 Good afternoon Excellencies ladies and gentlemen It's a great privilege for me on behalf of the World Economic Forum and our partner CII and Also know the government of India to welcome the external external affairs a minister as Jai Shankar Here to our meeting Thank you for coming and we know that you just arrived this morning from important visits to the US also know that Prime Minister Modi had a very successful visit to the US last week Also had 50,000 expats Indian expats meeting him and President Trump in the USIN Maybe a ministry you were there To I think he was greeted Howdy Modi By by the crowds Is there no under Prime Minister Modi and your leadership as would you say it's a special Relationship between the US and India and is this something new? Because in the 70s it used to be with Russia 70s was a long time ago Though the mind you I I started to work in the 70s, so I can still easily remember it But look, I'm not sure what objective I would put on it but definitely I mean The kind of event you saw in Texas the Howdy Modi event. It's not Too many countries you can do that So certainly that that is something unique, but the fact is If you look at our at our relationship with the US, how much it's changed the extent of Convergences that we have With the US shared interest in many areas the size of the economic relationship the trade the investment The the knowledge relationship with the US the fact that That has given rise to actually industries in the Indian economy The community, you know, we are we are today depending, I mean, I think the American citizens the Indian Americans Would be about three and a half million maybe two two million plus more of Indians living out there So you put it all together and and so many students, you know very successful Indians Yeah, I see else in the big company So if you put it all together, I would say in many ways, it's a pretty unique relationship And and I think that was Reflected partly in what was visible at Houston yesterday we Had the secretary Wilbur Ross of Commerce here and also in a discussion with your Commerce Minister and there is no a lot of Suspense and There's a lot of interest is there gonna be a trade deal between The largest economy in the world being the US and the fastest growing of the emerging Economists of of size like in the are you what what was the site guys? You felt when you were in the White House yesterday and met with the new national security advisor and other Trump Advisor is it gonna happen? Well, you know if you had our Commerce Minister and mr. Ross here I'll go with any answer. They gave you Because ultimately they have to work it out and the only thing which I can't I think like I sir is involved to a bit But the what what I can tell you as a foreign minister is I understand, you know as a Interested spectator That this is a you know, it's not that easy, you know, I mean this it's a fairly complicated set of issues because you are really looking at You know trying to clear up issues for which there aren't there isn't mirror imaging in many ways So so I guess if they are taking a little time They would be justified in doing so From what I read in the newspapers today, both of them sounded kind of cautiously optimistic Would that be right? No, I think that is the feeling I got also from we had a closed meeting yesterday between the two of them that I moderated, but you know also Having been trade minister in my country before I have negotiated it with India and you are separately and You have a sympathy I Would say no, I would say that it would be very interesting to be a fly on the wall during those Negotiations because there's some of the best prepared trade negotiators in the world both of you, huh? Which is why you had my sympathy But no, but look seriously. I Do know a lot of work has gone into it. I know teams have been meeting and clearly mr. Goyal has the lead on our side and Ambassador like hyzer has on the American side and the you know My my sort of last check on it was just before Prime Minister met President Trump and I think a lot of people heard Them speak about it to the press So whatever was the was the mood, you know the temperature check that you did yesterday I guess that would really be the latest, but I think also With all due respect, we know Foreign Ministry is also very influential in this context and trade negotiators can continue for decades just arguing about one agriculture product, but it seems that You know if there is a political will and if there is a will from the top and say Let's know try to agree on something It can Happen and it seems like now it is a special moment also in the relationship between those two countries and maybe the situation With China has also created more momentum for this deal and Japan is is is that correct look I mean You may have a point, but in our case What I can say is that certainly in this comment The concerned ministers which is really trade Finance foreign I mean and some of the line ministries because they're a sectoral ministries because their interests are in bold people really work together very very closely as a team and You know I mean I know that is a caricature of a trade negotiator that they can go on endlessly on very siloed issues But you would have seen yesterday our commerce minister is a very strategic person so so he's completely capable of managing this trust me talking about Being strategic we have seen that you and your government has also Made a priority of salt Asia We have a lot of participants there and guests from Nepal Bhutan Bangladesh also Sri Lanka Maldives We also saw that you know stepped up the money that you are located for Partnerships with many of these countries will we see an enlarge Indian footprint? in salt Asia