“Don’t underestimate the importance of communication in difficult times. If there are things to be said and passed on and back, I think those are all contributions we can make and we do,” External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said during a conversation hosted by the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC.
His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Modi’s telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, where the former told him “Terrorism has no place in our world,” with the caveat that “It is crucial to prevent regional escalation and ensure the safe release of all the hostages.”
Jaishankar underscored Modi’s comments by referring to the Hamas attack on Israel last year. “We regard October 7 as a terrorist attack. We understand that Israel needed to respond but we also believe that any response …. has to take into account international humanitarian law … and careful about damage and implications for civilian populations.”
Strengthening US-India Bilateral Ties
India’s foreign policy, he indicated, favoured working with a multiplicity of players.
“If we have more decision making centres, more players of influence, more combinations in a way then obviously you want to work with as many of them as possible. You try to optimise your positioning and your relationships, which is why multi-alignmenr, multivector.”
He contrasted this with the period of non-alignment when India’s capacities were less, it would have preferred not to involve itself in any burning international issue other than a comment or two. He referred to the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Indian Ocean and India’s despatch of naval ships to beef up security for merchant vessels.
Describing the US as a “very natural partner” for India, Jaishankar pointed out that the US tends to “make a special effort” to ensure the politics in one country does not stay within that country. “We think it is important that democracies are mutually respectful, it cannot be that one democracy has the right to comment about another as part of promoting democracy globally but when others do that it becomes foreign interference. Foreign interference is foreign interference irrespective of who does it or where.”
“It’s a testy area,” he said, adding that what he has conveyed to his counterparts in the US is that “you have every right to comment and I have every right to comment on your comment. So don’t feel bad.”
He mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2023 state visit to Washington, DC, and his recent bilateral discussions with President Joe Biden, that demonstrate the deepening partnership between the two countries. Dr. Jaishankar underscored how India and the US are working closely on critical issues like defence innovation, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.
