A day after the government announced that Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to Pakistan for the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of Government on October 15-16, the Minister said he is not going there to discuss India. -Pakistan relations but for “multi-national event”.
Speaking at the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organized by the IC Center for Governance in New Delhi, Jaishankar said, “Yes, I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month and that meeting of the SCO – the heads of the SCO. government meeting…I expect there will be a lot of media interest because the nature of the relationship is like that and I think we will face it. But I want to say that it will be in the international event, I am not going there to discuss the India-Pakistan relationship. I am going to be a good member of the SCO, I will behave myself appropriate.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the SCO Summit took place in Islamabad this time, because, like India, Pakistan is also a recent member of the bloc.
“Normally, the Prime Minister goes to a high-level meeting, heads of state, that is in line with tradition. It just so happens that the meeting is taking place in Pakistan, because, like us, they are a latecomer,” added Jaishankar.
When asked about his plan before he addressed it to the conference, EAM said, “Yes, I am planning it. In my business, you plan for everything you’re going to do, and for most of the things you won’t do, you plan for that too. “
In August this year, Pakistan, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO CHG, said it had extended invitations to all heads of government of SCO member states, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for a meeting in Islamabad.
This will be the first visit of a Foreign Minister to Pakistan in nine years – Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation to the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan held in Islamabad on December 8-9, 2015.
Setting out India’s approach, the foreign minister said “India would really like to have (a) good relationship, but that cannot happen by ignoring cross-border terrorism and indulging in ambitions.”
Responding to questions about SAARC, he said “currently SAARC is not moving forward, we have not had a SAARC meeting for the simple reason that there is one member of SAARC that is carrying out cross-border terrorism, at least against one more member, maybe more. Now… if you are all sitting together and cooperate, and at the same time, you know that this kind of terrorism is going on openly, it actually challenges you to ignore it and continue, and, if so, you also get used to it, you accept that this is a legitimate tool of the state. And, I think at one point, we reached the decision that we should not do this…that you know…terrorism is not acceptable.”
“And if, despite the global opinion about it, if one of our neighbors continues to do it, there should be a cost. It will not be business as usual in SAARC,” he said.
In China, he said bilateral relations are “at a crossroads.” “The current situation does not help the needs of any country. There is a way forward, and that is to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas, respecting the LAC, and not wanting to change the situation beyond that. “
He emphasized these three things in common – mutual respect, empathy, mutual interest – and after all, “the growth of Asia can only happen when India and China have a positive dynamic”.
In West Asia, he said the situation “in the Middle East is a good problem, a deep concern, … the conflict is growing.”
“What we saw was the terrorist attack, followed by the response, then we saw what happened in Gaza. Now you see it… the exchange between Israel and Iran, the Houthis firing in the Red Sea. It actually costs us. Not that anyone is neutral and benefits…shipping rates have gone up, insurance, exports, foreign exchange are affected. Oil prices rose yesterday. The day before yesterday, markets panicked after Iran’s missile attack. Therefore, conflict can be exploited by taking advantage. I don’t deny that but I think that in a globalized world that is so intertwined, conflict anywhere creates problems everywhere…honestly today, whether it’s the conflict in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East, West Asia, these are big factors. instability, major anxiety factors. I think the whole world, including us, is concerned, and we are trying to see at least where we can make a difference and do what we can,” Jaishankar said.