NEW DELHI, 14 September (H.S.): External Affairs Minister Dr. S.

Jaishankar interacted with the leadership of International Organisations in

Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Turk,

and the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus during his visit to Geneva, Switzerland, from 12-13 September 2024.

He shared India’s approach to

multilateralism, our perspectives on the evolution of human rights, current

global human rights situation, and ways to address various challenges to the

human rights ecosystem. He also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in public

health and promote Traditional Medicine systems globally.

EAM dedicated the newly built

state-of-the-art Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, which houses our

Missions dealing with the UN and other International Organizations, Conference

on Disarmament, World Trade Organization, and the Consulate General of India.

EAM also dedicated a statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambekar at the Permanent Mission,

and named a hall in memory of Smt. Hansa Mehta, who played a key role in

promoting gender equality during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. He also planted a tree under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative.

Subsequently, EAM interacted with a

large gathering of the Indian Community and Friends of India at the Permanent

Mission. He highlighted rapid strides made by India and India’s vision of

engaging with the world.

EAM delivered a talk on Global

Tectonics: The Indian View of a World in Churn” at the Geneva Centre for

Security Policy (GCSP), which was attended by a cross section of people in

Geneva, including from the diplomatic community, academia, think tanks, student

community and the Indian diaspora.

In a special gesture, Swiss Foreign

Minister Mr. Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis hosted EAM in Geneva. The two

leaders held wide ranging discussions on bilateral ties, with special focus on

leveraging the Free Trade Agreement between India and EFTA States (Switzerland,

Norway, Iceland, and Principality of Liechtenstein) to boost trade and

investments. The leaders also discussed global and regional issues of mutual

interest.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Nimish kumar