When Jaishankar foiled Europe’s bid to corner India

Watch how S Jaishankar showed a mirror to Europe for repeatedly ignoring crises in Asia and Africa.

Transcript

00:00When rules-based order was under challenge in Asia, the advice we got from Europe is

00:06do more trade.

00:07At least we're not giving you that advice.

00:09I remember less than a year ago what happened in Afghanistan, where an entire civil society

00:15was thrown under the bus by the world.

00:20I think where the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we have a fairly clear position that has been

00:27articulated, a position which emphasizes the urgent cessation of fighting, which urges

00:34a return to diplomacy and dialogue, which stresses the need to respect sovereignty and

00:42territorial integrity of states.

00:44So when you spoke about Ukraine, I could also – I remember less than a year ago what happened

00:51in Afghanistan, where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world.

00:58But as I said, at the moment, these shocks are really for all of us to be concerned about,

01:06because each of these events – Afghanistan, COVID, Ukraine, big power rivalry – have

01:14global consequences, and consequences for the everyday person.

01:17I recognize today that the conflict in Ukraine is the dominant issue, if not among the dominant

01:28issues of the day.

01:29And it's a dominant issue not just in terms of principles and values alone, also in terms

01:37of the practical consequences of it, the knock-on effects.

01:42You have – I mean, in this part of the world, not just here, in Africa, in other

01:46parts of Asia, people are seeing the conflict play out in terms of higher energy prices,

01:52in terms of food inflation, in terms of disruptions of various kinds.

01:58So the truth is, there is really nobody who wants to see this conflict.

02:04I mean, there will be no winners out of this conflict.

02:10But I also stress, and I say this to you because both of you are my European colleagues, and

02:16I understand that at this moment, this would probably occupy you to the exclusion of almost

02:22everything else.

02:23But there is also a world out there, and I'm very glad that you're sitting here in India,

02:29because it would remind you that there are equally pressing issues in other parts of

02:34the world.

02:35I mentioned Afghanistan.

02:36I mentioned the challenges which we have faced in Asia.

02:41And if I were to put those very challenges in terms of principles, I mean, when a rules-based

02:48order was under challenge in Asia, the advice we got from Europe is do more trade.

02:54At least we're not giving you that advice.

02:55And in terms of, you know, Afghanistan, I mean, please show me which part of the rules-based

03:01order justified, you know, what the world did there.