Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon friends. Today, I have an announcement to make regarding the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister of India. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is scheduled to visit Brunei Darussalam during 3rd and 4th September 2024. This will be the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. The visit coincides with 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei.

From Brunei, Prime Minister will thereafter visit Singapore on 4th and 5th September 2024 at the invitation of Prime Minister His Excellency Mr. Lawrence Wong of Singapore. During the visit, there are several elements of the programme which you will see in the Press release that we will do shortly after this Presser. As also we will be scheduling a pre-visit briefing by Secretary on this upcoming visit of the Prime Minister.

So that was the announcement for me to make. Now I open the floor for questions.

Speaker: Sir, aapne dekha hoga Pakistan ne Wagah border par Hurriyat neta Syed Ali Shah Geelani ki photo lagai hai us taraf. Isko lekar BSF ne objection raise kiya hai. Toh kya diplomatically bhi is mudde ko uthaya gaya hai? Dusra Pakistan ne kal hi bola hai ki SCO Summit ke liye Pradhan Mantri Modi ko invite kiya gaya hai, kya woh inviation aapko mil chuka hai? Agar mil chuka hai, toh response aapka kya hai?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, you must have seen that a photo of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been placed by Pakistan on the other side of the Wagah border. The BSF has raised an objection to this. Has this issue been raised diplomatically as well? Secondly, Pakistan said yesterday that Prime Minister Modi has been invited to the SCO Summit. Have you received the invitation? And if yes, what is your response?

Sidhant:Hi Sir, Sidhant from WION. Sir, we saw the conversation between Prime Minister Modi and the US President Biden; but we also saw discrepancies in the readout, in terms of a different readout, absence of certain topics in their readout. So if you can just talk about that.

Abhishek:Hi Sir, Abhishek Jha, I'm a freelancer now. So my question is regarding this recent repost emerging from Bangladesh where it has been reported by several institutions backed by government also, that Indian agencies and Indian government's actions had flooded part of Bangladesh and there are apparently some dams which were opened, the gates of dams were opened. That resulted in those flooding situations. Do you have anything to say on that, whether it was deliberate or something natural happened in that?

Mohammad Ghazali:Sir, day before yesterday, the Jamaat-e-Islami Chief in Bangladesh has spoken to the media and said that he is open to…or the Party is open to improve ties with India. So knowing it that the Party is accused of fomenting anti-India sentiments there, what does the Indian government's stand over it?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:So let me first take these questions and then I'll come back to you. First of all, regarding the invitation for SCO, yes we have received an invitation from Pakistan for the Council of Heads of State/ Government meeting that is to happen. We don't have an update on that for you. We will let you know what the situation is, later. The other question which you asked about involving BSF etc, I have not seen the report. So, let me come back to you on this particular matter.

Sidhant, regarding your question, yes we have seen that there have been some comments in that regard, regarding your question. Let me tell you, these claims are uninformed, tendentious and motivated and betray a total lack of familiarity with the process of how such contacts between leaders are organized and then followed upon. Firstly, press releases issued after conversations between leaders are not like Joint Statements where every word is negotiated and mutually agreed upon. Secondly, such press releases are not meant to be comprehensive readouts of such conversations. And finally, it is not unusual for two sides to emphasize different aspects of the same conversation in their respective readouts. The absence of an aspect of one press release or the other is not evidence of its absence in the conversation itself. I am very much aware of the contents of the conversation between the Prime Minister and the President of the United States and I can tell you that our press release is an accurate and faithful record of what transpired in the conversation. The subject of Bangladesh which has been highlighted, as you pointed out, by certain quarters was very much discussed substantially by both the leaders.

Abhishek regarding your question, regarding some international reports on the flood situation in Bangladesh; let me tell you, we have seen the CNN report on the flood situation in Bangladesh. Its narrative is misleading and suggests that India is somehow responsible for the floods. It is factually not correct and ignores the facts mentioned in the press r eleases issued by the Government of India clarifying the situation. They also have ignored that we have regular and timely exchange of data and critical information between the two countries through existing joint mechanisms for water resources management.

