Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said that India does not want to simply be a consumer market for other economies. Addressing the Bharat at 100 Summit in New Delhi on the theme of ‘Fuelling Bharat’s Global Rise’, Dr Jaishankar said that global conglomerates and industries are coming to India not just for its market but also for its talent.
On China, the minister said that India wants a healthy trade relationship with it but does not want to be dependent upon it.
Talking about imports from Russia, the Minister said that the European nation is a trusted partner along with Australia, Brazil and Indonesia for natural resources that India lacks. He highlighted that with Russia’s trade attention shifting away from West in the past few years, India has been pressing Russian leadership to improve their trade in pharma, marine and agriculture.
On India US ties, Jaishankar expressed confidence in India’s ability to work with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump even as other countries remain concerned about the maverick leader’s return to office.
“We’ve always had a positive political relationship with Trump and I would say that Trump has also had a positive political view of India,” opined India’s top diplomat at a summit hosted by ASSOCHAM.
“What he did in Trump 1.0 is some basis, but it might not be exactly like that… Firstly, we believe we will see stronger commitment in America towards manufacturing. Secondly, we could have to change the terms of engagement since there is a belief that America’s partners have been unfair to America…. Thirdly, we could see a more business-like America that’s looking at more immediate results,”
“The world is interested and wants to deal with us. We have to make it easier, profitable, and mutually advantageous. The world is a competitive place, but overall, the interest in India is growing. We are going to get a lot of window shopping, but it’s our job to get them from the window and make them a customer,” he said.
Jaishankar pointed out that Trump’s re-election will lead to certain predictable changes in American politics. These include a renewed focus on manufacturing within the United States as well as a general belief that many global partners have not been fair to America. This will lead to some renegotiation of the terms of these alliances and a more businesslike approach to Washington DC.