Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik today met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and discussed the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Foreign Secretaries of the two countries on the sidelines of the SAARC ministerial meeting in Colombo this week.
Undeterred by last week's attack, India on Saturday declared that it will continue its developmental activities in Afghanistan without scaling down presence even as it suspended operations of its medical mission in Kabul hit by injuries to most of its members.
A team of Indian investigators is in Kabul, joining a probe being conducted by Afghan authorities into last Friday's terror attack in which Indians associated with reconstruction works were targeted.
Menon will undertake a two-day visit from April 30 during which he will hold talks with US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns on the 123 agreement amid indications that Washington was 'frustrated' at the speed of the negotiations.
Nepal on Friday sought India's co-operation in moving the peace process forward, giving indications ahead of Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon's visit that it was looking forward to closer bilateral ties.
India and China plan to resume the next round of talks to resolve differences over demarcation of borders and conduct joint military exercises so as to boost bilateral ties, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon held special briefing sessions in groups for the envoys of the countries from Arab world besides those from Latin America, Africa and Europe.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon has met his United States counterpart James Jones in Washington, DC and discussed modalities by which access could be given to David Headley, Lashkar-e Tayiba operative blamed for role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's repeated insistence on resumption of composite dialogue, India today ruled it out, saying going back to the same process did "not make sense" as "we have to learn from history".
Civil nuclear projects in the country would be subject to Indian laws including on issues of civil liability, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said on Friday dismissing reports of attempts to dilute the liability clause in contracts proposed with United States firms.
Amid growing world pressure on India over Myanmar issue, United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari on Monday met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon who emphasized that New Delhi favoured democracy in the neighbouring country, but opposed coercion.
The new Obama Administration on Wednesday assured India that it will proceed with the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal, signed during George W Bush's tenure, and said the two countries needed to ramp up cooperation in counter-terrorism and global issues such as climate change.
Top CIA officials met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Monday and are understood to have discussed evidence of Pakistani involvement in the July 11 Mumbai blasts.
Secretary of Russia's National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev is scheduled to discuss a wide range of sensitive issues in bilateral cooperation during his talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi.
Former NSA Shivshankar Menon said the defence minister did not have a right to voice his personal opinion on nuclear policy in public, particularly when that opinion contradicted the country's official policy.
United States Ambassador-designate to India Timothy J Roemer on Friday met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in New Delhi, hours before United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on a five-day visit to India. Roemer, who met Menon at his South Block office, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday night after his confirmation by the full Senate last week for the post. On his nearly hour-long meeting, Roemer refused to make any comment and only said, "Namaste."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday left Durban for home, ending a four-day visit during which he attended BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit that decided to establish a development bank to finance infrastructure projects in emerging economies.
The highlight of the first BRICS Summit on the African soil is the possible setting up of a development bank for undertaking infrastructure and development projects.
A day after Naval Chief Admiral Suresh Mehta made some harsh comments against Russia, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Tuesday said relations with Moscow were excellent and any issue between the two countries can be sorted out. "We have excellent relations with Russia. If there are any issues, we can sort them out," Menon told reporters in New Delhi
India's Ambassador to China and the new Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said that she is \n\nlooking forward to her new assignment with optimism and is ready for the challenges that \ncome with job.
As China's ruling CPC appointed 'fifth generation' leaders headed by Xi Jinping, high-level Sino-India contacts are set to resume this month starting with the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which would be followed by a likely visit of National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon in Beijing.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will open the 5th US-India High Technology Cooperation Group hosted by the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on February 22.
Reflecting anger in the government, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on Tuesday termed as "despicable" and "barbaric" the treatment meted out to India's Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade in New York.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on Thursday will represent India in the meeting of high representatives of national security of the BRICS nations in New Delhi, a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday.
In a major confidence building measure, India and China on Tuesday signed an agreement for setting up a mechanism to avert any untoward incident on the border, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying good cooperation between the two countries would bring "great changes" in the world. The agreement was signed after two days of talks between Special Representatives -- National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo.
United States President Barack Obama on Monday began talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a wide range of bilateral and other issues. After a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Obama drove to the Hyderabad House from Rajghat to begin restricted talks with the prime minister, which would be followed by delegation-level talks. The two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement covering a number of issues ranging from security, trade and economy.
India has said that its relations with Pakistan were under 'considerable stress' and that the prime cause for it was terror acts coming out of that country.
The ornate Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday reverberated with joy as 22 new ministers were inducted into the central government.
Dr Singh, who will be accompanied by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, would represent India at the high-level segment of the General Assembly on Saturday and deliver his address.
Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya, who is also travelling with the prime minister, reports from Dhaka.
'Reform of global governance in itself should not worry any but the most dyed-in-the-wool reactionary or conservative power. Surely it is in our common interest to improve the way the international community conducts its affairs, strengthening purposeful multi-lateralism and international law, says NSA Shivshankar Menon
Amid tension with Pakistan on the recent spurt of violence at the Line of Control, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj and assured them that the Opposition would be kept in the loop over the situation.
Those who are so quick to claim Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's mantle but who fail to do him justice and actually diminish and distort him will learn that we must dare to be ambitious, confident and try for the best outcomes for India, says National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon
The fresh round of India-China special representative talks, which were postponed in November after the Chinese protested the Dalai Lama's scheduled participation in a programme in New Delhi, will now be held on January 16-17 in the capital.
A senior government official says the idea is to facilitate mutually beneficial ways to keep the supply going.
United States special envoy Richard Holbrooke on Wednesday met National Security Adviser M K Narayanan in New Delhi. According to reports, the two discussed how India could help Washington's strategy aimed at ending terror threats emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan.Holbrooke, the special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was accompanied by Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.Holbrooke is also meeting Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday held a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation in the wake of the Delhi high court blast even as investigators got preliminary forensic reports with regard to the explosion.
Wen, on his part, said that "a healthy, stable and dynamic China-India relationship is of far-reaching significance to the two nations, Asia and the whole world at large."
India is also keen to interrogate Headley in a way that is legally acceptable in a court in the country. Headley has confessed to playing a crucial role in the Mumbai attacks.