Ghazali, to your question, our present engagement with Bangladesh, you would have seen reports about our High Commissioner calling on, making an introductory call on the Chief Advisor. This happened some days back where he discussed several aspects of our relationship. He also talked about that India would like to continue to work with Bangladesh to fulfill the shared aspirations of people of both countries for prosperity, security and development. High Commissioner had conveyed that our commitment to taking forward the relationship in accordance with our respective national priorities. He stressed on this fact. They also discussed other issues, including safety of Hindus and minorities there. High Commissioner also informed Chief Advisor that the flooding in eastern Bangladesh was caused due to excessive rain. There are other aspects that you have highlighted. We have taken note of that and hopefully we will have more engagement on such issues later.

Rishabh:Sir, good evening, Rishabh from Times Now. Sir, as per the reports from Bangladesh and statement from the Bangladesh Home Office Advisor, the diplomatic passports of Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister, and all members of her Cabinet as well as MPs have been now disqualified. So as per Passport Rules, she can still stay in India for 45 days, out of which over 3-4 weeks are gone. So what's our stand on that and what's the further course of action given that there are increasing calls for her deportation to Bangladesh by the present day government?

Vineeta:My name is Vineeta. I work for the Asian Age Deccan Chronicle. Just adding to his question, has the MEA received a formal request for her deportation, deportation of Sheikh Hasina?

Huma:Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. The Brazilian Foreign Minister was here. So I just want to ask if the topic of those hundred Indians stuck at Sao Paulo airport was taken up with them and what action is India taking that such an event doesn't happen. Also just a supplement to that itself, what has happened to the Indians who were stopped in Jamaica, because they were similarly there in Jamaica without the documents?

Ayushi: Sir, this is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. My question is related to Afghanistan, today our External Affair Minister also spoke about the strong relation, people to people relation. My question is related to the recent development where the new laws published by Taliban stating that women voices should not be heard in public places. How does New Delhi see such development?

Raghavendra: This is Raghavendra Verma from ZDF, German Television. It's regarding Indo-German relations, the immigration of Indian workforce to Germany has been becoming part of the Germany's economic cooperation agenda. There are several institutions, with the help of the German government, they have been training, imparting skills which are useful in Germany, and in short supply. What is the Indian government's view on that? Does it promote it? Has any reservation? And also if you can summarize the present state of relations between the two countries both in economic and political sphere.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:So, first Rishabh to your question, see we have stated this earlier that the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh came to India at a very short notice for safety reasons. We have nothing further to add on that matter. Also to answering your question, I think what you are asking lies in the realm of hypothetical issues. So that is where we are on the issue that you raised.

Huma, Brazilian Foreign Minister was here. You have followed the meeting. He was here for the Joint Commission meeting which was chaired by the Brazilian Foreign Minister and External Affairs Minister. It was an occasion for them to discuss the entire issues that fall in the domain of bilateral ties and also global ties that we have with Brazil, including their upcoming Presidency of the G20 Summit meeting that is going to take place. We are part of the Troika with them. It was also an occasion for us to discuss IBSA, BRICS and other partnerships and what all things that we are doing together in the United Nations. As far as the issue of Indians stranded in the international airport in Sao Paulo is concerned, yes we are aware. I think the figures are not what you have said. There are several Indians and we also have a Consulate in Sao Paulo. The Consulate in Sao Paulo is in touch with the Foreign Office representative in the city. They have also sought a meeting with local authorities and ascertaining more details. Let me tell you that contrary to what was reported in some medium, the Indians who are there at the airport, they are being taken care of in terms of food, nourishment etc. We will have more updates on them later and I shall update you on that.

Regarding the question about Indians who were sent back from Jamaica, they went from Dubai. From Jamaica, they all were sent back to Dubai. We have a large number of Indians who reside in the Middle East including Dubai.

