S Jaishankar at Express Adda Highlights: In common interest to not have so many forces on LAC, EAM says on China

Responding to a question on India's relation on China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it is in the countries' common interest to not have so many forces along the Line of Actual Control.

"We should observe agreements we have signed. It is in China's interest as well that this tension in the last four years is resolved. We are still committed to finding a reasonable outcome that is respectful of agreements and doesn't seek to change the status quo," he said.

Elaborating on PM Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin's personal relation, S Jaishankar said that it is this relation that has helped in many situations.

"In tricky situations, you are able to get through and make a point," he said.

Talking about India's relation with China, S Jaishankar said, "They are changing, we are changing. How do we find an equilibrium?"

Further, he said India's relation with Russia has been stable since 1955, even while Moscow has seen ups and downs with major countries. "The issue is how do you explore the relation. In a changed direction of Russia, which is looking away from West and towards Asia, you're finding a new basis to deepen relationship with them," he said.

"Today, it is feasible for India to work on multiple vectors with different nations, finding common connects and creating an agenda. There is a moderation and nuance for each relationship which makes it palatable for others," Jaishankar added, highlighting India's relations with many countries that do not share good relations with each other.

In the US, S Jaishankar said that India has put behind the "hesitations of history", as it is a very important trade and tech partner.

Further, he admitted a mistake of the past when India focussed on a few countries in Europe and didn't fully comprehend the integration of Brussels. "As it becomes strategically awake, wrt the partnership possibilities. these are complementary partners of India," Jaishankar said.

Moving on to Japan, the minister said that though it is a great tech power, Japan had restrained itself owing to historical reasons. Stating collaboration with Japan in the auto sector, metro rails and now bullet trains, Jaishankar said, "We have a good relation with them."

S Jaishankar said India is harnessing the tech competition, by providing the example of the semiconductor industry. "It doesn't behove India to have an antiquated technology base. The balance of power will be set in many ways by the balances of technology," he said.

"We are moving into a life of AI, drones, space will be important. But you also have to do the basic. Roads and railways have to be better, a good business environment is needed, manufacturing is to be revived. After the 1990s, we let go of that (manufacturing). A lot is to be done at different levels," Jaishankar added.

In a pluralistic society like India, nobody wishes for a coalition government, S Jaishankar said, adding that something is happening in India every day under the PM Modi government. "Earlier many projects didn't even get off the ground. That has changed. Many projects now come to reality within the same term," he said.

The Union minister added that the 1991-92 reforms, which included reducing import tariffs, deregulating markets, and lowering taxes leading to an increase in foreign investment and high economic growth., were done with "our backs to the walls".

He further underscored the need for leadership that motivates people and pushes them to take risks. "The moment the top (tier) demands accountability, results show. That has happened to the country," he said.

S Jaishankar said that to bring about a big change, a vision is needed, where many factors remain the focus, including defence capabilities, manufacturing, the global workplace and terrorism, among other.

"In a country of 1.4 billion people, the biggest resource is people. If we are preparing for globalised world, why are there restrictions on mobility? There must be access to tech, markets," he said.

Stressing the need for a "sense of history", the External Affairs Minister further added that what we will be will depend on where we are coming from.

S Jaishankar said that the Covid pandemic made the government realise how many Indian work abroad. "We have 1.2 million students abroad. In the event of a conflict, we ask how many of our people are there," he added.

Wars abroad affect common issues in a country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at Express Adda. "Food prices, fuel prices go up. There is general inflation," he said.

S Jaishankar will be speaking at Express Adda following a Japan visit, where he said many solutions for India and Japan nationally as well as for the region and the world lie in their activities together, especially in the Quad.

Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership in Tokyo, Jaishankar said India and Japan's inclination and ability to respond in a more coordinated manner has also improved.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, has been focusing on practical cooperation to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

Former foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is among a long line of career diplomats taking the political plunge. The former US Ambassador has been one of the most active diplomats in the Modi government and steered the government’s agenda across the world.

A 1977 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, Jaishankar has previously served as Indian ambassador to US (2014-15), China (2009-13) among other European nations, and had a major role in the negotiation of the ambitious India-US civil nuclear agreement. The longest-serving foreign secretary is credited for forming the crux of Modi’s foreign policy in his first term as the prime minister.

Jaishankar also had a pivotal role in ending the Doklam crisis between India and China which took the two nations on a brink of war in Arunachal Pradesh.

Read all about him here

At the Adda held in Bengaluru on February 28, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke on the next set of reforms, probe agencies going after black money and the Lok Sabha elections.

Read the salient points from her conversation with P Vaidyanathan Iyer, Executive Editor, The Indian Express, and Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group

The Express Adda is a series of informal interactions organised by The Indian Express Group and features those at the centre of change. Previous guests include Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri and Ashwini Vaishnaw; Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran; oncologist and author Siddhartha Mukherjee’ filmmakers Karan Johar and Meghna Gulzar; actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Vicky Kaushal; policymaker, economist, and politician N K Singh and political philosopher and Harvard University Professor Michael J Sandel.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be the guest at the Express Adda in New Delhi on Monday and will be in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Dr C Rajamohan, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express.

This is the second time Jaishankar will be a guest at the Express Adda. The last time was in September 2020, amid the pandemic, in an online mode.