and is also this due to the fact that Many of these countries. It's like India meeting China You know, I know I I don't think it's so much India meeting China I would put it quite differently you know when you travel around in the world and You wouldn't disagree with me South Asia the Indian subcontinent is really among the least regionalized Economies that that you see there are various reasons for it now from you know from the very start Prime Minister feels very strongly that we need to do something about this and We have to convince our neighbors that really the Indian economy is a lifting tide for all of them and Because we are the largest economy and the largest country a lot of that responsibility is on us and You could see that even politically in his first steps when he was sworn in in 2014 He invited all the Regional the neighboring countries for his wedding in that was a political signal But after that in those five years the first time We've really given Made a great effort really to do the things which other regions have done You know build connectivity increase contacts have a greater flow of people encourage more business between them so and and we've done that really Without we're setting aside the old sort of the more orthodox diplomacy, you know, we don't talk reciprocity in our neighborhood anymore and You can see that reflected in the numbers. I mean today We have very ambitious lines of credit soft loans to all our neighbors There are a lot of projects which are done underground the training The training numbers have gone up many times We've gone into new areas and and it's really hard It's already actually you can see the impact both on their economies on our economies and the connection in between and If I were to give you very common sense examples, I mean you would have situations where Let us say it's easier to go to a port of our neighbor Then it is to your own port, but in the old days you wouldn't do it, you know Or you would have excess electricity in one part of India demand in a neighboring country But there's no way by which you could do the transmission So today if you look, you know, what we are actually trying to do on the ground power transmission fuels of you know supply building border roads or sometimes fairly Deep inside the other country port connectivity to ports Sort of creating effective waterways, so there's an enormous push railways And this is the case. I would say probably the most advanced would be Bangladesh We are now making very good headway in Nepal So there are road projects rail projects underway out there We've started about two three years ago power supply to Myanmar. It's still in the early stages We've done a lot of railway lines in Sri Lanka Bhutan has Historically actually been our best partner in terms of development assistance. So so pretty much I would say the the entire neighborhood to minus one has been actually a fairly good story of Regional cooperation and I think you will see that Continue to probably see that scaled up is reflected in our foreign ministry budgets And I kind of see that going Thank you for mentioning this minus one because that gave me a chance to also address maybe What some people in the room would say is like the elephant in the room I guess did you have any meetings when you were in the US where the Kashmir issue didn't come up? Yes I did have some There were there were some where it did come up and it didn't come up in my business meetings It didn't come up even in some of the policy meetings because I think people knew our position and But it did come up on quite a few occasions so but you know, but that's natural because For many people this sound there's a change of status code. There's a change and when there's a change naturally there's interest and There is looking Looking forward. Would you say that the minus one is a permanent impasse? No, no, I I won't you know, I I won't because Then I would as someone from a diplomatic stream I would be admitting that something is not possible that diplomacy has limits and I cannot ever accept that, you know, the Soviet Union was forever until it was no more, you know, so so No, my look, I would certainly hope one day that even the minus one comes around Because you know, you put Kashmir aside for a moment and and I'll come to that You you know today if you if with everybody else trade is on the increase You know contacts are on the increase Business is on the increase connectivity is on the increase I mean surely at some stage that would have an impact because You would see everybody else prospering with that with that Cooperation and contacts so I I always remain hopeful. I'm not You know unrealistic that I I know that we have big big challenges That they have a mindset issue out there that they have to overcome but going back to your question on Kashmir look I I think What I spoke fairly extensively When I was in the US and in many cases, you know, when I made points to people Giving them the background the history what happened why we did what we did a lot of it was new to them, you know For example you because mostly they read their own press You know hardly anybody actually had a realization that this was a temporary Temporary article of the Constitution or the fact that You know the the sort of the misalignment due to the fact that lot of our national laws Did not apply in the German Kashmir state So these are all new things to them because the press normally what it does is it gives you a very black-and-white picture On many issues it gives you a picture which corresponds to preconceptions which people have, you know The press is not without, you know, it likes to shape the narrative in some ways So I think it was useful to talk about it in a very open manner