A
Apoorva Devanshi
Guest
Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs, was in Germany for the 60th Munich Security Conference. It commenced on February 16 on took place at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. There he participated in a panel discussion on “Growing the Pie: Seizing Shared Opportunities” as part of the conference. Along with the External Affairs Minister, the panel discussion also included US Secretary of State Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
During this conference he discussed some key bilateral ties and regional concerns with prominent leaders. It is during this interactive session that he made some “Bold” and some “Smart” statements.
The moderator inquired about India’s Foreign Policy objectives and how its being perceived as changing from “Non-Alignment to All Alignment,” particularly in the backdrop of continued procurement of crude oil from Russia. She went on to ask as to how India would balance its bilateral ties between US while continuing to trade with Russia. Dr. S. Jaishankar said, “Why should it be a problem? I am smart enough to have multiple options. You should be admiring and not criticising. Is it a problem for others? I do not think so.”
Hearing Jaishankar’s statement, Blinken was observed smiling. Jaishankar further added, “I do not want you, even inadvertently, to give the impression that we are purely and unsentimentally transactional. We are not. We get along with people, we believe in things, we share things, but there are times when you are located in different places, different levels of development, different experiences, all of that gets into it.”
When asked on Israel and Hamas conflict Jaishankar said that it has different dimensions.
He added, “Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should have been very mindful of civilian casualties. It has an international obligation to observe humanitarian law.” Number three, he said that the return of hostages today is imperative.
“Number four – There is a need for a humanitarian corridor, a sustainable humanitarian corridor to provide relief. And eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term solution is required. Otherwise we are going to see a recurrence,” he declared.
“Certainly India has long believed in a two-state solution. We have maintained that position for many decades and, I think, today many more countries in the world feel not just that the two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before,” Jaishankar said.
When asked on the rise of BRICS and other middle powers in the geopolitical landscape. Dr. S. Jaishankar responded by saying that “Like any product, you test at a market, we tested it (BRICS) last year in the market, asking how many of want to join BRICS, and we got almost 30 countries who were willing to join BRICS.”
In response to a question concerning India’s apparent freedom to select between the US, Europe, and Russia in context of BRICS as a forum which being led by Beijing and Moscow is considered “Anti-Western.” Jaishankar affirming the distinction between “Anti-West” and “Non-West” responded that he would “Characterize India as a country which is Non-West but which has an extremely strong relation with the Western countries, getting better by the days.” He further added that this definition might not apply to other BRICS members.
Agreeing with Jaishankar’s views, Antony Blinken said that the relationship with India and the US is “Strongest it’s ever been,” and that it “Makes no difference that India happens to be a leading member of BRICS.”
On the whole, Pressing security concerns were discussed at MSC 2024 and Dr. S. Jaishankar once again won hearts of millions of Indians with his “Bold and Smart” statements.
The post “Bold And Smart” Statements By Jaishankar At Munich Security Conference appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
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During this conference he discussed some key bilateral ties and regional concerns with prominent leaders. It is during this interactive session that he made some “Bold” and some “Smart” statements.
Non-Alignment To All Alignment-
The moderator inquired about India’s Foreign Policy objectives and how its being perceived as changing from “Non-Alignment to All Alignment,” particularly in the backdrop of continued procurement of crude oil from Russia. She went on to ask as to how India would balance its bilateral ties between US while continuing to trade with Russia. Dr. S. Jaishankar said, “Why should it be a problem? I am smart enough to have multiple options. You should be admiring and not criticising. Is it a problem for others? I do not think so.”
Hearing Jaishankar’s statement, Blinken was observed smiling. Jaishankar further added, “I do not want you, even inadvertently, to give the impression that we are purely and unsentimentally transactional. We are not. We get along with people, we believe in things, we share things, but there are times when you are located in different places, different levels of development, different experiences, all of that gets into it.”
Israel-Hamas Conflict-
When asked on Israel and Hamas conflict Jaishankar said that it has different dimensions.
He added, “Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should have been very mindful of civilian casualties. It has an international obligation to observe humanitarian law.” Number three, he said that the return of hostages today is imperative.
“Number four – There is a need for a humanitarian corridor, a sustainable humanitarian corridor to provide relief. And eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term solution is required. Otherwise we are going to see a recurrence,” he declared.
“Certainly India has long believed in a two-state solution. We have maintained that position for many decades and, I think, today many more countries in the world feel not just that the two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before,” Jaishankar said.
On BRICS-
When asked on the rise of BRICS and other middle powers in the geopolitical landscape. Dr. S. Jaishankar responded by saying that “Like any product, you test at a market, we tested it (BRICS) last year in the market, asking how many of want to join BRICS, and we got almost 30 countries who were willing to join BRICS.”
In response to a question concerning India’s apparent freedom to select between the US, Europe, and Russia in context of BRICS as a forum which being led by Beijing and Moscow is considered “Anti-Western.” Jaishankar affirming the distinction between “Anti-West” and “Non-West” responded that he would “Characterize India as a country which is Non-West but which has an extremely strong relation with the Western countries, getting better by the days.” He further added that this definition might not apply to other BRICS members.
Agreeing with Jaishankar’s views, Antony Blinken said that the relationship with India and the US is “Strongest it’s ever been,” and that it “Makes no difference that India happens to be a leading member of BRICS.”
On the whole, Pressing security concerns were discussed at MSC 2024 and Dr. S. Jaishankar once again won hearts of millions of Indians with his “Bold and Smart” statements.
The post “Bold And Smart” Statements By Jaishankar At Munich Security Conference appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
Continue reading...