbours, who are equally susceptible to being influenced by the Pakistani narrative, with Islamic radicals raising their heads again in some neighbouring countries. This will adversely impact our 'Neighbourhood First' policy. (The writer is a former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN in New York. He chaired the UN Security Council's Counter-terrorism Committee.)
Mint
29 minutes ago
- Mint
India in anti-dumping crosshairs: US, Pakistan target Indian exports at WTO
New Delhi: The US, Brazil and Pakistan have initiated anti-dumping measures against India, which has been fighting its own battle against low-priced products flooding domestic markets. Trade experts suggest some of these measures may be strategic, signalling a growing wave of trade defense actions against India and aimed at influencing New Delhi's trade negotiations with key partners. Pakistan's anti-dumping charges against India are particularly baffling, as the two duelling neighbours have banned any trade between them. Yet, Pakistan has initiated an anti-dumping investigation against India over exports of sulfonic acid, which is used in manufacturing detergents, dyes, and catalysts, according to a World Trade Organization report released late on Thursday (12 June). The WTO document details preliminary and final anti-dumping measures undertaken by 11 members of the trade body, including major economies such as the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the UK, against various countries. The report is based on notices submitted in May under Article 16.4 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement. 'Such measures reflect the growing wave of trade protectionism aimed at shielding domestic industries," said Abhash Kumar, a trade economist and assistant professor of economics at Delhi University, referring to the anti-dumping charges against India. 'The repeated targeting of Indian products highlights the need for India to adopt a more proactive trade defense strategy." The commerce ministry didn't immediately reply to Mint's queries on the development. Amid India-US trade talks India and the US concluded a fifth round of face-to-face talks on 10 June on streamlining tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers towards finalising a landmark bilateral trade agreement. But New Delhi also approached the WTO over the US's steep tariffs on Indian steel, aluminium and auto component exports. Washington has rejected India's notices at the WTO against the US's 25% tariff on steel and aluminium—both of which have since been increased to 50%—as well as the 25% duty on auto components. However, as per a Mint report on 10 June, the US has agreed to discuss both issues with India outside the WTO framework. Amidst this, the US has initiated a broad set of investigations into Indian exports across critical sectors, according to the WTO report. These include ceramic tiles, cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel, and corrosion-resistant steel products, which are central to India's manufacturing and infrastructure export strategy. Also read | US puts hard terms on table, presents a take-it-or-leave-it offer India's total exports of ceramic products to the US stood at $403.87 million in 2023-24, but declined to $361.44 million in FY25, according to commerce ministry data. In the chemical sector, Indian-origin epoxy resins, glycine, melamine, and granular polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resins are facing trade restrictions. The US has also listed Indian exports of 2,4-D herbicide and raw honey under anti-dumping scrutiny, pointing to growing tensions over India's role in global agricultural commodity markets. Exports of Indian-origin resins to the US increased from $358.07 million in FY24 to $448.73 million in FY25, while India's honey exports to the US jumped from $176.29 million to $204.58 million. Pakistan's puzzling charges India's challenges are not limited to Washington. Brazil has named India in an investigation into pre-painted steel, raising concerns over competitive steel pricing from South Asia. Pakistan, meanwhile, has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into sulphonic acid imports from six countries, including India. This development is particularly puzzling given that India banned exports to Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in 2019, and Pakistan banned all trade with India in August 2019 following India's decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. With direct imports from India into Pakistan prohibited for nearly six years, analysts suggest that Islamabad's investigation may be aimed at Indian-origin sulphonic acid entering Pakistan through third countries such as the UAE, Singapore, or Malaysia. Also read | After US's 50% tariff blow, India now faces EU heat on steel quotas 'These shipments may have been relabelled to hide their Indian origin, raising concerns within Pakistan's domestic industry. It's also possible that the investigation is based on the injury caused by imports that took place before the trade ban came into effect," said Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, a think tank. 'Alternatively, the move could be strategic, aimed at formally challenging India's pricing practices and laying the groundwork for future trade negotiations," he added. India's anti-dumping woes India's trade investigation body, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), has initiated 11 anti-dumping investigations and issued final findings in 13 cases—mostly targeting Chinese products—in FY25. In the past, India had launched an anti‑dumping probe on high‑speed steel imports from Brazil in 2018. In January this year, the DGTR launched anti-dumping investigations into imports of nylon filament yarn and sulphenamides accelerators originating from the US. 'As anti-dumping actions rise globally, including from key partners like the US, India will use both its legal rights at the WTO and the ongoing BTA negotiations to defend its exporters, push for fairer trade rules, and address protectionist barriers," a government official said. However, India did not file any new cases during the May reporting period.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Jaishankar holds talks with Israeli and Iranian counterparts amid escalating tensions in West Asia
Jaishankar informed about his phone calls with the respective leaders on X. India's continued engagement with both parties highlights its commitment to staying informed and encouraging de-escalation read more External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has talked to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts amid the escalating tensions in West Asia. The minister held separate phone calls with the two ministers shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jaishankar informed about his phone calls with the respective leaders on X. India's continued engagement with both parties highlights its commitment to staying informed and encouraging de-escalation, reflecting a broader diplomatic approach centred on balancing regional interests while urging moderation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Refresh for updates
