New Delhi, Feb 6: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said though President Rajapakse has assured the safety of its civilians, but Colombo should make efforts to achieve the devolution and political solution to the decades-old ethnic conflict.

New Delhi, Feb 3 : Rifat Masood, Pakistan''s Deputy High Commissioner to India met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here today.

Rifat is Pakistan''s Acting High Commissioner to India, as Shahid Malik (Pakistan''s High Commissioner to India) left for Pakistan following summons reportedly from the Foreign Office to help finalise Pakistan''s response on last year's Mumbai terror strikes.

However, sources in the Pakistan Mission in New Delhi informed that it was only a courtesy call.

New Delhi, Feb 3 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on Tuesday, asserted that India is yet to receive any official response on the dossier it has sent to Pakistan on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

This statement contradicted National Security Advisor MK Narayanan''s claim that Islamabad has reverted to the Indian dossier.

Narayanan had remarked that Pakistan was probing the Mumbai attacks in a manner an investigating agency should proceed by sending queries related to the dossier.

New Delhi, Feb. 2 : While stating that the impact of the global economic meltdown is being felt by developing countries, including India, External Affairs and de-facto Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the UPA Government's foremost priorities are the creation and retention of employment.

Addressing participants at the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Sammelan 2009 at the Pusa Institute here, Mukherjee said NREGA has given an opportunity to the common man to seek employment at his own will and live a life of self-respect and dignity.

New Delhi, Feb. 2: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet the public sector bank CEOs here today to evaluate third quarter performance, loan disbursal and the impact of the stimulus packages announced by the government.

Mukherjee is currently handling the finance portfolio. The meeting comes in the wake of the third quarterly review of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The RBI had noted that most banks have reduced lending and deposit rates to some extent, but some banks have not cut them so far.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee gave nod to various infrastructure projects worth Rs 34,000 crore on Wednesday. It includes the Chennai Metro project, Krishnapatnam port project in Andhra Pradesh and many more projects to push demand in infrastructure sector in the midst of recessionary waves across the globe.

CCEA approved foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 957 crore in Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd and 45 km long Phase I of the Chennai Metro project with estimated cost of Rs 14,600 crore.