Varanasi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met delegates from France, Bangladesh and from the United Kingdom in a closed-door meeting on Monday.

The closed-door meeting was held on the sidelines G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in Varanasi.

Jaishankar met Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Minister of State Development UK Andrew Mitchell and France Minister of State Development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou.

Earlier in the day, EAM Jaishankar extended greetings to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the people of Russia on the occasion of the country's National Day.

Jaishankar also said that India looks forward to continued cooperation under the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

"Warm Greetings to FM Sergey Lavrov and the Government and people of the Russian Federation on their National Day. Look forward to our continued cooperation under our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Jaishankar had met Lavrov during the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting in South Africa's Cape Town earlier this month and discussed topical issues of the bilateral agenda, as well as international and regional problems.

The two ministers had also praised the dynamism of collaboration in the most significant sectors of the strategic partnership between India and Russia.

On Monday, Jaishankar also welcomed delegates at the venue for the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. The event began on Sunday and will continue till June 13.

Jaishankar will chair the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting scheduled between June 11-13 and a total of 200 delegates are expected to attend the meeting.

The Development Ministers' Meeting in Varanasi takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

The Varanasi gathering follows the Voice of the Global South Summit, which was hosted by India in January 2023.

The decisions made at the Varanasi meeting will also have an impact on the United Nations SDG Summit, which will be held in New York in September.

Further, according to the official release, the meeting will consist of two main sessions -- one on 'Multilateralism: Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs' and another on 'Green Development: A LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Approach'.

Delegates from Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia and China on Sunday arrived at the Varanasi Airport. Delegates experienced the culture of Varanasi and attended Ganga Aarti at the city's Dashashwamedh Ghat yesterday.

Delegates to the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting along with the EAM Jaishankar took part in the Ganga Arti ritual at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi on Sunday evening. Jaishankar led the delegates on a cruise ride and sightseeing of the ghats.

Earlier, they were welcomed in a traditional way at Namo Ghat. Seeing the cultural artists dance, the delegates also shook a leg. Following this, they boarded the cruise vessel and reached Dashashmaved Ghat. During the Aarti, there was a special Shankhnaad for the guests.

At the G20 Development Ministers' meeting in Varanasi a new roadmap for the development of global agriculture in 20 developing countries of the world including India will be prepared.

Agricultural scientists from all nations will brainstorm on the issues of agriculture, agricultural education, research etc. in the G20 meeting.

The Varanasi Development Ministers' Meeting takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

The G20 Development Ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries, the statement added.