"We are an exceptional international power," says India's EAM Jaishankar

New Delhi : Highlighting India's growing stature on the global stage, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that "we are an exceptional international power."

In an exclusive interview with ANI, he said, "We have been able to very clearly demonstrate to the world that we are exceptional international power, meaning we are willing to do things for others, perhaps more than most of the countries are at this point of time." Speaking on big global issues, he said, "We have been able to demonstrate to the world that we are an exceptional international power. If you look today India's global standing is clearly very much higher and quite strong. Strategically, there's much more clarity in our own thinking and operations."

"I think the expectation is that India would have a voice, have an opinion, if necessary they would have more than that and this could be climate change, counter terrorism, black money. if you look at the big it could be maritime security, even today trade, investment that domain, technology," he added.

He underscored the importance of 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative and said, "If you ask me a single thing that we have done in the last ten years which has shaped global views about India, it is 'Vaccine Maitri.'"

He also talked about India partnering in groupings like QUAD and others, he said, "India is going up, it's going well....Why do we have so many partnerships? Because we get along with so many people. How we are to manage different partnerships? Maybe because we are good at it."

Speaking on China, he said, "India's relationship with major powers is good. China is an exception because it violated agreements that we've had and has a posture at the border and as a result we have a counter posture. Overall India's relationship with major powers is good. Relationship with Europe is the best ever we had."

He also gave an example of India's relationship with Russia, saying, "Our relationship with Russia has been extraordinarily steady and it has been steady through all the turbulence in global politics."

He also lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under whom India's stature on the global stage has increased manifold.

"Today, India's global standing is clearly very much higher and quite strong. We've been able to demonstrate to the world that we are an exceptional international power," said Jaishankar on nine years of PM Modi govt's foreign policy.

Sharing his views on nine years of PM Modi's foreign policy, he said, "I think it's a very solid report card. No one if you look today at our global standing which is a very intangible measure of success but it is very visible measure of success. You ask yourself 2023, when PM Modi convenes a meeting, walks up on a global stage or a conference, how do people react, compare it even with him 5 years ago, perhaps with his predecessors many of them, I would say today our global standing is clearly very much higher but could be quite strong."

Jaishankar further stated that there is greater clarity in thinking and implementation of foreign policy and gave example of Neighbourhood First policy.

"I think there is today much greater clarity in our own thinking and in our own operations and I say that as an implementer of foreign policy. That people know there is Neighbourhood First Policy. Neighbourhood First means build your connectivity and your contacts and this is your first priority, then they know there is an extended neighbourhood to the West towards the Gulf, to the East... to South, Central Asia. There is a set of policies which do that. Then they know there is a policy of engaging the major powers, they know there is an Africa focus. So there is today a lot of strategic clarity about our strategy and that's necessary if you are serious about," he said.

Jaishankar also laid stress on operationalization, saying, "we today do projects in almost 80 countries in the world. You know most Indians don't realize how much we do abroad and those are often the test of our credibility. There has been huge improvement there. The projects which often lay for years, unfinished, struggling for something, the efficiency of that has improved."