Speaking in the Business Today Mindarsh 2025, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said that unlike Western and European countries, India has not favored any country in the Ukraine-Russia war. India has always been saying that it is with peace. Along with this, India maintained their relations with both Israel and Iran after the attack on Israel by Hamas during 2023 in the Middle East. Israel has become an important country to give weapons to India. At the same time, India is dependent on Iran for crude oil.
This attitude of India was also praised by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. On this, Jaishankar said in a funny manner that I have always praised Tharoor’s decision. Jaishankar further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has good relations with the leaders of the world. It is because of their understanding that India can understand the changes happening in the world. The Indian Foreign Minister said that we looked at the quarrel between Russia-Ukraine very carefully. We understood the reasons for this. The rest of the countries probably took decisions in emotions, which affected their thinking.
Jaishankar said that tariff wars are going on in the world. Tariff war means when countries impose more tax on each other’s goods. In such a situation, India will adopt the policy of ‘India First’ i.e. ‘India first’. India’s goal is to become ‘Viksit Bharat’. he/she said that today the world is struggling with Industrial Policies, Export Controls and Tariff War. Industrial policy means that the government makes rules to promote industries. Export control means that the government prohibits sending some things out. The world is now worried about de-Risking Global Economy. D-Risk means reducing danger. The solution is to increase manufacturing.
US President Donald Trump imposed tax on goods from other countries. This is called reciprocal tariffs. Reciperook tariff means when one country taxes the goods of another country, then the other country also taxes the goods of the first country. Because of this, there has been upheaval in the world in the world. Trump called India a great fraud. India is going to have a recipe -rocked tariff from April 2.
Jaishankar said that India is currently talking about three important agreements. First, FTA (FTA) ie Free Trade Agreement with European Union. Free trade agreement means when two countries compromise on trade with each other without tax. Second, FTA with United Kingdom. Third, BTA with United States is BTA ie Bilateral Trade Agreement. Bilateral trade agreement means when two countries agreement to trade among themselves.
Jaishankar, taking a sarcasm at western countries, said that his/her strategic objective was to move China forward. he/she was advancing China as a society, praising their achievements and history. At the same time, we (India) down (India) was also compulsion of Western countries. Jaishankar spoke of strengthening energy relations. he/she said that due to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Electric Vehicle (EV), the demand for electricity will increase. Artificial intelligence means when machines act like humans. Electric vehicle means electric vehicles.
Jaishankar said that if the data is new oil, the data centers are new refinery. Electricity will be required to run the data center. he/she said that India needs to create Global Capability Center. Global Capability Center means a center where people from all over the world can work. Jaishankar said that we have to move forward in the field of technology and service. Therefore, we have to plan and prepare for Global Workplace. Global workplace means a place where people from all over the world can work.
