External Affairs Minister Jaishankar | Business Upturn

Qatar Death Row: Jaishankar assures families of all efforts to secure release

United News of India (UNI) — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 06:55:37 +0000

New Delhi, Oct 30 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met families of the eight Indians on death row in Qatar and assured that the “government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release”.

The Minister said the government was attaching high importance to the case and shared the concerns and pains of their families.

“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that the government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families” S Jaishankar said on social media post X.

The External Affairs Minister also underlined that the Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release”.

“Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard” he further added.

Last week the Court of First Instance of Qatar awarded the death penalty to eight former Indian Navy personnel, who were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces.

The Indian nationals were arrested by the Qatari intelligence agency in August 2022, for allegedly spying for Israel, but the charges against them have not been officially disclosed.

Jaishankar lashes back at opposition with a 21-minute statement for Rajya Sabha interruption

Sidharth Badlani — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 18:25:38 +0000

A day after opposition MPs interrupted foreign minister Jaishankar’s speech in the Rajya Sabha to protest, the minister made a 21-minute statement on the most recent advancements in Indian foreign policy. “Unfortunately, during my statement in both Houses of Parliament, the Opposition constantly interrupted me.

Evidently, partisan politics took precedence over national advancement for them, Jaishankar said, noting that his main points would be covered in his video. A slogan battle between the NDA and the INDIA MPs began on Thursday when Jaishankar was addressing in the Rajya Sabha. The opposition MPs began chanting “INDIA, INDIA” as the NDA MPs yelled “Modi, Modi.” “What kind of I.N.D.I.A. are you if you claim to be I.N.D.I.A. and you are not willing to listen to the national interests of India?” On Thursday, Jaishankar stated.

Raghav Chadha, an AAP member of the Rajya Sabha, criticised the statement on Thursday, saying that although wearing the “garb of a statement on foreign policy,” Jaishankar spent nearly 30 minutes discussing the Prime Minister’s plans for his international tour. But it was disappointing that he didn’t read out the menus for the food. How was he able to miss such important details? said Raghav Chadha.

Operation Kaveri was the most dangerous, particularly complicated: EAM

United News of India (UNI) — Sun, 07 May 2023 13:24:38 +0000

New Delhi/Mysuru, May 7: Of all the evacuation operations carried out by India since 2014, Operation Kaveri was the most dangerous, and particularly complicated, as the Indian Embassy staff in Khartoum put their lives at risk in rescuing the nearly 4,000 people in violence-hit Sudan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said today.

In a talk on the Modi government’s foreign policy in Mysuru, the EAM said that Operation Kaveri “was a particularly complicated operation”, and the MEA was hesitant to speak about it much in public as they were “actually genuinely worried that if we highlighted the predicament in which our people were, we would be putting them in danger”.

“In the case of Operation Kaveri we’ve brought back almost 4,000 people and broadly about 11-12 percent were inhabitants of Karnataka. This was done using the Air Force, there were 17 flights, there were five sorties by ships.”
“But having seen a series of these operations, from 2015 when we did the Yemen operation, Operation Rahat, truly this was the most dangerous operation.”

“This was an operation where people put their lives at risk, where… There were quite a few embassies in Khartoum, when the fighting started, most of the embassies left very quickly. Our embassy stayed, because there were Indians in Khartoum,” he said.
EAM said that despite all the Indians having left, the embassy continued in Khartoum “because my ambassador and his team had the responsibility – ‘They said ‘No there are still people stuck in some places’. And finally, when on the day when the ceasefire broke down, I had to order them, saying you are putting your lives at risk, please relocate within Sudan.”

Referring to the daring rescue by an IAF plane of 121 evacuees, including family members of the Indian Embassy from the Wadi Seidna military airbase, 40 km from Khartoum, the EAM said:

“You actually had an Indian Air Force plane land at a, not an unprepared airstrip, but an airstrip not regularly functional, in very poor condition, where a plane previously coming in had been shot at, and hit, and yet these people took the risk of landing there, with very little help from the… I think the air traffic controller was non-existent, I think if my understanding is right.”

“So they landed there using old fashioned skills, taking a big chance. And to me, the courage shown by the people landing was only matched by the embassy staff on the ground who had rounded up the people and taken them there through very difficult circumstances, so that they could be very quickly loaded on the plane; and the embassy people came back.”

He said that the “people need to trust the government, they need to understand that this is a government which has systems in place, which has a commitment to its citizens abroad”.

Elaborating on the challenges faced during Operation Kaveri, he said that the embassy team had to “hire buses, get petrol in the black market, as fuel was very difficult, and had to negotiate check points.”

