India in advantageous position for relations with Trump 2.0 term: EAM Jaishankar
New Delhi, Dec 5 : India is in a ‘much more advantageous position’ than many other countries in the world to build ‘deeper’ relations with the incoming Donald Trump 2.0 administration in the US, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said on Thursday.
Speaking at an ASSOCHAM conference on ‘Viksit Bharat Summit’ in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar said the way important economies look at India has undergone a tremendous change in the last 10 years.
Asked about the prospects of India-US relations under Trump 2.0 , the minister said, ”there are countries which are looking at Trump 2.0 as a political challenge; we are not. That separates us from a very large number of countries, so we are in a much more advantageous position to translate 2.0 into a deeper relationship’”.
He said India would also have to work out a political equation with America under Trump.
“That is one area where we score because we have always had positive political relations with Trump and he always had a positive view of India,” said Jaishankar.
“However, it would not automatically translate into every transaction. Like everybody else we may also have some issues; we will deal with those issues’,” he added.
Dr Jaishankar said the US would need India in many areas where they would like to take technology leads. The two countries would have to build an understanding of mutual benefits and relationships in several areas like emerging and critical technologies as trusted partners.
The External Affairs Minister said that India would not want to end up as a market for another economy and not being able to compete with their products which are dumped in our country.
Dr Jaishankar also touched upon relations with Russia and the geo-political situation in the Middle East. He particularly talked about the shipping challenges in the Red Sea and how the situation there is of direct consequences to India’s economic interest.
Talking about the MSMEs and their role in manufacturing, the External Affairs Minister said It is one of the top priorities of the government. ”We have to create more manufacturing zones, improve logistics and make ourselves more competitive. I think we have made progress but there is a lot we will have to do,” he added.
