Rajkot (Gujarat): Describing the country's achievements over the past decade, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said "while other nations have authoritarian governments in operation, India has proved that democracy can yield results even with a positive attitude towards success".
Jaishankar was addressing the assembly of over 1,500 intellectuals at Pramukh Swami Hall here on Tuesday. Starting his speech with the element of change in the "fate of the nation", Jaishankar said, "Every five years there is a change in the fate of India and Indians. That change is brought by the people taking into consideration the decisions taken by the government and the vision blueprint of the government in power, its policies and implementation of policies."
The foreign minister said the world's top rating agencies and financial institutions have predicted that India will be the third-strongest economy in the world in the coming days. He said the development of India should not be limited to India alone and should also be an inclusive development. "The government has implemented several schemes for such inclusive development," he said.
Claiming that India's acceptance at the global level has become stronger, the Foreign Minister, citing examples of exercises conducted for evacuating Indians from conflict zones and war-torn nations including Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Ukraine, Jaishankar said, "In Ukraine, while other developed nations were flying three to four aircraft, India undertook series of 90 flights to evacuate Indians."
Crediting the success of the reclamation missions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaishankar said, "The model adopted by the Prime Minister to ensure that the rescue missions do not get stuck in any files and there is no delay in it is really commendable because in this arrangement a specific fund is kept as a reserve fund while the Government of India is now in charge of planning and coordinating with the three wings of the Army and other agencies and how to successfully carry out such international rescue missions in which Indians are trapped."
India's geographical situation as well as India's population are going to prove to be its asset, the foreign minister said. Jaishankar said that India is becoming a leading country in the definition of "chipdiplomacy" and "chipwar".
"India is going to become a chip manufacturing hub in the coming days and upcoming chip manufacturing facilities at Dholera in Gujarat will prepare 85,000 engineers who will be a part of new revolution in the field of semiconductor and chip manufacturing," the External Affairs Minister said.
Jaishankar said India will definitely get permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as there is a feeling in the world that it should get the position, but the country will have to work harder this time for it. He was asked by the audience on India's chances of becoming the permanent member of the world body.
The United Nations was formed around 80 years ago, five nations -- China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- decided among themselves to become permanent members of its security council, Jaishankar said. At that time, there were a total of around 50 independent countries in the world, which has over time increased to around 193, he said.
"But these five nations have kept their control, and it is strange that you have to ask them to give us their consent for a change. A few agree, a few others put forward their position with honesty, while others do something from behind," he said. This has been going on for several years, the minister said.
"But now, there is a feeling across the world that this should change, and India should get a permanent seat. I see this feeling increasing every year," he said. "We will definitely get it. But nothing big is ever achieved without hard work," Jaishankar said. "We will have to work hard, and this time we will have to work even harder," he added.
The Union minister said India, Japan, Germany and Egypt have put forward a proposal together before the UN and he believes this will take the matter a bit forward. "But we must build pressure, and when this pressure increases...There is a feeling in the world that the UN has weakened. There was a deadlock in the UN on the Ukraine war and no consensus was reached in the UN regarding Gaza. I think as this feeling increases, our chances of getting a permanent seat will increase," he said.
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