News Brief
India Not A Bully, Problem With One Country: Jaishankar Explains How Relations With Neighbours Improved
Nishtha Anushree
Mar 03, 2024, 01:05 PM | Updated 01:05 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar asserted that a "big change" happened between India and its neighbours and denied charges of India being a bully.
While speaking at an event at Ananta Aspen Centre, Jaishankar said, "Big bullies don't provide $4.5 billion when neighbours are in trouble, big bullies don't supply vaccines to other countries when Covid is on."
He also highlighted that India makes exceptions to its rules to respond to food demands or fuel demands of other countries when supply chain is disrupted due to some crisis.
Explaining what has changed between India and its neighbours, Jaishankar said, "With Bangladesh and Nepal, you have a power grid, you have roads and railways which didn't exist a decade ago."
"Indian businesses use ports of Bangladesh on a national treatment. If you look at connectivity, the volume of people moving, the volume of trade and investments, it's a very good story to tell," he added.
Highlighting that connectivity was enhanced with Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives as well, Jaishankar without naming Pakistan said, "Our problem in the neighbourhood, honestly, is in respect of one country."
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.