Underlining India’s strong stand against terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday warned that the country’s “tolerance for any type of cross-border terrorism is very low” but hinted that ties could improve if the northern neighbour changed its course.
Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit, Jaishankar said India has continuously struggled with Pakistan-perpetrated terrorism in the past. However, under the Narendra Modi government in the last ten years, India has insisted on an atmosphere free of terror and violence. For ties to improve, New Delhi has argued that Islamabad has to stop sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
On Pakistan
#WATCH | On Pakistan, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “We have struggled continuously with the fact that they have unrelentingly practised terrorism…Now, the tolerance for any type of cross-border terrorism in our country is very low. It’s clear that there will be consequences both… pic.twitter.com/bdtG2PdnMK— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2024
‘A normal neighbour’
In a clear message to Pakistan, the external affairs minister added, “It’s clear that there will be consequences both across LoC and IB if something like this happens. Now, the ball is in their court. If they wind down this industry they have created, then people will treat them as a normal neighbour. If they make this their core competence that will define their image. We have been straight with them.”
When asked about a question about regional connectivity, Jaishankar said, If one looks at the last 10 years, there has been great improvement in regional connectivity and inter-dependence. If you look at Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, you can see that in Bangladesh and Nepal, there is road and rail connectivity, fuel pipelines, an increased volume of business, and access to ports in Bangladesh is very big.”
“In the case of Sri Lanka, we have three big proposals – a land bridge to Sri Lanka, a power grid to Sri Lanka and a fuel pipeline to Sri Lanka. With the Maldives, our development projects are doing well, we had some political turbulence which we are hopeful about managing. Things are a little bit more constructive after the visit of my counterpart,” he added.
#WATCH | Delhi | On countries in India’s neighbourhood, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says,” If one looks at the last 10 years, there has been great improvement in regional connectivity and inter-dependence. If you look at Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, you can see that in… pic.twitter.com/8x9oPo7IzI— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2024
On China
On China, Jaishankar was quoted as saying by ANI “If peace & tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, would you do business with someone who has just barged into your drawing room and is trying to make a mess of your house fencing?” It’s common sense that if a country has gone back on written agreements & is doing something on our borders, then how can we say that the business world will continue as normal and other things won’t?”
“We need to define the problem- do we take precautions today, and identify businesses which are some more sensitive than others. Another issue built up over the last 20 years is the trade imbalance issue. In the long run, we will have to see how we encourage domestic sourcing and manufacturing. Third, we need to put the national security filter. Where China is concerned, we will still encourage people in this country to manufacture in India, but we are not completely prohibited people working with China, but we much rather work with Indian companies,” he added.
Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website
Comments
0 comment