New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted concepts for understanding Indian Foreign Policy to create a multigenerational foreign policy.

He was speaking at India’s World magazine launch event in the national capital on Sunday.

In his speech, Jaishankar highlighted the importance of developing nuanced foreign policy thinking and debates.

“Just like the economic debates and the economic model of this country became more open, I think foreign policy debates, foreign policy thinking of this country also has to keep pace with what is happening in the country and needs to be more open”, the EAM said at book launch event.

He discussed the four elements of Indian Foreign Policy mentioned by C Rajamohan- the importance of working with the West, the need for strategic autonomy, the requirement to expand multipolarity, and the importance of the non-Western world, including the global South. EAM said that along with these there are certain sets of concepts that need to give practicality on the ground.

Thus, presenting a conceptual sense of Indian foreign policy today, Jaishankar gave a list of set of ideas to keep in mind.

“I would first invite you to look at the world in concentric circles, so you have a neighbourhood first (policy), SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) in the oceans, the Act East and Indo-Pacific to the east, the Gulf and the whole link west and the IMEC to the west, leading all the way up to Eurasia and to Europe”, he said.

Explaining the second concept, he said that we need to have a multi-vector foreign policy where we look at our identity of interests with other middle and upper-middle powers. “We need to create sets of balances whose aggregate actually favours India’s rights”, Jaishankar added.

He noted that a third concept is to have a grand strategy, “which looks over the horizon because if you are to be a leading power one day, if you are to have a strategy that is truly grand, then one has to not plan for today or tomorrow, but for the next generation, maybe even beyond”.

He listed out Indian initiatives in this regard from the past decade. These include the focus on Latin America, reaching out to CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market ), the interest in the Pacific Islands, and the involvement with new connectivity initiatives.

“I would suggest to you that this is an India that is actually planning at least a generation ahead, trying to expand its footprint”, EAM said.

Jaishankar said, “If we visualise the world in a much more focused way, in a much more actionable way, if we learn to play the world stage more adeptly, which is not without its risks and its anxieties, and if you actually look over the horizon, I think you have the makings here of what would be in a sense a multigenerational foreign policy”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said India today is not only seen across the globe as “friendly and fair” but also as a “firm and fiery” nation that cares for its people and fends for them in crisis situations.

Mr Jaishankar made the remarks while speaking on the topic “Viksit Bharat @2047 – The Voice of the Youth” at an event at Delhi University’s Hansraj College.

He was referring to the rescue operations run by India to bring back its citizens from war-torn countries such as Ukraine.

“Viksit Bharat” is not a mere slogan to motivate the people but is the foundation built in the last 10 years upon which the future of India’s next 25 years will be built, Mr Jaishankar said while addressing students.

“The next 25 years of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ are your future. It is the journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat’, and it is you who will make this journey possible,” he said.

The external affairs minister said that he sees these 25 years as “a period of opportunity and new challenge”.

“This change is of the kind that we have never seen before,” Mr Jaishankar said while highlighting the developments that have taken place in the economy and the technology sector, and in India’s position in the global forum.

India has emerged as a technology leader globally and the first impression that it has made on the world is with the success of Chandrayaan-3 “which was made at less than the cost of making a movie”, Mr Jaishankar said, referring to the country’s mission to the South Pole of the Moon.

He also said that India is growing as a digital economy with cashless transactions of 12 billion per month, higher than America where four billion such transactions take place in a year.

Mr Jaishankar also spoke about India’s non-tolerance towards cross-border terrorism and gave the example of the Balakot airstrike.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)