Ayushi to your question, our position on such issues is well known to you. We have said so on several occasions.

Raghavendra, India-Germany ties, well this is a very special relationship. We have a Strategic Partnership with Germany. We have expansive economic ties with Germany which has trade, investment, technology. We have large number of Indian students who are choosing Germany for education purposes and many of the Indian students, or majority of them go there for Masters and Doctoral pursuits, mostly focused on science and technology. A lot of Indian professionals are also working now in Germany and we have seen this trend in the last several years that it has gone up. Today, I think Indian students in Germany form the largest cohort of international students in that country. Recently, we also signed, in 2022, a Mobility Partnership Agreement with Germany. After that, we have seen an uptick in our relationship, our people-to-people ties. So, it is something that we welcome and we want this partnership to grow. We want the mobility partnership to be facilitating our people-to-people exchanges, our business partnerships, our economic partnerships. I would also like to tell you that Germany and India, together we are doing several things on skilling, on vocational education. German companies here are very active on that and there are several complementarities which bring us together and we hope that this Mobility Partnership and the Strategic Partnership that we have will continue to enhance and deepen our engagement with Germany.

Yeshi Seli: This is Yeshi Seli from The New Indian Express. I would like to know, you know there are many projects, bilateral projects between India and Bangladesh. What is the status of all of them? A lot of people had come from Bangladesh back into India, have they gone back. And was the Indian High Commission and the Additional High Commissions in Bangladesh (inaudible) were they given extra enhanced security when the turmoil was at its peak, there are reports which said that the Army had pitched in to protect them, if you could elaborate.

Suhasini Haidar: This is Suhasini Haidar from the Hindu. Since the statement was made after Prime Minister Modi left Kyiv and this is the first briefing since then, I wanted to clarify India's position. At a press meeting in Kyiv last Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four things. He said that India must end its oil imports from Russia now, that India cannot host a Summit for the peace, the second Summit in November, if it did not sign on to the declaration for the first, that if India wants to end the war, it must change its attitude towards Russia and that four, that India should coordinate its votes at the UN with Ukraine before abstaining and Ukraine is not happy with this. I'd like your response to those statements made by Mr. Zelenskyy and whether India is now considering a change in its policies on all these four issues.

And just one follow up, if I may, on the question on the SCO, given that no Indian Minister has travelled to Pakistan for the SAARC Summit since 2016, will India participate in the Heads of Government Meeting of the SCO in Pakistan at all?

Sudhi Ranjan:Sir Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg Sir. Adding on to Suhasini's question, Sir, can you or deny whether President Zelenskyy has asked, whether President Zelenskyy had, during his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, offered the - or proposed that India hold the next Peace Summit? And if so, what is India's stand on it, will it go ahead with it?

Manish Chand:Manish Chand, India Writes Network. Sir, there is speculation about a potential Quad Summit on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York in September. Is that true? Are we working towards that? And number two, the interim Government in Bangladesh lifted the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, which is known for its vociferous anti-India rhetoric and all that. What is your sense? Has anti-India activity lessened? And what is your reaction to the withdrawal of the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami? Thank you.

Padma Rao:Padma Rao, Freelance Foreign Correspondent, Sir. India's National Security Advisor, Mr. Doval, called on the Sri Lankan President this morning and he discussed economic collaboration and there was also a Colombo Security Conclave on. We have very few details, Sir, if you could elaborate on what took place at the Security Conclave, especially in light of the fact that elections are due in Sri Lanka. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Okay. So, let me take, we have got five here lined up. Yeshi, regarding bilateral projects…yes, because of the turmoil in Bangladesh, our projects have been impacted. Let me tell you that our development cooperation activities with Bangladesh are aimed at the welfare of the people of Bangladesh. You would have seen that the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech as well had stated that India will always be a well-wisher of Bangladesh in its development journey. Work on some of the projects that I told you has stalled, has been affected because of the law and order situation there. Once the situation stabilizes, normalcy is restored, then we will talk to, we will engage in consultations with the interim Government about our development initiatives and then see how best to take those forward and what sort of understanding we can reach on them.

