S Jaishankar was inducted into the Union Cabinet by Narendra Modi to take the position as the Minister of External Affairs. Ever since his induction, he has received positive responses from across party lines. With him holding the external affairs ministry, it seems that India’s foreign policy and interests are in safe hands.
If you are not aware of what a diplomat such as Jaishankar brought to the external affairs table of GoI, we’ll tell you what it is. It is an incisive mind to understand the complexities of the issue at hand. It is a composed analysis of ground realities. And it is patience and perseverance to negotiate for the broader national interest.
Foreign policy accomplishments under S Jaishankar
It is quite a known fact that PM Modi aims at fulfilling his domestic agenda of transforming India from a developing country to a developed one. And S Jaishankar seems to be helping him in this. India’s inability in the past to take decisive action against Pakistan for terror perpetrated on our soil is nothing but a testimony of a fractured foreign policy, fearful of all sorts of international repercussions.
In October 2020, Jaishankar and the Indian Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper. The meeting was carried out to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation (BECA), which facilitates the sharing of sensitive information and intelligence—including access to highly-accurate nautical, aeronautical, topographical, and geospatial data—between the United States and India.
Jaishankar rescued Indian nationals of Kabul
As the capital city of Kabul fell to the Taliban terrorists last year, the Indian government performed a high-risk manoeuvre of bringing the Indian nationals, journalists, diplomats, embassy staffers and security personnel back home rather smoothly and safely. That is not to say the mission did not have any anxious moments as described by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar after the completion of the operation.
But it was his efforts that resulted in a successful rescue operation.
Jaishankar’s action against China
As reported by TFI, Jaishankar had listed an eight-point framework for the steps China needed to take to repair bilateral ties with India. Speaking at the online All India Conference of China Studies, Jaishankar had remarked that the principles governing India-China ties, should have a strict adherence to all agreements on the management of the LAC, mutual respect, and sensitivity, and recognizing each other’s aspirations as rising Asian powers.
Read more: S Jaishankar rips into “Organisation of Islamic Countries” for meddling in India’s Internal affairs
A year on since China’s failed encroachment attempt in Eastern Ladakh near the Line of Control, New Delhi did not give a free pass to Xi Jinping. The fact that a China-made pandemic has caused tremendous damage to India’s growth story was the reason why Jaishankar gave a hard snub to China and left it red-faced.
Jaishankar on his way to establishing India as a global power
Jaishankar, a career diplomat, has been silently going about his job to ensure that India emerges as a responsible power in the good books of both the advanced economies/ superpowers and small, strategically located countries throughout the globe.
In line with this strategy of bringing smaller countries on board, he interacted with the Foreign Ministers of Grenada, as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines- two small Caribbean Island countries, which have traditionally not been quite popular on India’s diplomatic radar.
S. Jaishankar has been going about his job effectively- interacting with large and small countries alike and ensuring that India secures deep economic and strategic ties across the world which are indispensable to the country’s future ambitions, namely emergence as the new manufacturing hub of the world and bigger role in international institutions that starts with permanent UNSC membership.
