First Stamp on Ram Lalla unveiled by EAM S.Jaishankar in Vientiane

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar unveiled the first postage stamp on Ram Lalla of Ayodhya during his three-day visit to Vientiane, the capital city of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, from 25 to 27 July 2024. He was in Vientiane to attend ASEAN related foreign minister meeting.

Dr Jaishankar left for Tokyo, Japan, to attend the meeting of the foreign ministers of QUAD.

Release of Ram Lala Stamp 

 During his visit to Vientiane, S Jaishankar and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Laos, Saleumxay Kommasith, jointly unveiled two sets of postal stamps. The stamps' theme was  “Celebrating the shared cultural heritage of Lao PDR and India.” 

One postal stamp depicted Ram Lalla's idol from Ayodhya, and the other was released to commemorate Lord Buddha from Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is the ancient capital of Lao.

Lao is now a predominantly Buddhist country, but its culture and traditions have been deeply influenced by Hinduism also.

In Laos, Ramanaya is known as Ramakien or the story of Phra Lak Phra Ram, and it is performed during important cultural events.

Foreign Minister meeting of QUAD in Tokyo 

S.Jaishankar attended the QUAD Foreign Ministers meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on 29 July 2024.

Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India, Penny Wong of Australia, Yoko Kamikawa of Japan, and the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the meeting.

The foreign minister expressed concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly opposed any unilateral action by any country that disturbed the peace and security of the region. 

China is in dispute with the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries over the vast South China Sea area, which China claims as its own. The area is rich in Oil and Gas resources.

India to Host Next Quad Summit 

At the foreign ministers' meeting, it was announced that India will host the next QUAD Summit meeting in 2024, and the United States will host the next QUAD foreign ministers' meeting in 2025.

• The first Summit meeting of the QUAD leaders was a virtual meeting hosted by President Joe Biden of the United States in March 2021.
• The second summit meeting, the first in-person meeting of the leaders, was held in September 2021 in Washington, D.C., the United States.
• The third Summit meeting was a virtual meeting held in March 2022
• The fourth summit meeting was in person meeting hosted by Japan in Tokyo in May 2022
• The fifth summit was an in-person summit hosted by Australia in May 2023
• The sixth meeting will be held in New Delhi in 2024.

For details about Jaishankar's visit to Lao to attends ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with India click here

About QUAD 

• Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a group of four countries: the United States of America, Japan, Australia and India. 
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 proposed the concept of QUAD to facilitate maritime cooperation between these countries after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster. 
• Over time, the group has evolved and is now primarily a group that counters Chinese influence in the Asia Pacific region.