and Give people what was our perspective. I think many cases people you know, I saw people absorbing that and Hopefully they agree with it Thank You Minister just Looking at World in more like a macro perspective We have gone to be a bit simplistic from situation with Cold war to maybe some people would say hot-piece. There is a lot of Conflicts around the world We also at the same time have a true multi Polar world at least it's it's starting to become so some people would say we have a g2 But I think there is also Many arguments that there are a lot of players No, there is also less Momentum around the multilateral processes WTO is is facing real Challenges and as a Bretton Wood Institution is the in this multi polar multi conceptual world India is The largest democracy in the world 1.2 billion People aspiration is 5 trillion economy by 24. Maybe 10 trillion economy by 20 30. So India's influence is growing Will that also lead to India taking We will see a bigger footprint also from India on foreign and security policy in The region in the 70s and 80s India was in many ways the leader of the non-allied world Today It is a new reality and where will India plays itself and what what Kind of political initiatives will we see from India in this multi polar world Okay, there are a lot of questions in there So let me let me make a few sharp points as a collective answer One no question the world is more nationalistic Than in the past and a lot of that nationalism is economic nationalism and cultural nationalism Second I would say Where India is concerned We in a way are a standout. We are an exception. We are an exception because in this country you could say yes We are more nationalistic But at the same time we don't see a tension between being nationalistic and being International in the sense of dealing more with the world and engaging more with the world So the nationalism is not a kind of a negative sentiment directed at the world in fact People generally feel if you're going up you should be doing more things with the world not less things with the world Third, you know, you know more multipolar your word Nationalistic my word world. I think we need we will see diplomacy take different forms Where the old ways of working will now not go away, but be tempered by much more I would say creative innovative ad hoc kind of working arrangements often centering around issues Rather than across the board. So so the character of international politics will probably change in many ways For you have I agree with you. I think a lot of multilateral regimes Will will Come under stress how they survive will depend on how how they respond to that They will come under stress partly because of this nationalism that I speak spoke about to some extent They lot of them are also being critiqued for how well they work or don't work So there's a kind of performance audit on multilateral regimes also going on sometimes that can take very unfair Directions because if you do a performance audit with a very self-centered Nationalistic view then then I'm not sure I'd agree with the conclusions of that audit But certainly that too that too is a factor. So all in all I would say a more More complicated world Definitely a more interesting one possibly a more difficult one But where India is concerned You know we You also made a reference to G2 We you know, that's something we we have never Accepted we've never been comfortable with I Think partly what would also distinguish us From from other countries is that we we still have a very strong relationship with countries of the south and We in many negotiations which you would have seen as trade minister as well We not only stand for our own interest to large extent we voice collective Interests of the developing world g77 For example certainly when it comes to trade or when it comes to climate change So I think that's also a constituency for us now when you look at all of this you put on the one hand say Okay, it's all getting more difficult Probably true But you could also say that we are in a very unique position that today being a market economy or democracy socially pluralistic we have comfort with the West Being Asian part of the rise of Asia We have comfort with a lot of this rebalancing and Asian countries Having a g77 constituency working with countries of Africa and Asia We we we have a much stronger bonding with those countries So I think we are we could be at the right intersection a lot of it Therefore requires active diplomacy to make sure that those constituencies are all sort of brought together That's very much the intention of the government So so what you have seen really definitely over the last five years and you saw recently at the UN is a willingness today to go out engage countries visit more countries And therefore you can see a new energy in foreign affairs No, we have seen your very busy agenda. Follow me on on on Twitter You can be exhausted just by reading your Twitter account so but And also your point about Asia. This is the first year at least since 1850 that Asia is 50% of the global GDP, I think one thing is certain that India's Influence and and size in the global economy is just gonna increase in the years to come When will we see? Belt and road kind of initiatives From India side or is that not your cup of tea? Will you join the belt and road initiative or will you? Will you not? third question in the same Area, you know superpowers Like traditionally but also like today, I would say China is the second largest economy US as the largest economy also Have this view of that they Follow very closely what is happening in their backyard Of course, there is no Monroe doctrine anymore, but this notion of Monroe doctrines is still there would Would India