EAM S Jaishankar pull-aside with Mike Pompeo likely in Thailand on sidelines of East Asia Summit

New Delhi: Minister of External Affairs (EAM) S Jaishankar is likely to have a pull-aside with US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on the sidelines of 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers meet in Bangkok, Thailand. Jaishankar will be in Bangkok from August 1-2 and also participate in ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, 26th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Ministerial Meeting.

Jaishankar-Pompeo pull-aside will be the first high-level engagement between the US and Indian side since remarks by US President Donald Trump on Kashmir. It is to be noted that Trump had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked for his mediation during their bilateral on the sidelines of G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

However, this was dismissed by India and EAM Jaishankar had said in Parliament all bilateral issues between India and Pakistan are governed by Shimla and Lahore agreements under which no third party mediation will be allowed.

During the two-day visit, EAM will "enumerate India’s Indo-Pacific vision, which was elaborated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore on June 2018", said a ministry of external affairs release.

The EAM will also meet the new British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, the British envoy to India Dominic Asquith confirmed. He is expected to meet foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Tilak Marapana. A total of 13 foreign ministers will be in Bangkok for the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers meet.