New Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said he feels things are moving in a “positive direction” when it comes to India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He said that ‘developed India’ will have many faces and expressions and UNSC will be ‘one of them’.
In his inaugural address at an event organized by the ‘PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’ (PHDCCI) in Delhi, Jaishankar said that the people’s choice is whether the ‘Indian vehicle’ should go on fourth gear, fifth gear or It should go to reverse gear.
In his address, he also emphasized on how India and the Narendra Modi government handled the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the Prime Minister of that time, the government of that time took a ‘serious, sober approach’ to the challenge. Jaishankar also gave the example of the situation in Eastern Ladakh that started four years ago and the way India reacted to it.
He said that there is one thing that people often say to him, “Governments change, but foreign policy does not change.” He said, “All foreign ministers will have to hear this. It’s like we don’t count. We are doing it on ‘auto-pilot’. And, I tell people…that’s really not true.”
“Look at our reaction to 26/11 (terrorist attack) in Mumbai and look at our reaction to Uri and Balakot,” he said. The minister said, “The purpose of Uri and Balakot was to demonstrate that no, this way of life will not continue and a price will have to be paid.”
During the dialogue session, Jaishankar was also asked about India’s claim for a permanent seat in the UNSC. He said, “I believe things are moving in a positive direction. There will be people who will oppose it because everyone competes, no one wants anyone else to move ahead.”
He said, “But if you ask me in which direction it is moving, I think it is moving positively, I think more and more countries today recognize how much India has. There is a strong case and more and more countries also accept that the UN itself needs reform.”
Tags: S Jaishankar, united nations
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 22, 2024, 23:03 IST