New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) As 2010 drew to a close, the external affairs ministry Friday hailed it as ‘a landmark year in Indian diplomacy’ that saw India hosting 24 visiting leaders, including all permanent members of the UN Security Council, and 30 foreign minister-level visitors.
‘2010 was an eventful year for Indian diplomacy, which witnessed a qualitative expansion of strategic relations with key partner countries and a robust engagement with India’s neighbours,’ the ministry said in a statement here.
Besides 24 foreign leaders visiting the country, President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh respectively visited 5, 6 and 11 countries for various multilateral/bilateral engagements.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna visited 18 countries, in which most of India’s diplomatic engagements naturally focused on the neighbourhood, the ministry said. Krishna visits included Kathmandu, Beijing, Thimphu, Tehran, Islamabad, Kabul, Yangon and Colombo.
The ministry made special mention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani at Thimphu in April, during which the two sides expressed their resolve to make sincere efforts to reduce the trust deficit and to resolve outstanding bilateral issues through dialogue.
There was, however, no mention of the failed talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries July 25, indicating possibility of fresh efforts to revive diplomatic engagement with Islamabad in the coming year.