The other thing regarding security, yes, security during the turmoil you saw, it was a problem not just for us but for everybody. You saw what happened to the Indian Cultural Centre, it was in news all over. Yes, the Bangladesh authorities, they tried their best for our security and hopefully we also had people who came back. They had to…the essential, non-essential staff had to come back, some of the family members had to come back for the reasons of the turmoil. Hopefully normalcy returns soon that we can begin to, begin our engagement in the right earnest.

Suhasini, regarding your question on issues raised in his remarks to the media, look, our point of view is that the Ukrainian side, they have their perspective on various issues and matters and they are sharing them with the media. As far as we are concerned, we will be guided by the bilateral discussions that we have had with them including on this high level visit that just concluded, which we believe will pave the way for stronger bilateral ties apart from facilitating more forward-looking discussions on the possibility of peaceful resolution of the conflict. As far as SCO is concerned, I informed you that, yes, we have received the invitation for attending the Heads of Government Summit of SCO from Pakistan, which will be hosted by Pakistan. And on that, as and when we have an update, we will share them with you.

On the question of, Sudhi, your question about peace talks or Peace Summit that you - look, our point here is we have always advocated constructive, solution-oriented and practical engagement with all stakeholders to achieve a negotiated settlement to this conflict. This is evident in our approach, in our outreach to both Russia and Ukraine at the highest level. PM has already indicated India's willingness to play a constructive role in the interest of peace. However, it is too early to comment on specific modalities and pathways at this stage. The decision to when and how to commence peace talks is the prerogative of the two parties to the conflict. As friends and partners, we would support any feasible and mutually acceptable solution or format that could restore peace. So that is our stand on the question that you raised.

Manish, regarding Quad Summit, I don't have an update for you. We have said this before on such matters, such visits, such important meetings…as and when we have an update, we inform you. So we will inform you at the appropriate time. Regarding the other issue that you asked about Bangladesh, we see it as an internal issue of Bangladesh.

Padma, you are asking a question on which meetings are going on, the Colombo Security Conclave is on, even as we speak. By evening perhaps we will have an update on it, we will have a readout which will help you to understand all that has transpired in the meetings and where we are on this particular aspect.

Gautam Lahiri: Hi, actually the first question, I am coming back to Bangladesh flood situation, but when the High Commissioner met the Chief Advisor, after that the Chief Advisor's office issued a statement saying Chief Advisor has proposed a new mechanism for controlling flood or data sharing, whatever. A new mechanism is the line of what (inaudible) has. And second is more question that actually the recent, you know the people who went to the (inaudible) visa Center, their grievances that India is not issuing visas, do you think that any time frame or can they expect that you will be issuing visas from Bangladesh?

Shalu Yadav: Hello Sir, I am Shalu from DW Germany, pardon me I am repeating the question that has been asked by my colleagues, but just seeking some clarity on Sheikh Hasina's future. Could you or deny if there has been any formal request by the Bangladeshi Government, the interim Government for her extradition and if in case of that eventuality, how would India respond?

Sapna: Sir, Sapna from Sadhana Group. Sir mera sawal ye hain ki abhi kuch din pahle Finance Minister or Videsh Mantri aur kai Mantri Commerce Minister bhi Singapore gaye the, aur ab Pradhan Mantri ji ka daura hain Singapore mei. Toh wahan par economic collaboration ko lekar baat hui thi, aage usi ke baare mei aur baat ki jayegi ya phir aur kin muddon pe batchit hogi iske baare mei agar aap aur explain kar sake?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, this is Sapna from Sadhana Group. My question is that a few days ago, the Finance Minister, the Foreign Minister, and several other Ministers, including the Commerce Minister, went to Singapore, and now the Prime Minister is also planning a visit to Singapore. There were discussions regarding economic collaboration there. Will there be further discussions on the same topic, or will there be talks on other issues as well? Could you please elaborate on this?

