India’s Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar in Russia’s St. Petersburg on Thursday (Dec 28) laid emphasis on developing International Relations with Indian characteristics. Jaishankar was addressing Indologists — the scholars of Indian literature, history, and philosophy — in the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow, also described as the country’s cultural capital.
A career diplomat before succeeding former Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in 2019, Jaishankar said: “As someone who has spent his working life in International Affairs and Diplomacy. How to develop International Relations with Indian characteristics is my major preoccupation.”
“Certainly, that is a subject I would encourage Indologists to look at,” Jaishankar added.
India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has been on Russia visit since December 25. The visit is scheduled to conclude on December 29.
To develop International relations with Indian characteristics is my major pre-occupation, says EAM Jaishankar in St Petersburg; points to increasing pace of changes in India pic.twitter.com/myy3q9Qrtt
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) December 28, 2023
In St Petersburg, Jaishankar said that India and Russia need to refresh their understanding of one another in terms of changing times.
Jaishankar pointed out that the two countries must also focus on “refreshing our understanding of each other.”
“Because Societies are changing. The more experienced we are the more important it is that we keep up with the time. We must understand the changes,” he said.
Jaishankar said that in the ever-changing world at present, India and Russia are constantly trying to refresh each other’s understanding with efforts from both sides consistently focused “to deepen” the same.
“Here is what the intellectual world can make a difference,” Jaishankar told a gathering of Indologists.
“To me, Indology is something beyond knowledge and scholarship. Something beyond culture and tradition. It’s an effort and investment to first hand understand the other society which is very important partner. Certainly, on behalf of that society, I would like to appreciate all of you for the contribution you have made and the relationships you have cultivated,” Jaishankar said.
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“The relationship between India and Russia is not just one of politics, diplomacy, academics or economics. It is something much deeper,” he added.
