EAM Jaishankar holds talks with Brunei's foreign minister

India and Brunei on Thursday resolved to boost cooperation in a range of areas, including agriculture, food processing, education, automotives, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals and construction, as the two countries took stock of their overall ties.

A host of other issues, including ways to contain the coronavirus pandemic, figured during a virtual meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart from Brunei, Dato Seri Setia Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof.

Jaishankar congratulated Haji Erywan on Brunei's assumption of the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2021 and assured him of India's full support for its successful tenure, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a 10-nation influential bloc.

''The two ministers expressed satisfaction at the current state of bilateral relationship and agreed to boost bilateral cooperation and trade and investments in areas identified by the two sides,'' the MEA said in a statement.

''These include agriculture, food processing, information and communications technology, IT-enabled services, e-governance, science and technology, education, automotives, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, construction, textiles and garments, jewellery, leather goods and tourism,'' it added.

The MEA said bilateral cooperation on defence also came up for discussion.

''The two ministers also agreed to push for early conclusion of the various MoUs and agreements under discussion for strengthening bilateral mechanisms and take measures to boost bilateral trade,'' it said. It further said: ''Haji Erywan, Minister of Foreign Affairs-II of Brunei Darussalam, thanked the government of India for supporting repatriation of Brunei nationals as well as for excellent human resource development cooperation.'' PTI MPB RC