Manish Jha: Sir main Manish Jha hoon TV9 Bharatvarsh se. Pradhan Mantri bhi bar-bar ye keh chuke hain jab woh Kyiv gaye the ki main yahan shanti ka sandesh le kar aaya hoon. Abhi bhi aapke statement mei woh baat jhalak bhi rahi hain ki mutually acceptable solution Bharat chahta hain as a friend and partner. Toh jab hum dekhte hain ki Pradhan Mantri pahle Russia gaye, phir Ukraine gaye, phir President Biden se baat kar rahe hain, phir Putin ko brief kar rahe hain, toh kya hum officially ye keh sakte hain ki India mediation kar raha hain, Russian aur Ukraine ki war ko khatam karane mei?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Manish Jha from TV9 Bharatvarsh. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said, even when he went to Kyiv, that he has come with a message of peace. Even in your statement, it is evident that India wants a mutually acceptable solution, as a friend and partner. So, when we see that the Prime Minister first went to Russia, then to Ukraine, then spoke with President Biden, and then briefed Putin, can we officially say that India is mediating to end the war between Russia and Ukraine?

Abhishek Jha: Hi Sir Abhishek again. Sir, I have a question regarding US Ambassador Eric Garcetti. There have been media reports in the USA that the investigation have alleged that Eric Garcetti had ignored complaints of sexual misconduct by one of his close colleagues in the past. And probably that was one of the reasons why the position in India was vacant for two years. And there are also reports that he has probably lied under oath. Are you aware of these reports and do you have anything to say on that?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Gautam ji, on your question, see, on water sharing, on water resources, management, flood management, etc. There are established procedures between India and Bangladesh, and for several years now. We have 54 rivers that we share and this mechanism and institutional mechanisms that we have, has been in existence for quite some time. As part of the established procedure, we have been exchanging data on timely and regular basis with Bangladesh. On the question of flood in eastern Bangladesh and floods in Tripura, you would have seen that we had released two press releases giving the factual position as to why they have happened. Flooding in eastern Tripura and eastern Bangladesh happened essentially because of incessant and excessive rain, and thereafter we have explained in the two press releases exactly what was the situation. So, you know, these mechanisms to help both countries deal with flood issues and water management issues are there and if there are any new mechanisms that can help further in controlling or helping the sufferings of the people or helping deal with its natural disasters, I think this is something that our teams or this is a matter that we can take forward with Bangladesh.

On the issue of visa, we are issuing visas in a limited manner for medical and emergency purposes. Once the situation becomes normal, law and order is restored, then we will begin our full-fledged operations of visa. So, that is where we are on the visa issue.

On your question from our friend from DW, you know, this particular question I had answered when we had the last Presser also on 16th of August. What you are actually asking is something which in our understanding lies in the domain of hypothetical sphere. In fact, it is not our practice to answer hypothetical questions. So, I will keep it at that.

