Responding to a query on which countries are the most difficult to maintain relations with, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday responded after a pause, “You should ask for some countries, should we even maintain relations?” Jaishankar was addressing the youth at Balgandharva Rangmandir at an event ‘Why Bharat Matters: Opportunity for Youth and Participation in Global Scenario’. He talked at length about his book ‘Why Bharat Matters’ and his transition from “orthodox diplomacy” working for India to a “more grounded and firm diplomacy for what is more Bharat than India”. On the recent deaths of Indian students in the US, he said, “It is a worrying issue but each case is unique… I would say it is not a political issue but it is an issue of students who are studying abroad. Sometimes they do not make the right kind of friends, sometimes they don’t know where to refrain from risks, sometimes they are working overtime…” Embassies have been told to stay in touch with the student community, he added. Jaishankar said, “We will have to compete with China, especially in terms of technology. We must be prepared. It is possible that sometimes they support some ideologies or forces in our neighbouring countries that are against us. Unlike earlier, we now have clarity about our relationship with China and that’s most important.” He stressed the need to invest in new age industries. “The coming times are going to centre on AI, drones, renewable and green energy. Educated and skilled Indians who have gone abroad will then play a major role,” he said. “We have to examine how to take Indian education to a global scale. A lot of Indian universities have begun to open international campuses like in Zanzibar, UAE and Dubai. Dual or joint degrees in collaboration with international universities will help raise our universities to global standards,” he added. He also spoke positively about the need for CAA and NRC in the country. The event was also attended by Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil, Pune BJP candidate Muralidhar Mohol and MP Medha Kulkarni.
