“No major issue in world is decided without some consultation with India”: Jaishankar

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India] : Stating that no major issue in the world is decided without New Delhi’s consultation, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India has changed and so has the world’s view of it. 

He further said that it is in India’s nature to be ‘independent’ and because of this, New Delhi has to manage its interests with different people instead of being “someone else’s subsidiary or enterprise”. 

The EAM was speaking at the Manhattan: Townhall meeting in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on Saturday. 

“Many countries today see our weight, power, and influence. We were the 10th largest economy 10 years ago, we are the fifth largest economy…in 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 addressing the event. 

“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of ‘Amrit Kaal’. Think of this 10 years as the foundation. On this 10 years, the building of the next 25 years will be built,” he added. 

On being asked how New Delhi manages being part of groupings like Quad and BRICS — which consist of countries with conflicting interests — the EAM said that India is independent and needs to learn how to manage its interests by dealing with different people. 

“We are at least a 5000-year-old civilisation, most populous civilisation, physically one of the largest countries in the world, fifth-largest economy in the world. Our nature is to be independent. We cannot and we should not be 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.

Notably, Quad is a bloc of four countries — India, Australia, Japan and the US– that aims to secure a rules-based global order and a free and secure Indo-Pacific region. 

BRICS is a grouping of 10 nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It aims to enhance economic cooperation and trade among the member countries. The latter five countries were made permanent members during the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg last year. 

Speaking further on the transformation that has taken place in the country, Jaishankar said that today the world has come to India and the rise in talent in the country has attracted more investments in the country. 

“A country that had 3-4 metro systems 10 years ago, today has around 20. Everyday in this country for the last 10 years, two new colleges have been opened in the country…if you look today, how digital we have become. Today, for all Indians, the world is not far away…the world has come to us. Covid was one sign of the world coming to us,” the EAM said. 

He added, “Secondly, the way world sees has changed. We have 140 crore people, but for the world, how many of them are relevant, how many are educated, skilled, employable, it is for this change. If foreign investments are coming in this country in such large numbers, it is because they see the talent in the society”.