On the Singapore visit Sapna, hum logon ne ek press vigyapti bhi jari kiya tha. Hamare char Mantri bhi wahan gaye the, jo dusra Roundtable tha India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, pehla Roundtable 2022 mei hua, abhi dusra Roundtable 2024 mei abhi kuch din pahle hua. Char Mantri hamare yahan se gaye, Vitya Mantri madam Nirmala Sitharaman, hamare Videsh Mantri, Vanijya Mantri Piyush Goyal sahab aur hamare Railway aur Information Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology ke jo Mantri hain Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw ye bhi Singapore gaye, charon log wahan gaye. Vistar mei batchit hui unke sath. Singapore aur Bharat ke rishtey jo hain woh bahot gehre hain, khas kar jahan tak trade ka sawal ho, arthik mamlon ka sawal ho, technology ka sawal ho, digitalization ka sawal ko, aur inki baatain char areas par hui, digitalization, skills development, jis par hamare yahan kafi aajkal focus hain, sustainability pe, healthcare pe, medicine pe. Aur iske alawa ye bhi tay kiya gaya ki 2 naye kshtra mei hum log jo hamara Ministerial Roundtable hain, ismai hum 2 naye kshtraon ko layenge aur woh 2 naye kshetra hain, ek advanced manufacturing aur dusra connectivity. Toh ye 2 naye pillers ko joda gaya hain. Toh ye raha mota-mota jo Singapore ke sath hamari batchit hui, aur isse hamare…is jo Ministerial Roundtable hua hain isse hamare rishtey gehre hue hain, majboot hue hain aur abhi Bharat ke Pradhan Mantri ka wahan daura hain, is daure mei bhi jo ye batchit hue, usse miljul kar aage kya kar sakte hain, kaise hum apne rishton ko aur behtar kar sakte hain, is par batchit hogi.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] On the Singapore visit, Sapna, we had also issued a press release. Four of our Ministers went there for the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable; the first Roundtable was held in 2022, and the second roundtable just took place a few days ago in 2024. Four ministers from our side went: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and our Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics, and Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, also went to Singapore. Extensive discussions were held there. The relationship between Singapore and India is very deep, especially concerning trade, economic matters, technology, and digitalization. Discussions were held on four areas: digitalization, skills development (which we are currently focusing on), sustainability, healthcare, and medicine. It was also decided to introduce two new areas into our Roundtable: advanced manufacturing and connectivity. These two new pillars have been added. So, broadly speaking, this is the dialogue we had with Singapore, and this Ministerial Roundtable has deepened and strengthened our relationship. During the upcoming visit of India's Prime Minister to Singapore, discussions will focus on how we can further enhance our relationship, building on the talks that have already taken place.

Manish, jab Ukraine mei hamare Pradhan Mantri wahan gaye, uske baad hum logon ne…unhone jo kahan woh public mei bhi available hain, usmei aapne dekha hoga ki kin binduon par unhone apni baat rakhi aur kin chizon par unhone emphasize kiy. Aur usmei unhone bada saaf kaha hain ki Bharat ek dost ke naate, Ukraine ke dost ke naate, agar koi sakriya bhumika nibha sakta hain, yogdan de sakta hain shanti ke liye, toh uske liye taiyar hain. Toh yahi hamari baat, toh hamare Pradhan Mantri ne apne vaktavya mei jo baat kahin, usko main dohrana chahunga aapke liye.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Manish, when our Prime Minister went to Ukraine, the statements he made there are available publicly. You must have seen the points on which he expressed his views and the aspects he emphasized. He clearly stated that as a friend of Ukraine, if India can play an active role or contribute in any way to peace, then India is ready for that. That is our stance. I would like to reiterate the points made by our Prime Minister in his statement for you.

Abhishek, I think this is a question that you must take to the American side, to the U.S. Embassy. They would be in a better position to answer your question.

Jaiprakash Ranjan:Sir main Jaiprakash hoon Dainik Jagran se. Mera Bangladesh ko lekar sawal hain ki abhi aapne bataya ki hamare project wahan par disturb hue hain, toh hamari jo Friendship Pipeline Project hain, aur jo power supply hain uspar ka impact hain?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Jaiprakash from Dainik Jagran. My question is about Bangladesh. You mentioned that our projects there have been disturbed. So, has there been any impact on our Friendship Pipeline Project and the power supply?

Huma Siddiqui: Sir I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. I just want to know, since the last two, three years, the CII is holding a Summit with Africa. When is the India-Africa Summit actually going to happen? Because what CII does is industry based.

Kallol Bhattacharjee:Sir Kallol Bhattacharjee from the Hindu. In the backdrop of the floods in Bangladesh, lots of countries like China, the Gulf countries are rushing assistance and financial aid to Bangladesh. I wanted to know India which has a history of helping countries that are hit by natural disasters, be it Turkey or Nepal. Why hasn't India reached out so far? Has there been a dialogue between India and Bangladesh on this matter so far in the last one week?

