Naidu, who is in Brussels to attend the ASEM Summit, had a bilateral meeting with Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa at the EU headquarters.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday strongly rebutted an attempt by Pakistan to raise what that country calls is the “disputed” status of Kashmir at an international meeting. During a luncheon meeting of leaders of different countries at the Asia Europe Summit Meeting in Brussels, Pakistan minister for inter-provincial coordination Fehmida Mirza raised the Kashmir issue and said it is still to be resolved. Naidu immediately objected to such description and said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and that there is no room for any doubt on the matter.
Earlier, during a plenary meeting, Naidu highlighted the menace of terrorism and rued the fact that “some countries are supporting it”. The Pakistan delegation responded saying Islamabad is also against terrorism, since Pakistan is also a victim.
Naidu, who is in Brussels to attend the ASEM Summit, had a bilateral meeting with Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa at the EU headquarters.
Naidu recalled Costa’s successful state visit to India in January 2017, when he had been honoured with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award. He commended Costa for his personal commitment to strengthening India-Portugal relations.
He also thanked the Portugal PM for joining the committee set up to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi worldwide. The Vice President briefed Costa about the development programmes of the Central government, such as “Beti Padhao Beti Bachao” and Clean India, and flagship initiatives including the Make in India and Digital India programmes.