Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, will travel to Paris tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22, 20022, where he will participate in the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, organized by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Forum will bring together the EU Member States’ Foreign Ministers and their counterparts from approximately 30 states of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as representatives of European institutions and regional organisations.
The main goal of the Forum is to explore ways to consolidate and strengthen relations and ties between the EU and the states of the Indo-Pacific, on the basis of multilateral diplomacy and respect for International Law, including the Law of the Sea. The participating Ministers will discuss, for the first time in such a format, initiatives and projects in order to give further impetus to the partnership between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region.
Following the opening session, three round tables will be held simultaneously on a) security and defence, b) connectivity and digital policy, and c) global issues. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate in the round table on security and defence.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is expected to hold private meetings with his counterparts from the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, he will meet with Nanai Mahuta (New Zealand), Retno Marsudi (Indonesia), Chung Eui-yong (Republic of Korea), Dr. Jaishankar (India), Teodoro Locsin (Philippines) and Vivian Balakrishnan (Singapore).