“Some of you would have seen stories in the newspaper of, what the people who came out were speaking about being threatened, about being robbed, about being assaulted, whatever they went through those who stayed behind took much more than that, and yet it was their job to keep it running.”
The embassy hired 60-70 buses for the evacuation, he said.

“The last lot of people traversed through the length of Sudan to finally reach the Port of Sudan, through a very long route because they were avoiding the fighting. And we had another team, from Nigeria, come to Chad and extricate people from the western side of Sudan.”
EAM said when the fighting broke out in Sudan he was travelling abroad and was in Africa. PM Modi had contacted him, and wanted to confirm that all the systems were in place for the evacuation process.

Here’s what EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar had to say about Pakistan’s FM Bilawal Bhutto at the SCO Summit 2023

Avinash Ram — Fri, 05 May 2023 19:58:16 +0000

India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar referred to Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the “promoter, justifier, and spokesperson of a terrorism industry” in a statement to the media.

“Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism,” EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar said during a gathering of the foreign ministers of the SCO members in Goa.

At the SCO gathering, there was no bilateral encounter between the two foreign ministers.

“On terrorism, Pakistan’s credibility is depleting even faster than its forex reserves,” EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar said in a clear swipe at Pakistan’s struggle with a huge financial crisis that has forced the country to knock from door to door for loans.

EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar’s statements were made on the same day that five Indian Army personnel were murdered in the line of duty while participating in an operation to uncover terrorists hiding in a forest close to Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. Last Monday, the suspected Pakistani terrorists assaulted an army convoy, murdering five more troops.

The first Pakistani Foreign Minister to visit India in almost 12 years is Mr. Zardari, the son of assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Hina Rabbani Khar, the former Pakistani foreign minister, visited India in 2011.

EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar urged for unified action to combat terrorism at the SCO summit. He claimed that turning away from terrorism will harm the SCO.

“Neither individuals nor states should be allowed to hide behind non-state actors… The threat of terrorism persisted unabated while the globe struggled to deal with COVID and its effects. It would be damaging to our security interests if we turned a blind eye to this threat.” EAM Jaishankar added.

“Pakistan should wake up and smell the coffee. Article 370 is history, the sooner people realize it, the better.” EAM Jaishankar stated.

“Pakistan wants to commit terrorism and then wants that no one should talk about it on the global forum.” said EAM Jaishankar.

EAM S. Jaishankar calls India-China relations “abnormal” after Beijing’s mismanages border control

Sakshi Vats — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 10:38:09 +0000

China falls into a slightly different category due to the current “abnormal” nature of relations, which is a result of Beijing’s violation of border management agreements. However, India wants to ensure that relations with all nations advance without pursuing exclusivity, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

On his first official visit to the country, Jaishankar arrived in Santo Domingo. He also stated that connectivity, contacts, and cooperation between India and the region have risen significantly. Speaking to the diplomatic community and future diplomats at the Dominican Republic’s diplomatic school on Friday, he noted that Pakistan continues to be an exception to this rule due to cross-border terrorism.

“Whether it is the US, Europe, Russia, or Japan, we are trying to ensure that all these ties advance without seeking exclusivity. China falls in a somewhat different category because of the boundary dispute and the currently abnormal nature of our ties. That is an outcome of a violation of agreements regarding border management by them,” Jaishankar stated.

He claimed that the parallel time-frame of China and India is not without competitive portions. “When in other regions bid for Africa, the Pacific or Latin America, much of what is happening can be explained as the emergence of India’s potential global footprint. In many cases, it is the result of autonomous forces such as business or mobility,” he stated.

India has been criticising China for violating agreements on border management by deploying a significant number of troops and acting aggressively near the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

This week, India made it clear to China that breaking the border agreements has “eroded” the basis of their bilateral relations and that any disputes over the border must be settled in accordance with the existing agreements.

Following a violent clash near Pangong Lake on May 5, 2020, the eastern Ladakh border standoff broke out. Following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which was the most significant military conflict between the two sides in decades, relations between the two nations took a sharp turn for the worse.

Jaishankar continued in his speech by explaining how India engages Latin America, how it views the rest of the globe, and what the future of India should look like.

“India’s most pressing priorities are obviously in its neighbourhood. Given its size and economic strength, it is very much for the collective benefit that India takes a generous and non-reciprocal approach to cooperation with smaller neighbours. And that’s exactly what we have done in the last decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi…,” he stated.

“It has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, and cooperation across the region. The exception to this of course, is Pakistan in view of cross-border terrorism. But whether it is the COVID challenge or more recent debt pressures, India has always stepped up for its neighbours,” he stated, citing the example of Sri Lanka, where India provided the island country with more than USD 4 billion in financial support during its worst economic crisis in decades.

