Speaking at an interaction with Industry leaders at an event in Surat, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted that India should focus on manufacturing, to compete with China on the economic front.
Noting that tension at the border with China has caused abnormality in New Delhi-Beijing relations, he highlighted India’s thinking is absolutely clear that unless there is peace and stability in the border areas, the ties between the two Asian powers will not improve.
“If we have to compete with China, which we should, then its solution is that we should focus on manufacturing here. Our approach towards manufacturing has changed after PM Modi came to power. Before that, people did not give much emphasis on manufacturing,” Jaishankar pointed out.
There is no other way to counter China on the economic front, insisted the career diplomat-turned-politician while replying to questions from audience members on how he saw India’s relationship with the world’s second largest economy as it moves towards becoming a $5 trillion economy.
Jaishankar was speaking at a corporate summit on “Bharat’s Economic Rising,” organised by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).
“If we talk of rising Bharat, it will rise through technology. You cannot build strong technology on weak manufacturing. At any cost, we should put special emphasis on manufacturing, because that is the only economic response,” the Union minister added.
Asked about relationship with Pakistan which remains strained and New Delhi’s fight against terrorism sponsored from across the border, Jaishankar asserted India should never compromise on terrorism.
Jaishankar on the future of the World Trade Organisation amid China dumping goods in India through dubious methods and advanced countries using the WTO to their own convenience, the minister said while it has its own set of challenges, New Delhi should never leave the global forum.
In his speech at the corporate summit, Jaishankar emphasised that reforms carried out by the government and policies framed to counter COVID-19 have helped India emerge from the pandemic and strengthen its economic position to such an extent that today “we are the fastest growing large economy”. “This is one reason why global perception about India has changed,” he said.
Given India’s leadership role, vision, stability, confidence and foreign investment figures, the world wants to collaborate with “us in our journey”, the external affairs minister said.
An agreement for an economic corridor between India and Europe through Saudi Arabia and the UAE reached during G-20 meet last year and collaboration with the western world on emerging technologies such as semiconductors and drones have put the country in a unique position, he said. These countries think “that India is a unique, non-replaceable partner and so they want to work with India at any cost,” Jaishankar added.
Indian doctors and engineers are in great demand across the world, and the country wants to protect the interest of its people going abroad and ensure they are given equal treatment, he said.
(With PTI inputs)