New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma today held a meeting with First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova and discussed bilateral engagements and cooperation going forward.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Sanjay Verma stated, "Pleasure to receive Ukrainian Deputy FM @EmineDzheppar. Perspectives shared. Discussed bilateral engagements and cooperation going forward. Wishing her a good trip. Her first as DFM, but a country she is familiar with."

Ukraine's first Deputy Foreign Minister, Emine Dzhaparova on Monday arrived at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for talks after she landed in New Delhi. The visuals showed Indian officials welcoming Dzhaparova as she made her way to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Speaking about her visit to India, Dzhaparova in a tweet wrote, "Happy to visit -the land that gave birth to many sages,saints&gurus. Today, #India wants to be the Vishwaguru,the global teacher and arbiter. In our case, we've got a very clear picture:aggressor against innocent victim.Supporting is the only right choice for true Vishwaguru."

The Ukrainian first Deputy Foreign Minister will call on Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi and meet with Deputy National Security Adviser, Vikram Misri, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the press release.

The MEA in the press release noted, "India shares warm and friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ukraine." The MEA said that India and Ukraine has made significant progress in their ties in the areas of trade, education, culture and defence.

The MEA in the press release said, "Over the last 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has made significant progress in the areas of trade, education, culture and defence. The visit will be an occasion to further mutual understanding and interests."

Ever since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for resolving the issues through dialogue and diplomacy. He has spoken to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian counterpart Vladamir Putin several times since the beginning of the conflict.

In September last year, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir. During the meeting, PM Modi said, "Today's era is not of war." The meeting between the two leaders was held on the sidelines of the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.

"Today's era isn't of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we'll get the opportunity to talk about how can we progress on the path of peace. India-Russia has stayed together with each other for several decades," PM Modi said.

"We spoke on the phone several times about India-Russia bilateral relations and also on various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. I want to thank Russia & Ukraine for helping us to evacuate our students from Ukraine," he added. (ANI)