accept Whatever happened in your own backyard When it comes to military establishment and etc or That would also be quite interesting too if you could elaborate on that Okay, let me work backwards on your setup. I'm glad you're starting with the last one The world's a competitive place, okay So all of us might have preferences, but you know world doesn't run by entitlements Runs by by capabilities by influence by interest so I would hope very much that We we have the ability to Influence and compete which will secure our interests and we are fairly clear what our interests are you you put it very diplomatically I congratulate you but the factors that I Will certainly I'm looking at the ambassador from Maldives just here in front Wanted to be a bit careful We will certainly make sure that our ability to compete our ability to Secure and advance our interests our ability to influence other countries, which is all by the way This is what international relations is about so I would certainly hope that that remains sharp that remains effective and In all the in this exercise normally if there is an epicenter, which is yourself Then how good you are is a function of distance? So you start with your immediate neighborhood if you can't Influence your immediate neighborhood. It is very unlikely you'll be able to influence beyond so to me That's like the first circle of your interest Regarding your belt and road issue, you know, we have a long-standing position on that for us It it is connected with sovereignty matters. So that that hasn't changed But you know the the idea of do we do something similar look We are us. We are not some other country and and I I think it's not just on this initiative I think in a whole lot of other areas my own senses as India becomes bigger the fact is we will find that concepts and analytics which are developed for other countries would not necessarily apply to us and The expectation that we would copy models which are very different in nature. I don't I don't think that's very likely because Typically, I mean we do a lot of things even in our own neighborhood, you know Some of which may surprise you the scale of it, but it's not you know This is in a in a way You you do these things. I mean it's done even even within India if you look at it It's the the manner of which it's done is much more desegregated. It's much more organic On connectivity for example rather than say we have a grand initiative We would much rather say okay. We have a development partnership. In fact, that's exactly what my prime minister said When he went to Africa last year where he said look we are prepared to do very much more in Africa But we would like to know what you want and we'd like to know your priority And we'd like you to take part in it and we'd like you to actually own and operate it once we have set it up So I think that's very much more our manner of of doing things So it may not make that splash, but I think in many ways. I mean if you go To some countries for example, you go to Afghanistan It's not a story which always comes in the headlines, but I would Really say with a degree of confidence that probably more Afghans know about what India has done in terms of development Then most other countries so a softer form of Diplomacy yes from the largest the market. I would say softer more Collaborative more co-owned You know Look in the I mean this is us. Okay. I mean other countries can legitimately differ I would say if you're doing something I would much rather be that that sense of partnership Comes out rather than other people think that it's all mine. It's more likely to stay It's more likely to give me the kind of returns That I really want we also know from history that the superpowers will be challenged to also try to Deal with conflicts in the region would you also see India for example volunteering to Also try to be a mediator in some of the conflicts in the region could be for example see This is a very Norwegian question No Norway is not has never been a superpower. I think that is not stopped you mediating I Used to say when I was foreign ministry, the only Organization in the world where Norway is the superpower is Eftah and Eftah is this free trade Organization with Swiss and Lichtenstein and Iceland so And we try to establish a trade deal with India but On on this for example, we know the situation for Rohingyas Between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Could that be something where India? Could be a mediator Maybe an even a bigger question that I think we all are concerned about is the situation in the Gulf and with Iran That has been escalating has been a little bit more quiet the last Week because there are other things in the media, but I don't think the structural challenges related to this is Delta it or is it a very Norwegian perspective? No, I look I mean if I look back on our history the times when we've done some of that we we Took a little bit of interest in the Iran Iraq war in the early stages We did not successful mediation in Sri Lanka Not as bad as the Norwegian star. No actually ours ended up worse So, you know, there's been it's not entirely without some past but I Think the Indian way would be very much more that if you have relationships to sort of talk about it to Have conversations but not Not declare yourself a mediator and not really kind of create that space and You know Sort of create that profile. I I don't think that's really been our style. I don't I mean I would say Personally, I'm not sure for a country like us. I mean, I'm not prescribing for everybody else But I would It's not something which I see great profit in but having said that, you know Some of the examples that you raised say you would raise Myanmar Bangladesh now. We have