Divya:Sir Divya from Indian Express. We see that Kerala Chief Minister has again written to the External Affairs Minister on the issue of Indians stuck in the Russian army. He has named four people and also given their location. What is the movement and status on that?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Jaiprakash ji, jo hamare wahan par development projects chal rahe hain Bangladesh mein, jo wahan par abhi stithi hain uske karan woh stagit ho gaye, kyuki kuch log jo wahan the bahot sare development project mei kaam kar rahe the, unko wapas aana pada. Aur kai ek aur karanon se ye ruk gaye hain. Toh ek baar jab sthiti behtar hogi, wahan par jab kanoon vyvastha bahal hoga, phir dekhenge ki unki sarkar se baat karke, ki isko kaise phir se aage le jaye. Toh ye hain jo sthiti abhi hain. Main sabhi project ke baare mei baat kar raha hoon, ki jo projects hain abhi wahan jo halat hain uske karan jo badlav aaya hain, jo kanoon vyvastha wahan bigad gayi thi uske karan uspe sab par asar pada hain. Ek baar sthiti niyantran mei aa jayega uske baad hum log dekhenge inko behtar kar sakte hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Jaiprakash ji, our development projects in Bangladesh have been temporarily halted due to the current situation there, as many people working on various development projects there had to return. Due to several reasons, these projects have been paused. Once the situation improves and law and order are restored, we will discuss with their Government how to proceed further. This is the current situation. I am talking about all the projects; the current circumstances and the disruption of law and order have impacted all of them. Once the situation is under control, we will see how we can improve and move forward.

Huma, we recently had the CII India-Africa Summit. This is a very important business platform for our engagement with Africa. This was the 19th meeting. With Africa, we have a very special and very historic partnership. This particular conclave, which was held a few days back, was inaugurated by Honorable Vice President and we also had participation of six Vice Presidents from different countries in Africa. Let me list out which all countries were there. We had Vice Presidents from six countries - Burundi, Guinea Equatorial, Gambia, Liberia, Mauritius and Zimbabwe. In addition, we also had 40 Ministerial participations from Africa. In all, there were 65 countries - India, all the African countries. In addition, we also had several other countries who participated in this Business Conclave. Some 1,200 delegates were there. It was a big exercise and over the years, such business engagements have been strengthening and deepening our ties with Africa.

On the question of India-Africa Forum Summit, we have had some conversations on this particular front with African Union, including very recently. So far, we do not have an update for you as to when we will have this Summit, but we are in talks with the African Union to see when we can schedule it.

Kallol, to your question, I said that our High Commissioner there is in touch with the local Government and he also had a meeting chance to call on the Chief Advisor where they discussed all issues of interest. So that is where I will leave my answer.

Divya, Russian army, we have an update. As of today, we have 15 Indians who have been released and they have returned to India. There are others who are waiting for discharge. Our Mission, our Embassy is in touch with the Russian authorities, both on the foreign office side, the defence side, and we hope that those who want to return back to India will be released soon.

Ajay Banerjee:Ajay Banerjee from the Tribune. Sir, do we understand that we will allow Ukraine and Russia to have bilateral decision on the peace process or will we intervene or make an intervention? What would be the level when we arrive at the benchmark of making an intervention?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Ajay, on the question of the conflict, the Prime Minister when he went to Ukraine, he spoke about our approach. That approach is available in the public domain. After our discussions, our External Affairs Minister had a press conference there where he explained our position. Again, today I have repeated what is our position on this particular conflict. So I would urge you to please refer to all that we have said on this, there is nothing new to add and in fact answering several questions, I had highlighted our approach; that is where it remains.

So if we don't have any more questions, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We will have a special briefing on the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister to Brunei and Singapore. Please do join us, this should happen on Monday. Thank you very much. Enjoy and have a good weekend.