New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday reiterated India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict while stressing that New Delhi calls for cessation of violence, hostilities and a return to dialogue and national sovereignty.
Speaking during an interaction at the Raisina Dialogue 2022, EAM Jaishankar said, "Ukraine is one of the most dominating issues at present not only because of interests or values concerned but also because of the consequences worldwide". Highlighting India's stand on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said, "When rules-based order was under challenge in Asia, the advice we got from Europe was to do more trade. At least we are not giving you that advice...We should find a way of returning to diplomacy and dialogue".
He also noted that what happened in Afghanistan clearly stated what was the rules-based order. Talking about the wider consequences of the war, the EAM said "there will be no winners out of this conflict" and added that the immediate issue was the effect on oil and food prices. Stressing on the Free Trade agreement with the EU as well as Australia, Jaishankar pointed out that India made significant progress in bilateral FTA.
"We hope after Ursula Von Der Leyen's visit, India-European FTA will pick up greater speed. After UK PM's visit, FTA with the UK will also gather speed," the EAM said. He pointed out that India is discussing FTA with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while adding, "We are also looking beyond the orthodox way of engaging...there is discussion underway and there is a new way of engaging not only through FTA mechanism'.
On India's role in the Western Indo-Pacific, Jaishankar pointed out that "We need to reclaim our history. Our ties and trade were disrupted in colonial times, but in a more globalised world, we should focus on how we aim to rebuild and interact with each other, rather than through intermediaries."
He also said that the aim should be to recreate the Indian Ocean community, look for solutions amongst and partner with each other instead of looking to countries far away. The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, held annually since 2016. It is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Last year, the Dialogue was held in a virtual format due to exceptional circumstances necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the Dialogue is being held in an ‘in-person’ format.
The theme for the 2022 Edition is "Terra Nova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperilled”. Over three days, the Dialogue, will have panel discussions and conversations across multiple formats on six thematic pillars - (i) Rethinking Democracy: Trade, Tech and Ideology; (ii) End of Multilateralism: A Networked Global Order?; (iii) Water Caucuses: Turbulent Tides in the Indo-Pacific; (iv) Communities Inc.: First Responders to Health, Development, and Planet; (v) Achieving Green Transitions: Common Imperative, Diverging Realities; and (vi) Samson vs Goliath: The Persistent and Relentless Tech Wars
This year, Raisina Dialogue side-events will be hosted in Berlin and Washington D.C. The Raisina Young Fellows programme will also be conducted on the sidelines of the main conference.
Read: What happens in Ukraine will have impact on Indo-Pacific: EU chief
