India’s concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistan and a lack of sufficient understanding of those concerns in the US can affect the India-US relationship, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in New York on Monday, identifying the issue as one of the challenges facing the partnership.
“What for us in India is particularly important is the issue of terrorism . In a social media era, there is a very big public opinion factor which, particularly in democratic societies, makes itself felt. The Union minister reiterated India’s position that the state of the border would determine the state of the broader relationship with China.
The Indian minister raised concerns over the passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress, which could pave the way for tariffs of up to 100% on major purchasers of Russian oil, including India, according to India’s readout of the Jaishankar-Rubio meeting.
There are very few countries that have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate, conscious policy over many, many decades,” Jaishankar said at a conversation hosted by the Asia Society. “Now, if something that matters so deeply to us — there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that — that creates a problem too,” the minister said. I think that’s a reality we have to take into account,” the external affairs minister said. Jaishankar also discussed the challenges surrounding the India-US trade deal, which he said had created “bumps” in bilateral ties over the past year. Describing the agreement as “very, very far advanced”, he said its conclusion could contribute to an improvement in the relationship. Jaishankar said the improvement in ties with China had also helped India’s position on other issues by ensuring that Indian foreign policy did not become overly focused on a single challenge.
“Foreign policy and diplomacy today is not just something which is conducted by states or leaders or ministers or even by diplomats.
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