EAM S Jaishankar meets Portugal PM Antonio Costa, discusses contemporary challenges

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and discussed contemporary challenges with him and appreciated Costa's guidance for the further development of India-Portugal ties"Pleasure to meet Prime Minister @antoniocostapm today (Tuesday). Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed contemporary challenges and appreciated his guidance for the further development of our ties," Jaishankar said on X.Jaishankar, who arrived in Lisbon on the first leg of his four-day visit to Portugal and Italy with an aim to further bolster India's bilateral ties with the two key European nations, also appreciated Portugal's support for India-EU ties.Earlier, the foreign minister held "productive talks" with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Cravinho during which they discussed the progress in bilateral economic cooperation and exchanged views on West Asia, Ukraine, Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific."Productive talks with FM @JoaoCravinho in Lisbon. Noted the progress in our bilateral economic cooperation. Appreciated the sustained political exchanges and Portugal’s support for India-EU ties. Transformations underway in India can help take our partnership to a higher level. Cooperating on the global workplace and the digital domain offer great potential. Exchanged views on West Asia, Ukraine, Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar posted on X.The two leaders also issued a joint statement in which they said that they did a detailed assessment of bilateral partnership."Today, we in our meeting we had a detailed assessment of our bilateral partnership. We see new energy across many sectors, trade & investment is clearly strong driving force. Indian IT companies have made their mark in Portugal. Amul- Indian milk & dairy company is the sponsor of the Portugues national football team. There were talks on direct air connectivity with a focus on developmental tourism. We have regarded Portugal as one of our key partners in the EU," read the joint statement.He also met Augusto Santos Silva, the President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, and discussed the importance of two democracies cooperating closely in a volatile world."Delighted to meet @ASantosSilvaPAR, President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic today morning (Tuesday) in Lisbon. Have always valued his strong support for our bilateral ties.Discussed the importance of our two democracies cooperating closely in a volatile world," Jaishankar said in another post.Jaishankar attended some diaspora engagements and paid floral tributes at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife, Kasturba, in front of the Temple Radha Krishna in Lisbon.Offered my tributes to Bapu and Kasturba Gandhi in Lisbon, the EAM posted with images.From Portugal, Jaishankar will travel to Italy where he will meet his counterpart Antonio Tajani, Minister of Defence and Minister for 'Made in Italy'.The relationship between the two countries was elevated to 'Strategic Partnership' during Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's visit to New Delhi in March.With inputs from agencies