S Jaishankar US Visit: India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has gone to America for the Quad Summit. In a conversation with Newsweek there, he talked about India-US relations, trade deal, Ukraine war and India's role in the Indo-Pacific... Read more

India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who is on a visit to America, has said that there may be differences and conflicts in the relations between India and America, but both countries will have to keep moving their relations forward. In a conversation with the American magazine Newsweek, Jaishankar spoke openly about the trade deal between the two countries, the Ukraine war, and India's role in the Indo-Pacific.

Jaishankar said that the talks on the trade agreement between India and America are in their final stages, but success cannot be guaranteed because the other party is also involved in the talks. He said that both the parties will have to find a common ground, and the picture will become clearer in the coming days.

On India's economic progress, Jaishankar said that a profound change is taking place in the country at this time. We have developed at twice the pace in recent years compared to the last 50-60 years. Unless this socio-economic change takes place, India cannot become a reliable destination for global investment.

'India can talk to both Russia and Iran'

Regarding India's stand on the Ukraine war, he said that in 2022 we had clearly said that this is not the time for war and this crisis will not be resolved on the battlefield. This line was not popular at that time, but today Europe is also saying that we should sit and talk. He said that India maintained dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine and contributed to solutions on issues like food security, fertilizer supply and grain corridor.

Jaishankar pointed to India's strategic independence, saying there are very few countries that can compete with Russia and Iran We can talk directly to countries like China and China. India is a democratic political system, a market-based economy and a society that looks forward to the future. He also clarified that India is not 'anti-West' and it is active in forums like BRICS and Quad, from participating in G7 conferences.

'Quad is a platform for equal partnership'

Jaishankar said that India-US relations have improved at the end of the tenure of every US President from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. He reminded that when he was India's ambassador to the US, the controversy related to an Indian diplomat (Devyani Khobragade) was a big issue, but despite this the relations between the two countries strengthened.

Talking about India's strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, he said that the Quad is a very interesting international platform. It first came to the fore actively during the Trump administration and the four countries India, America, Japan and Australia are working in equal partnership on maritime security, pandemic preparedness and other strategic matters.

PC:hindi news18