On Imran Khan's words of praise for India, foreign secy Shringla says this

Harsh Shringla said India has received praise across the world for its foreign policy initiatives and to state that one person praised the same would be wrong, adding India’s record in this regard spoke for itself.

Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday said India had received praise at a global level for its foreign policy initiatives and to state that one person praised the same would be wrong. Vardhan’s statement came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan praising India for following an “independent foreign policy”.

Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla addresses a press conference in New Delhi.

A day ago, Khan, who is set to face a no-confidence motion in the Pakistan Parliament on Friday, lauded New Delhi for its decision to import crude oil from Russia despite American sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

When asked about the same, Shringla said India’s record in this regard spoke for itself.

“To say that one person (praised our foreign policy) would be wrong. We've received praise across the world for many of our foreign policy initiatives at the level of the PM. I think our record speaks for itself,” the foreign secretary said while speaking to reporters.

Shringla also spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual summit with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison where the two leaders discussed the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Shringla said both the leaders laid equal emphasis on the fact that international orders stand on the UN Charter on the rule of law and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

He said the two PMs also agreed that they would be increasing cooperation between India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Australia's Pension and Sovereign Fund. “It's important because of our interest in attracting Australian investments in our infrastructure development,” he said.

Shringla further said India will offer the same tax benefits for Australia's Pension and Sovereign Fund here as is given in Australia. “We're willing to match the tax benefits that Australia gives to its Sovereign and Pension Funds. Once they invest in India, they will get similar benefits.”

The foreign secretary said Modi also referred to concerns along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh during his talks with Morrisson and said peace and tranquillity in the border area was an essential prerequisite for normalisation of relations with China

Morrison also gave a fairly detailed perspective on how he saw China and its actions in the region and he spoke in particular about the South China Sea, Shringla added.