Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri heads to Paris, Berlin amid West Asia crisis

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will undertake a three-day visit to Paris and Berlin beginning Sunday for high-level talks on energy, trade and defence against the backdrop of the West Asia conflict.

Misri's visit to France and Germany comes at the end of his trip to the US, where he met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a number of other senior officials of the Trump administration.

The West Asia crisis and its impact on energy security are expected to figure prominently in Misri's talks with his interlocutors in Paris and Berlin.

In Paris, the foreign secretary will co-chair the India-France Foreign Office Consultations along with Martin Briens, the secretary general of the French Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

Both Misri and Briens will discuss a wide range of issues, including defence, civil nuclear energy, space, cyber and digital, artificial intelligence and initiatives fostering people-to-people exchanges, in addition to the latest global and regional developments, it said.

In Berlin, the foreign secretary will co-chair the India-Germany Foreign Office Consultations alongside Géza Andreas von Geyr, the state secretary of the German Foreign Office.

The discussions would cover diverse domains of bilateral co-operation, including trade and investments, defence and security, technology, green energy, development co-operation, education and people-to-people ties as well as global and regional matters of mutual interest, the MEA said in a statement.

Misri is also expected to meet other dignitaries and senior government officials in both Paris and Berlin.