India is pioneering the idea of extended neighbourhoods, according to Jaishankar. With ASEAN, this has taken the form of what New Delhi refers to as “the Act East Policy,” which has paved the way for a deeper engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, which is being pursued, among other ways, through a mechanism known as the Quad, which is made up of India, Japan, the US, and Australia.

He emphasised the I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE, and USA) grouping’s attitude towards the West. To the south, India’s view is known by the term Sagar, which is an Indian word for oceans, and to the north, India has been pursuing a strategy to more efficiently connect to Central Asia.

“For the first time in 2015, Prime Minister Modi articulated a comprehensive view that spanned the entirety of the Indian Ocean and its islands. This subsequently became the building block for the Indo-Pacific vision that emerged thereafter,” he stated.

“We are also practising the approach of engaging all major centres of power. Such multi-alignment reflects the reality of multipolarity. Obviously, each engagement has its own particular weight and focus,” he continued.

The minister of external affairs claimed that India has consistently been a steadfast supporter of multilateralism. “We believe that this is fundamental to the maintenance of global order. Our contributions have been significant over the years, especially in peacekeeping. The challenge, however, is the resistance to reforming multilateralism, particularly the working of the United Nations and its bodies,” he said.

He stated that when more nations see the UN is unable to address urgent concerns, they will come to agreements among themselves.

“Overall, India is a nation that is deeply committed to promoting collective solutions for global good. Our presidency of the G-20 this year is devoted to focusing on the real challenges to global development and global growth,” he continued.

He stated that there had been a deliberate development of India’s relationship with Latin America during the past ten years. Today, “our trade with Latin America is approaching a volume of USD 50 billion.” Separately, Jaishankar stated in his remarks at the India-Dominican Republic Business Event held here on Friday that the two countries’ trade turnover has surpassed USD $1 billion.

A joint economic and trade cooperation (JETCO) mechanism had been the subject of final negotiations between the two nations, he said, and it was hoped that it would serve as a venue for ongoing discussions about potential for economic and business collaboration between the two sides.

EAM S Jaishankar: World recognises India’s ability to defend its interests

Yakita Somani — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 04:33:41 +0000

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the world recognises India’s ability to defend its interests and that the country is unshaken in the face of border standoffs.

“When confronted in border areas, we have remained firm. We had China move forces in violation of the agreement in the middle of Covid two years ago. But we stood firm and have been negotiating without making any concessions. The world recognises that the country is capable of defending its interests “Jaishankar made the remarks while speaking at IIM Ahemdabad in Gujarat, where he was addressing and interacting with students about Indian foreign policy.

Jaishankar had previously stated on Monday that the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship between Beijing and New Delhi. The EAM stated at the launch of the Asia Society Policy Institute in the national capital that much of Asia’s future depends on how the two countries’ relations develop in the near future.

Ties must be based on the three mutuals: mutual sensitivity, mutual respect, and mutual interest in order to return to a positive trajectory and remain sustainable. Of course, you are all aware of their current situation. “All I can say is that the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship,” he said.

For over two years, India and China have been at odds in a number of conflicts in the region in eastern Ladakh. After violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020, the situation deteriorated. Both sides have held several high-level military talks since then.

Jashankar also emphasised the importance of rising Asia in the global order. “As the most dynamic region outside of the West, its achievements can serve as a model for the rest of the Global South. Through its efforts, it is, in fact, leading the process of global rebalancing. For this to have the greatest possible impact, India promotes a cooperative, inclusive, and consultative approach to international relations. We believe that Asia’s progress is advancing multipolarity, rebalancing, fairer globalisation, and reformed multilateralism. This belief shapes our diplomacy accordingly “he stated.

EAM S Jaishankar calls on Mauritius PM

United News of India (UNI) — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 11:28:45 +0000

New Delhi, April 23: Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday called on Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and discussed bilateral partnership including economic cooperation. “Pleased to call on PM of Mauritius. Discussed advancing our development partnership and economic cooperation. India remains solidly committed to this truly special relationship, ” Jaishankar said in a tweet. The Mauritius PM is on an eight-day visit to India. He arrived in Rajkot, Gujarat, on Monday, and attended the inauguration ceremony of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar on Tuesday. He also participated in the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. The Mauritius PM also held bilateral meeting Modi and discussed the ongoing development partnership and cooperation in defence. Jugnauth also visited Varanasi’s, went to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

(Except for the headline. This story has not been edited by Business Upturn staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Indo-Mongolian alliance deepens amidst Russia-Ukraine crisis

Mymun Malik — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 07:30:33 +0000

Amidst the Russo-Ukraine war and fractured energy supply, the Indo-Mongolian alliance seems to deepen its partnership strategically.

