People want to listen to India, says EAM
Forums like the Quad and I2U2 reflect a desire to partner with India as a result of its enhanced stature.
PremiumNEW DELHI : The Narendra Modi government has succeeded in burnishing India’s image as a key economic player, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday in a speech outlining the government’s foreign policy achievements over the last nine years.
“The world, especially the Global South, perceives India as a development partner—as a credible, effective development partner with delivery on the ground," Jaishankar said with less than a year to go to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He gave the examples of a suburban rail system in Mozambique and a metro system in Mauritius.
Apart from delivering on development diplomacy, the government has also positioned India as a key economic collaborator and contributor, he said. From conversations on strategic trade with the US to securing economic relief for Sri Lanka, New Delhi has emerged as a key economic player in the eyes of the world. Under the Modi government, Jaishankar argued, India has also acquired the ability to shape narratives and focus on issues of interest like counter-terrorism and concepts like the Indo-Pacific.
Forums like the Quad and I2U2 reflect a desire to partner with India as a result of its enhanced stature.
“People want to listen to India. They want to be seen with India," the minister asserted.
Jaishankar credited the Modi government with defending India’s traditional independence in foreign policy, particularly through its stance on the Ukraine conflict.
To sum up, India’s top diplomat averred that the government’s foreign policy had seen an improvement in ties with almost all major powers except China.
However, achievement abroad was but one part of the EAM’s two-pronged pitch. Jaishankar believes that foreign policy has delivered benefits for ordinary citizens. From enhanced security on its eastern and northern borders to increased spending on border infrastructure since 2014, the Modi government’s foreign policy has delivered enhanced security for people, the EAM declared.
At the same time, a focus on foreign investment and specialised arrangements like mobility pacts have made it easier for Indians to pursue opportunities abroad.
Jaishankar credited these successes to a few key factors. The Modi government’s strategic clarity, with priority assigned to India’s neighbourhood, reflected a clear understanding of the country’s foreign policy goals. An ideology-free foreign policy, which shed old shibboleths like non-alignment, has allowed New Delhi to pursue new alignments in pursuit of strategic interests. A focus on project delivery and a strong government at home had, in Jaishankar’s view, served India’s foreign policy well.
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