External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that no major issue in the world is decided without consultations with New Delhi. The Union Minister made these remarks during ‘Bharat’s Rise in Geopolitics’ event in Nagpur.
“India has changed and so has the world’s view on it,” EAM said.
Speaking at the event in Nagpur, Jaishankar said, “Many countries today see our weight, power, and influence. We were the 10th largest economy 10 years ago and we are the fifth largest economy now… In a very few years, we will be the third-largest economy. No major issue in the world is decided without some consultation with India. We have changed and the world’s view of us has changed,” Jaishankar said.
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of ‘Amrit Kaal’, think of these 10 years as the foundation. In these 10 years, the building of the next 25 years will be built,” EAM said.
“We are at least a 5,000-year-old civilisation, the most populous civilisation, physically one of the largest countries in the world, and the fifth-largest economy in the world. Our nature is to be independent. We cannot and should not be a part of somebody else’s subsidiary or enterprise. Because we are independent, we have to learn how to manage our interests by dealing with different people,” he further said.
China should not expect relations to move normally, says Jaishankar
Amid a stand off at the border, China should not expect other relations to move on normally, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.
Diplomacy continues and sometimes solutions to difficult situations do not come in haste, he said while speaking on ‘Bharat’s Rise in Geopolitics’ event, during which he took questions from the audience.
He said the borders between India and China are not mutually agreed and it was decided that both sides would not amass troops and would keep the other informed about their movements, but the neighbouring nation violated this agreement in 2020.
It brought its troops in large numbers to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Galwan incident happened, Jaishankar said.
The EAM said he had explained to his Chinese counterpart that “unless a solution is found at the border, they should not expect other relations to move on normally”.
“That is impossible. You don’t want to fight and do trade at the same time. Meanwhile, diplomacy is going on and sometimes solutions to difficult situations do not come in haste,” he asserted.
Jaishankar on Maldives
Queried on the recent rift with Maldives (after objectionable comments by some officials of that nation following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshwadeep), Jaishankar said, “What we are trying to do, and with a lot of success in the last 10 years, is to build a very strong connect.”
“Politics may go up and down but the people of that nation generally have good feelings towards India and understand the importance of having good relations,” he said, adding that India was involved in building roads, power transmission lines, supply of fuel, providing trade access, investing and having people spend holidays in other countries.
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