S Jaishankar In Namibia: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a visit to Namibia. He is the first Indian Foreign Minister to visit this African country. Referring to India’s strong economic progress, its strong relations abroad and the support of the overseas Indian community, he said that India’s rise is unstoppable and it is gaining its place in the world.
Addressing the Indian community, Jaishankar said on Monday (June 5) that in many ways India is now a more capable and more confident country and thus has received more recognition across the world. He said that India is moving in the right direction and is conscious that there are many challenges ahead. The minister said that with strong ties abroad and meaningful contribution of the Indian community, as well as the progress taking place in the country, we are very clear that India’s rise cannot be stopped.
“India today is not the India that sits at home”
Responding to a question, he said it is important for the government that Indian companies can invest, manufacture, operate overseas and he will discuss with the Namibian leadership whether bilateral investment protection can be established between the two countries. Why not compromise. He said that I would like to do this (agreement) with all 195 countries of the world because today India is not the India which sits at home. This is an India that is going abroad.
What else did the Foreign Minister say?
He said that today we are the most populous country. We are the fifth largest economy (in the world) and it is expected that very soon we will reach the third position (in terms of economy). Today India is making its place in the world and all Indians should be very proud of it. The minister further said that when I go to countries as foreign minister, especially Africa and Latin America and other parts of Asia, I cannot tell you how much credibility we have.
Indian community appreciated
Appreciating the Indian community living abroad, he said that just as Indian expatriates abroad get the benefit of the country’s image, similarly India also gets the benefit of the image of overseas Indians abroad. Jaishankar also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday. In this accident, 275 people have died and about 1200 people have been injured.
Jaishankar said that many leaders around the world and the foreign minister here (Namibia) have also expressed solidarity and sent condolences. I got many messages from foreign ministers and friends of many countries. The Prime Minister also received a lot of messages. This is an example of how globalized the world is today and how the world is connected with India. The minister said that a tragedy happened in India and the world decided to stand by India.
PM Modi’s visit mentioned
Jaishankar referred to Prime Minister Modi’s 2018 visit to Africa. Citing the Prime Minister’s statement given at that time, he said that we (India) are here (in Africa), but we are different from those who have come here. The difference is we are here to listen to you. To ask you what your needs are and everything we do will be in response to your preferences.
Good initiative to bring Namibian cheetahs
He said that when I look at India-Africa relations today, the big change I see is that we (India) are seen as a responsible partner. He also highlighted various projects of cooperation between the two countries. Jaishankar said that Namibia is India’s first partner in a very interesting initiative to relocate cheetahs.
The minister said that we feel that it has now become a big initiative. There is something called the ‘Big Cat Alliance’ in which all the countries that have tigers, lions and different types of cheetahs are trying to get together to see how by working together we can actually ‘ Can increase the number of ‘Big Cant’.
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