We don’t get into ‘punch scoring’, says Jaishankar on ties with neighbours

The External Affairs Minister said that the government has promoted development projects and trade that have helped sustain ties with neighbours

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday (December 13, 2024) defended the neighbourhood policy of the government and said that it is necessary to avoid “punch scoring” in relations with neighbours.

Mr. Jaishankar said that the government has promoted development projects and trade that have helped sustain ties with neighbours. His remarks came in response to a question from Congress’ Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari who said that the current status of India’s relationship with the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal presented a challenging scenario.

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“Our neighbours also have their politics. There are ups and downs in their countries, it will have implication for us. It is important that we are mature and we do not get into punch scoring,” the Minister said while responding to the Congress MP.

“India was the eighth country that the new President of the Maldives visited after being elected on an oust-India campaign and that too under very severe economic compulsions. China was the first country that the new Prime Minister of Nepal visited and signed off on the belt and road initiative,” said Mr. Tewari, stating that China has an upper hand in relation with India’s neighbours.

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He further said, “Bangladesh continues to be in turmoil. My question, therefore, Mr Minister is, that while India may have a neighbourhood first policy, is there any neighbour of India’s that has India-first policy?”

In response, Mr. Jaishankar said, “I would like to remind that the very Maldives he is talking about is also the country from which Indian companies were driven out for an important project in 2012. The same Sri Lanka was the place where the Hambantota port was built by the Chinese in 2008, and the same Bangladesh was giving support to terrorism till 2014.”

While it is well known that Indian companies like GMR faced strong backlash in Maldives in 2012, and Chinese construction of Hambantota took place in the early 2000s, the government of Sheikh Hasina, which came to power in 2009, undertook several landmark anti-terror steps that addressed India’s security concerns. Several high profile counter-terror operations were conducted and terror suspects, including some with ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, were arrested by the Hasina government. According to the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses under the Ministry of Defence, the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh in February 2010 arrested five LeT terrorists in Bangladesh.

Mr. Jaishankar said that as an MP, Mr. Tewari enjoys privileges while arguing his point, but he would prefer a non-partisan approach towards foreign policy.

“Sir, I am very glad, that the honourable member referred to timing of visits (of leaders of the neighbouring countries. Before PM Narender Modi went to Nepal, for seventeen years there was no visits to Nepal. Does that mean nobody in India cared for Nepal... Visits are important, I accept it. Visits are also subject of timing, of convenience of agenda,” said Mr. Jaishankar.

“The honourable member asked, we give them priority, do they give us priority. The answer is yes – that if one looks at what we do with each of these countries,” said Mr. Jaishankar, informing Parliament that under the Mohamed Muizzu government in Maldives, India has inaugurated the Adoo link road and reclamation project, and that President Muizzu was present at the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 9.

Published - December 13, 2024 11:40 pm IST