External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the second Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum of the European Union (EU). It will be hosted by Sweden on May 13. It will be co-chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

The meeting will bring together around 60 foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific region and the European Union, as well as representatives of Indo-Pacific regional organizations and other partners. China and Taiwan are not expected to be part of the forum.

A senior EU official said, "We are happy with the high-level partnership of around 60 participants and want to emphasize that G-20 President Jaishankar will be present on behalf of India." Foreign Minister from Japan and G-7 President Hayashi will be there."

During the meeting, three roundtable sessions with two co-moderators will be conducted with twenty participants each. Regarding China's non-participation in the ministerial conference, a senior EU official said that it (EU) will not include any such partner, which has been criticized. However, the EU will continue multilateral negotiations with China.

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