Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during his visit to Brussels this week, met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, where he highlighted India's strategic importance, its global positioning, and expressed reservations on key EU policies, according to Euractiv.
Speaking amid ongoing EU-India free trade agreement negotiations, Jaishankar made a strong case for India as a reliable economic partner. "India - a nation of 1.4 billion -- offers skilled labour and a more trustworthy economic partnership than China," he said, as reported by Euractiv in an edited transcript.
Turning to recent global coverage of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, in which 26 lives were lost, Jaishankar pushed back against the narrative that equates India's response with regional tensions.
"Let me remind you of something - there was a man named Osama bin Laden. Why did he, of all people, feel safe living for years in a Pakistani military town, right next to their equivalent of West Point?" he said. "I want the world to understand - this isn't merely an India-Pakistan issue. It's about terrorism. And that very same terrorism will eventually come back to haunt you." On India's position regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar reaffirmed India's non-prescriptive stance.
"We don't believe that differences can be resolved through war - we don't believe a solution will come from the battlefield. It's not for us to prescribe what that solution should be. My point is, we're not being prescriptive or judgemental - but we are also not uninvolved." -- ANI
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