excellent relations with both We actually have made. I mean, we are the first country to actually complete a Project in the Rakhine state after the You know the problems We've done a housing project and we are hoping that that would be the nucleus for the first set of people to go back So so we have relations there. We are relations with Bangladesh, of course are absolutely outstanding the best ever So it's not that we don't you know, we are staying away or we are but I think we just handle it much differently from the manner in which you put it I Think that the bigger country is the more Power you also have in inspiring Contrasts and and you are I think the largest FTI investor in Bangladesh and the second one in Myanmar I think the Chinese are a larger there by far than you but coming back also to what you mentioned about connectivity and also technology When you were in DC, I don't know if you felt it the same way. I was there last week and behind this Trade war Notion There is also a lot about Technologies who's gonna be on top of the new technologies? And I think there is a sputnik moments in many countries these days and many countries Do see that those countries that are on top of the new technologies and in the platform economy the winner has a tendency to take it All will also come out of this entry as the most influential once last year at this time I Was here and Prime Minister Modi opened the World Economic Forum's Center for the fourth industrial revolution in India that is placed in Mumbai But on the technology side who? Did you see? Technologies Also, I know as an important factor in forum Policy and you see that as an underlying Factor More and more Well, look if you look at the global global scene Yes, you you know the the terms put nick moment is used But by the way bear in mind the sputnik moment was for the non-sputnik country, you know It was the US actually reacting to the sputnik in a way The country which sent up the sputnik didn't fare so well after that so clearly I mean today the Political competition or strategic competition is also expressing itself very much as a as a Technology competition if you would So when there is I mean first of all as I said competition is natural so the The idea of course is while it is natural It is not unconstrained that that somewhere the the net result of that is is positive If it gives people more choices, it's it's actually all for the good So in that sense, it's a little bit like politics. I mean we would prefer a multipolar ball because it gives you more choices So if you have a multipolar technological world that too gives you more choices, but on the Issue of what where we are I mean, it's very clear that we have to go down that direction And if you look I mean we are one of those countries where really are I mean for every country It's assets are its people, but many countries have other assets too as you know in Norway But we are really completely HR dependent You know our future is completely HR dependent So a lot of it to my mind would be to prepare yourself for a future by Improving the quality of your HR and getting your people prepared for a different world and that can start right down to the basics I mean it starts from really from primary health and literacy and up to you know, education to skilling to digitizing To employing I mean, you know, all of that is part of really improving the quality of our HR and to my mind that is one area where we had lag behind and I Would certainly see that as a as really the core priority of this government I mean if you look at the totality of all the programs they do There's a single thread that connects them and the single thread is really to to really improve the quality of human resources of this country It's so Agree so much. I think this upskilling reskilling building the human capital In in the country is so crucial. I think on behalf of all the participants I think we all feel that India is very privileged to have Such an insightful Foreign minister At the end because we know gonna clear the ground for for the next session But just to I think you partly answered it at the end. I know about building on the human capital, but You know, you're one. I think you were the second Minister coming from the Foreign Service if you have a vast experience on foreign policy and security policy As a former permanent secretary and civil servant and ambassador for many years if you then look At what kind of footprint you would like to leave in The ministry and India's foreign policy Well, if you could just in in a minute or two share with us that at the end it would be We would appreciate it. Look, I've just come in. I mean you're asking me What would it be when I leave? I I think you need to give me a few years to think that through I think you have made some reflections But no, but seriously, I bet look I would certainly like to see Indian foreign policy have a bigger footprint To see it much more Influential in determining the outcomes of global issues To obviously see our interest and influence secured In, you know our immediate periphery and beyond But at the end of the day, I'm very conscious that this is we are preparing a foreign policy for a country Which I mean within a decade would be the third largest economy Which would be the most populous country and which carries a lot of burdens of the past in the sense that you know We missed a lot of opportunities in the past beginning with 1945 and the global order was fashioned So how do you make up for all the things which you lost out on and yet? Prepare for all the things that await you So it will require a lot of thinking through a lot of imagination and a lot of energy and I tried to at least Prepare a launching pad for it. Thank you so much