In a deteriorating energy supply world, India and Mongolia continuously strengthened their alliance with upcoming new opportunities which were otherwise affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukraine crisis.

By this year’s end, India will have constructed an oil refinery in Sainshand near the south of Dornogovi province of Mongolia with the involvement of Engineers India Limited.

This massive integrated oil refinery cost India close to $ 1 billion and has a production capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes.

Interestingly this facility aims to cater to 75% of Mongolia’s oil needs and it would not have to seek help from other countries going forward. There is also an elaborate plan for building power and rail infrastructure in Mongolia by India, to promote ease of transporting the energy resources as well as mineral resources.

The Indo-Mongolian bilateral ties had reached the next level of Strategic Partnership in 2015 itself when PM Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar mentioned that various projects were underway in Mongolia with India’s assistance and the relationship only grows deeper despite challenges like pandemics.

Last year in 2021, Mongolia and India celebrated their 66th year of alliance enjoying unprecedented diplomatic ties. the countries have continued not only virtual meetings but also in-person meet-ups.

As a matter of fact, both countries have extended relentless support to each other during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued the Indo-Mongolian ties throughout the pandemic. On October 12th, 2021, EAM Jaishankar held a diplomatic meet-up with his Mongolian counterpart Battsetseg Batmunkh in line with the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) met in Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Mongolia received 200,000 vials of vaccination Remdesivir from India, under special export permission and India received $ 1 million in aid to Red Cross India from Mongolia when the second wave hit India on 17th May 2021.

Later the same year in November, both the countries recognized vaccination certificates to let travellers move between the two countries.

“India & US to hold 2+2 meeting on April 11,” announces MEA

Sathvika Chelakani — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 14:14:34 +0000

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the United States on April 11-12 for the India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue, according to MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

The Indian delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and EAM, who will meet with US counterpart Antony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secy Austin stated, “On April 11, look forward to welcoming Rajnath Singh and Dr. Jaishankar, as well as Secy Blinken, to the 4th US-India 2+2 Ministerial. As we work together to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, this year’s Ministerial will feature an ambitious agenda for US-India defence cooperation.”

According to the MEA, the dialogue will allow both sides to conduct a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda, such as foreign policy, defence, and security, with the goal of providing strategic guidance and a vision for further strengthening the relationship.

“Separately, the EAM will meet with his US counterpart, Secretary Antony Blinken. EAM will also meet with senior members of the US administration to discuss ways to strengthen the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership,” added the minister.

On the sidelines, Jaishankar and Rajnath have other meetings planned. This will be the first 2+2 meeting between India and the United States under the Biden administration.

Liz Truss-Jaishankar verbal confrontation over sanctions on Russia: Europe tops list of Russian oil importers

Mymun Malik — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 06:00:54 +0000

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and his exchanges were a little away from cordial on the topic of sanctions levied on Russia.

Jaishankar held his stance for looking out for India for great deals for its energy demand with the onset of market volatility. He pointed the fact out that despite the Russian-Ukraine crisis Europe has been importing energy from Russia. Europe has purchased more oil when compared to its buying capacity before the war stated Jaishankar.

Liz Truss spoke a lot about the Russian aggression while Jaishankar did not mention Russia anywhere in his exchanges with her in his 45-minute discussion at the very 1^st India-UK strategic futures forum organized collectively by the Indian Council of World Affairs and Policy Exchange. A bilateral meeting followed.

Liz Truss responded diplomatically, “We have in detail shared the UK’s approach and we will end our dependence on Russian energy imports by the end of this year. India is an independent nation and I for one will not ask India what to and what not to do. We have signed up with Budapest Memorandum, I represent the UK government and we will take all possible actions in our power to extend our support to Ukraine.”

To this Jaishankar responded by highlighting that Europe in March had bought a 15% surplus of ONG from Russia when compared to its February imports. He said, “Allow me to list out the major buyers from Russia. Topping the list would be European countries, India majorly imports its energy supplies from the Middle East about 8 % from the US long back and when it comes to Russia a percent less.”

Jaishankar further added, “That India’s imports clearly depend on economic conditions, whenever the oil prices rise, I believe any country would go out looking for what best suits their pocket and demands. 3 months from now if we look at the list of major importers of Russian energy I believe the list won’t be any different from what it is now. And for sure India will not be in Russia’s top 10 list.”