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There is a trend towards a more diverse, multipolar world but older, industrialised economies have not gone away and remain prime investment targets, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar | File Image
While a lot of countries are nervous about the US — following the return of Donald Trump as President — India is not among them, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first three calls, I think, that President (elect) Trump took. India and Prime Minister Modi have built rapport with multiple presidents – from Barack Obama to Trump and Joe Biden,” he said.
“For him (Modi) there’s something natural in terms of how he forges those relationships. So that’s helped hugely. And I think the changes in India have helped as well,” he said, when asked how he sees the US presidential election outcome impacting India-US ties, especially given Modi’s strong personal rapport with the US President-elect.
“I know today a lot of countries are nervous about the US, let’s be honest about it. We are not one of them,” Jaishankar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President-elect Donald Trump “reaffirmed their commitment” to working together to further strengthen bilateral ties across a range of sectors, the MEA said on Thursday, referring to the phone call both leaders had earlier on Wednesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the prime minister highlighted that the US leader’s “spectacular and resounding victory” in the election reflected the “deep trust” of the American people in his leadership and vision.
PM Modi also warmly congratulated him on his “re-election as the president of the United States of America as well as the Republican Party’s success in the Congressional elections”, it said.
Speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of the Aditya Birla Group’s Scholarships programme in Mumbai, Jaishankar also said that there is a trend towards a more diverse, multipolar world but older, industrialised economies have not gone away and remain prime investment targets.
“Yes, there is a shift. We are ourselves an example of the shift… if you look at our economic weight, you look at our economic ranking, you look at even Indian corporates, their reach, their presence, Indian professionals, which I spoke about. So no question there is a rebalancing,” Jaishankar said in response to a question on the reset in the global power dynamic that was playing out amid the shift in the balance of power from the west to the east.
“And to my mind, it was inevitable,” he said, adding, “because once these countries after the colonial period got their independence, they started making their own policy choices, then they were bound to grow.” “The part which is not inevitable is that some grew faster, some grew slower, some grew better, and there the quality of governance and the quality of leadership came in. So, there is, in a sense, therefore, the constant and the variable.
“But do remember one thing, the older, the western economies, the older industrialised economies, they have not gone away. They still count, they are still prime investment targets. They are big markets, strong technology centres, hubs for innovation. So let’s recognise the shift, but let’s not get carried away and kind of overstate it and distort our own understanding of the world,” the minister said.
Interactive Boss
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in-depth knowledge of issues, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Sunday said that one has to be “fully prepared” with relevant data and statistics to engage in a discussion with the PM who has a meticulous eye for detail.
“I have daily appraisal sessions… In a way, I would say he’s honestly a demanding and exacting boss. I say that because he prepares. If you’re discussing something, you have to be fully prepared. You have to know what you’re talking about to make your argument or case. You must stand your ground and you must have the data,” the EAM said when asked to comment about ‘how is PM Modi as a boss?’ during the silver jubilee event of the Aditya Birla Group Scholarships Programme in Mumbai.
“A second characteristic I would say is that he is a very interactive boss… I have enjoyed working with him because he takes a call and then gives you that latitude. During the Ukraine crisis, he took a call that we need to get people out. Do what it takes. Use the air force. Use civil aviation, talk to people, tell me what I have to do, if I have to make a phone call, I will do. If you have to send ministers out there to do so. He gives you that operational freedom… It’s not like he’s not tracking you, but he’s not micromanaging you. I have actually, frankly, enjoyed the experience of this job,” he said.