India, Eritrea hold third Foreign Office Consultations, review bilateral ties

Asmara, Dec 6 (IANS) India and Eritrea held the third round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in the Eritrean capital Asmara, where the two sides exchanged views on regional issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday.

The Indian side was led by M. Suresh Kumar, Joint Secretary (WANA), Ministry of External Affairs and the Eritrean side was led by Ambassador Estifanos Habtemariam Ghereyus, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the MEA, during the discussions on Friday, the delegations reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including political, economic, capacity building, health, education, renewable energy, culture and people-to-people ties.

“Emphasising the importance of human resource development through Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation and ICCR scholarships, both sides reiterated their commitment to further strengthen and deepen this partnership. Both sides looked forward to continuing these exchanges as well as regular meetings of institutional mechanisms,” the MEA stated.

During the visit, Suresh Kumar also called on Eritrea's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Osman Saleh Mohammad and Minister of Information, Yemane Gebremeskel.

Both sides agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at a mutually convenient date in New Delhi.

India formally recognised Eritrea soon after its de jure independence on May 24 1993 from Ethiopia. Over the years, India has provided capacity building assistance in several fields to Eritrea including legislative drafting, technical scholarships, agriculture, education, health, handicrafts, and also food aid.

Foreign Minister of Eritrea Osman Saleh Mohammed called on External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar earlier in June during his visit to India for medical treatment.

EAM Jaishankar emphasised deepening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in health, education, capacity building and trade and investment.