Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has in a most direct way alluded to why it was important for India to also know what its ally is doing and with whom it is talking. This comes in the context of India-US relationship and the fight against terrorism.
After talking about the India-US trade issues and contentious matters linked to tariffs, Jaishankar moved on to a second, important topic that affects bilateral ties to some extent. “What is particularly important for India is the issue of terrorism. The foreign minister indicated that a partner that refuses to see or understand India’s concerns on terrorism would certainly affect bilateral ties.
We feel there are very few countries which 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,” he said without naming Pakistan, a country that the US has often found amenable to work with to meet its policies.
Much of the world has had a more difficult relationship with the US; however, that is not a consolation but a reality, according to Jaishankar.
“Now, if something which matters so deeply to us, there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation of empathy for that, I think that creates a problem too. “Yes, we would certainly hope for and expect the relationship to move on an upward trajectory but I have to be real about the issues that we confront.
If one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is an impact of that on the relationship to some extent,” Jaishankar said. And to the extent we are able to move ahead on some of the issues, I think we will have a better relationship,” the Minister of External Affairs said.
