NEW DELHI: Maintaining a close watch on the developments in Ukraine-Russia conflict, Prime Minister Modi held telephonic discussions with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of Netherlands separately yesterday.
While speaking over the phone, both sides emphasised the need for immediate ceasefire and mitigating the crisis via dialogue, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sources shared with The New Indian.
PM Modi expressed his gratitude to the Hungarian Prime Minister and his government functionaries for their support in evacuating as many as 6,000 Indian citizens through Hungary-Ukraine border. The two states share a 136.7 km long border. Prime Minister Orban extended his good wishes to the medical student evacuees, domiciled in India. The Hungarian Prime Minister also made an offer to the Indian students, who escaped Ukraine and made a stopover in Hungary, that they “could choose to continue their studies in Hungary if they wished,” shared a release by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Over the phone, PM Modi and the Hungarian PM reportedly agreed to extend their efforts to put an end to the Ukrainian war. The Indian Embassy in Hungary is also concurrently accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While conversing with PM Rutte, PM Modi discussed India’s massive evacuation drive — Operation Ganga —and informed him about India’s humanitarian aid support to victims amid war, sources shared.
PM Modi reportedly expressed his eagerness to receive PM Rutte in India soon. Both the leaders last met in a virtual summit in April, 2021. Earlier this month, Reenat Sandhu, a 1989 batch IFS, was named as the Ambassador of India to the Netherlands.