E-Paper
India is 15% of the solution that G20 is looking for: Jaishankar
The minister said that India’s image is that of a country that is willing to go to any extent to protect its national security
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday cited International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva’s remarks saying that India is 15 per cent solution that the G20 is looking for in terms of economic growth and development. The minister was speaking at “G20 Festival of Thinkers’, an event organised by Symbiosis International University, in Pune on Thursday.
Jaishankar cited Georgieva’s recent remarks that 15 per cent of the world’s total growth this year is coming from India. “I would encourage you to read a set of remarks by the managing director of the IMF, Krystalina Georgieva. She has pointed out that in what is otherwise, frankly, a fairly gloomy global economic scenario, to have a country like India with this GDP base growing at seven per cent and likely to continue, if not actually increase it in the coming decade, that is something about which the world has great expectations,” said Jaishankar.
“And, if I were to give it to you, you know, in India, I would say that, you know, we are growing at 7 per cent. Everybody feels okay. Good. I want you to see how the world looks like. So, we as a nation are singly 15 per cent of the solution that the G20 is looking for in terms of economic growth and development,” he said.
The minister said that India’s image is that of a country that is willing to go to any extent to protect its national security.
In his address, Jaishankar said that national challenge is among the sharpest challenges that countries face. But India is a country that will neither be pushed out nor will it allow its basic bottom lines to be crossed.
According to the minister, during the last few years, India has been tested for a long time on its western border. “I think things are a little different now and everyone will agree. Few things had happened in 2016 and 2019 and we have been tested and we are being tested on our northern borders,” Jaishankar said, adding that how India comes through this test will show our ability to stand up.
“We have today the image of a country which is willing to do what it takes to defend its national security. It (India) is a very forbearing country, a patient country, it is not a country that goes around picking fights with other people, but it is a country that will not be pushed out,” he said.
“Since it is a polarised world, different countries will try to prejudice you. They will urge you. Sometimes they use pretty strong words. Now, how do you stand up for your interests and sometimes the interests of others who may not have the same ability and strengths that you do. We are seeing that today,” he said.
Referring to the Ukraine conflict, he said the pressures which came with that conflict were also the moment when our sense of independence and sense of confidence were tested.
“We are seen as independent and also as not just standing up for our rights, which we should and we are (doing it), but we are also becoming the voice of the global south. Last month, we had a consultation process ahead of the G20. It was the first time it happened. We as the president of the G20, at the level of Prime Minister, myself, Finance Minister, Trade Minister and Environment Minister, had a consultation with 125 countries of the global south.
“We want to go into G20 saying that there is a large part of the world which is not sitting on that table but they have a legitimate interest and somebody needs to speak up for them. India today is perceived by the rest of the G20 not only as the voice of independence and self-confidence, but also as the voice of the global south,” Jaishankar said.
The minister while pointing at the audience said that we haven’t fully appreciated how much the digital era has changed our lives.
“It has changed our lives because every time we look at the screen, we are learning something but somebody else is also learning about us. Our habits, likes, dislikes, demands, and preferences are all being captured even if we are just looking at the screen,” he said.
Stating it as a serious issue, he asked how the power among nations be determined in the coming generations.
“Centuries ago, it was about wealth, military power, and gold, some also said that it was oil. Data is the new oil. It means that every digital transaction contributes to artificial intelligence, contributes to the creation of capabilities which will determine the balance of power among nations” he said.
