Not worried about US, says external affairs minister Jaishankar

Mumbai: India is not worried about the impact of the recent US presidential outcome given prime minister Modi’s personal rapport with US president-elect Donald Trump, Union minister of external affairs Dr S. Jaishankar said. 

“I know today a lot of countries are nervous about the US…We are not one of them,” he said, adding that PM Modi's call was among the first three to president Trump following the results. 

Jaishankar was speaking at an event here on Sunday to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Aditya Birla Scholarships programme. The programme, established in 1999 by the Aditya Birla Group, has so far seen 781 scholars across engineering, management and law disciplines. 

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The programme partners with 22 premiere institutions such as the IITs, BITS Pilani, leading IIMs and National Law Schools. Each cohort of the merit-based scholarship has 48 students, selected by a jury.

The minister noted that India has an opportunity in the global workspace as demand for services and human talent is growing. “A better educated, skilled and confident generation of Indians will have openings that could not be contemplated earlier,” he said.

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“In fact, the interest in Indian talent is probably the most frequent theme in my conversations right now with foreign governments and corporates,” Jaishankar noted. Anticipating this, the government has concluded mobility agreements with other countries which ensure better access and fair treatment for Indian professionals. “More than 20 nations are currently covered, with others underway,” he added. 

Shift in India’s interaction with world

The minister said that there has been a shift in India’s interaction with the world. “Our exports have increased significantly in the last decade, especially in services. Investments into India have also more than doubled during this decade. There is today a perceptible interest in engaging with us, reflected in the steady flow of high profile visitors,” he said. 

Foreign policy has now shifted to advancing national development apart from ensuring national security, he added. 

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Chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla also addressed the event. “The India of today is far removed from where we were 25 years ago—we are a far more confident nation [and] amongst the most consequential economies in the world,” he said. The narrative has shifted in the Indian corporate landscape with more professionals from India’s elite institutions wanting to work for Indian corporations, he noted. 

Indian businesses are also taking audacious global bets, he said, noting that the Aditya Birla Group is the largest Indian investor in the US, with over $15 billion in investments in US businesses.