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NATION DECEMBER 03, 2021 | The Indian Eye 8

from its neighborhood to

asean region, india is keeping an

eye on China’s bri

S Jaishankar articulates Indian position at the meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Group,

which took place in a rapidly changing global and regional environment

OuR BuREAu that SCO continues to play a signif-
icant role in promoting peace and
New Delhi
stability in the region. India remains
n a veiled reference to China’s committed to contributing construc-
Belt and Road Initiative, Exter- tively to the implementation of the
Inal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar mandate of SCO,” he said.
on Thursday said any serious con- Meanwhile, foreign secretary
nectivity initiative must be consul- Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on
tative, transparent and participatory Wednesday that the ASEAN coun-
and conform to principles of sover- tries are central to India’s Indo-Pacif-
eignty and territorial integrity. ic strategy and the two fundamental
Addressing the 20th Meeting of pillars of the nation’s foreign policy
the SCO Council of Heads of Gov- are the Neighborhood First and Act
ernment, Jaishankar said India today East. “India is linked to South East
is an emerging economic force at the Asia by land through this region. It
global level and despite the econom- is linked by the Bay of Bengal to the
ic devastation caused by COVID-19, Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific,”
India’s agile response in fighting the he added. The Foreign Secretary’s
pandemic and ensuring economic Remarks came on Wednesday at the
stability has been noteworthy. He External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar meets uS trade representative Katherine Tai Annual Session of the Indian Cham-
said India believes that greater con- ber of Commerce held in Kolkata
nectivity is an economic force-mul- in New Delhi on Tuesday (ANI) titled ‘Bharat@75: Empowering In-
tiplier which has acquired greater dia: Today for Tomorrow’
salience in the post-Covid era. much-needed reforms to our glob- nomic force at the global level. The The Foreign Secretary highlight-
“However, any serious connec- al institutions, including the WHO, International Monetary Fund (IMF) ed those lines of communication are
tivity initiative must be consultative, and rework our development strate- has forecast a 9.5 per cent growth in being created through North East
transparent and participatory. It gies to face a post-COVID-19 world. the Indian economy in 2021. India to South and South East Asia.
must conform to the most basic prin- For this, we need a Reformed and Our trade performance has also “Five of the six rail links that
ciple of international law - respect Reinvigorated Multilateralism that been strong, growing by more than connected Bangladesh and India
for sovereignty and territorial integ- reflects today’s realities, which gives 20% this year. Despite COVID, In- before 1965 and were interrupted by
rity,” Jaishankar said. voice to all stakeholders, addresses dia attracted record FDI inflows of the vagaries of history have been re-
He said India has been taking contemporary challenges and puts USD 77 billion in 2020-21 and an- activated. More are being built,” the
steps to operationalize the Chaba- human beings at the center of our other $22 billion in the first three Foreign Secretary said.
har port in Iran to provide secure thought and policies,” he said. months of this year. WIPO has India is now connected to Nepal
and commercially viable access to Noting that India is today an ranked India number one in the through the Jayanagar- Kurtha rail-
the sea for Central Asian countries. emerging economic force at the Global Innovation Index 2021 in the way line. A Raxaul Kathmandu rail-
“We have also proposed to include global level, External Affairs Min- Central and South Asian region. In- way is on the anvil.
the Chabahar port in the framework ister S Jaishankar said the country dian Startups have so far created 65 The Foreign Secretary also said
of International North-South Trans- stands ready to share its experience unicorns, out of which 28 unicorns that the future plans to enhance
port Corridor (INSTC). I would like in the startup sector with the other were added during 2021 alone,” he connectivity include extending the
to reaffirm India’s commitment to SCO member states through its ini- said. Trilateral Highway to Laos, Cambo-
cooperate, plan, invest and build tiative to set up a Special Working “We stand ready to share our ex- dia, and Vietnam. Railways that link
physical and digital connectivity in Group on Startups and Innovation. perience with the other SCO Mem- India and Myanmar and further to
the SCO region,” he said. Speaking at the 20th Meeting ber States through our initiative to Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Cambo-
The minister, who addressed of the Shanghai Cooperation Orga- set up a Special Working Group on dia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh are all
the event through video conference, nization (SCO) Council of Heads Startups and Innovation,” he added. in the realm of possibility.
said the socio-political impact of of Government, Jaishankar said In- Jaishankar noted that the meet- The above projects will improve
COVID-19 is far from over and has dia’s agile response in fighting the ing took place in a rapidly changing India’s connectivity in the ASEAN
exposed the weakness of global insti- COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring global and regional environment. region through the Act East Policy.
tutions. economic stability has been notewor- “In these times of unprecedented
“This is the time to bring in thy. “India today is an emerging eco- upheaval, it is heartening to note Continued at next page... >>

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