In a veiled attack, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday🐭 sent a sttong message to China in an address during his Cyprus visit on Friday.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is on his first official visit ℱto Cyprus as the two countries celebrate the 6🐻0 years of diplomatic relations.
In a veiled attack, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday🐭 sent a sttong message to China in an address during his Cyprus visit on Friday.
The minister affirmed that there would be no compromise on the core issues becau๊se no country has suffered from terrorism a൲s much as India.
"We have been very clear that we will not normalise and rationalise terrꩲorism", h🍷e said.
Without mentioning Pakistan, the foreign minister said, "We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiating table. We want good neighbour💦ly relations with everybody, but that does not mean excusing or looking away or rationa💦lising terrorism."
EAM Jaishankar is on his first official visit to Cyprus as the two countries celebrate the 60 yea⛦rs of di🥀plomatic relations.
During his visit, Jaishankar met his Cypriot counterpart Kasoulides and signed an agreeme𒈔nt on defence and military cooperation, another Letter of Inten🌟t on immigration and mobility, as well as the agreement on Cyprus joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
The two ♋leaders also shared their vision for world peace, freedom, and democracy.
Kasoulides said India and Cyprus were driven by their partnership to diversify and deepen the people to people ❀contact.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar 💜on Friday told investors in Cyprus that India is on the path of becoming a manufacturing hub 🐼for the global community and intended to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.
Addressing a business event organised by t🍃he High Commission of India in Cyprus, Jaishankar said New Delhi and Nicosia had a lot of potential to increase the bilateral trade between the two countries.
Jaishankar who is on a three-day visit to Cyprus, while addressing the business event said India and Cyprus last year had bilateral trade of about USD 214 million and were con🍒fident to reach the last year's figure much earlier this year.
He said India and Cyprus had an active institutional mechanisꦇm in economic cooperation.
The minister stressed that Cyprus is the 10th largest in🔯vestor in India with an accumulative investment of USD 12 biꦚllion during the last 20 years.
India exported phar♌maceutical products such as hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol, iron, steel, ceramic products, and electrical machinery to Cyprus during th𒅌e COVID-19 pandemic.
"As we look at the basket of trade, clearly there is the potential to explore more as India gets prominent in the global economy. India's trade policies and reform are competitive in the globalꦿ community. The country has emerged as one of the strong destinations✃ for FDI," Jaishankar said.
The minister, who is here to celebrate the 60 years of bilateral relations between India and Cyprus, said technology ꧙and infrastructure progress made in the last few years created an appeti🌳te for world investment in India.
The minister said India used the COVID-19 period to carry out ambitiou🐭s economic reforms such as the "Make in India" initiative or the "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" programme, which is a self-reliance programme, promoting capacity building within India.
"The reforms were taken by the government in a much more focused way that intended to make India a manufacturing hub and to emerge a 5 tr𒈔illion economy by 2025," Jiashankar said.
The minister drew attention to the success of the Product Linked Incentive (PLI) programme, which has a certain set of domains, and said the country had💖 "pushed for investment in those domains through incentives with the idea of increasing production in India".
EAM Jaishankar said that during its G20 presidency, India intends𝓀 to take up the issue 𒉰of affordability and accessibility to energy, foodgrains and fertilisers "very strongly" as the economies of the Global South have been impacted.
India formally assume🃏d the G20 Presidency on December 1. The next G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 an🥂d 10 next year in New Delhi.
Addressing a business event here, Jaishankar, who is on his first official visit to Cyprus as India and Cyprus celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations, nꦆoted that the efficiency and the delivery of global supply chains is a common concern today for all countries in the world.
Today the affordability and accessibility to energy, foodgrain😼s and fertilisers is "not just our concern...it's a larger concern in the Global South. And it's certainly a worry that we intend to take up very strongly during the presidency of the G20 which we have taken on the first of December," he said.
The conflict in Ukraine has halted farming and the export of agriculture that much of the world is reliant on. The consequence of the shortage has seen surges in inflation with staples such as vegetabl𒊎e oil and sugar up by more than 50 percent. The war has also generated a sharp increase in energy prices and significant volatility in energy markets.
Jaishankar said India is also working on using the G20 presidency to tackle t🐓he ꧙climate change issue
Noting that the climate action issue is a common concern across the globe, the last few years, he said, "𒁃;have actually brought home to each one of us that this is not a hypothetical threat. This is not something which we said would happen one day in the future...I think for fragile topographies, it (the climate change issue) is of growing concern".
Jaishankar said as a country which is home to 17 per cent of the world's population, India today contributes about 5 per cent of the world's emissions but "our commitment to tackling climate change is 𓆉100 per cent".
";We have led not just by ex﷽panding massively our renewables at home, one of the big initiatives we are currently working on is to use the G20 presidency to advℱance that is actually to advocate the change in lifestyle," he said.
Jaishankar said Prime Min⛦ister Narendra Modi also feels very strongly that changing lifestyles would actually m🧸ake a big difference to the environment.
The minister said India has also been a leaderꦇ in two international initiatives -- the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient infrastru🔯cture.
At a time when global preꦍssures are taking the world away from the Paris climate commitments and away from the agenda 2030 Sustain🌳able Development commitments, India is staying true to both of them.
"Among the G20 countries, we are on course to deliver before time on whateve💝r we have agreed to do in the Paris agreement," he said.
Jaishankar said there are seven areas of cooperation that India and Cyprus should examine between themselꦍves.
"One, of course, is the world of finance...because Cyprus is an important pathway for financial flows into Indiಌa. And if you're loo🌊king at an economy, which is going to grow at six-and-a-half per cent plus...we are a partner of growing relevance," he said.
The second area is shᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚipping, Jaishankar said, because India is doing everything not just to transform it into a stronger manufacturing power, but also a more competitive agricultural export.
"So there will be many more products going out of India, and given the rate of growth that I'm p🐼lacing before you coming into India,&q🌱uot; he said.
The third area of cooperation is tourism. "The coming wave will be of I𒁃ndian tourists," Jaishankar said.
The💮 fourth area of cooperation is the knowledge economy.
"My fifth point is we will have to promote a culture of mobility♈. In a world where there is demand will not ne𒁏cessarily be where there is a demographic advantage. So, how do we even out the demographics and the demand? I think this is going to be a big challenge.
"Today with a number of me🔯mbers of the European Union, we are negotiating mobility and migration agreements. We have done this successfully with Portugal, Denmark, France and Germany...whꦛat I want to emphasise is that today India is a source of talent and skills. And in a world of globalised and knowledge-driven economy, I think those flows are something which we need to address," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar said given how comfortable India and Cyprus are with each otꦕher, it's also worth giving a thought of wo🍸rking together in a third country, possibly in Africa, or maybe in other parts of the world, where both New Delhi and Nicosia have some historical presence.
And finally, the minister said, he 💜wants to drive home the point that the Mediterranean is a region of growing interest to In✱dia.
"As a foreign minister of a country that is globalising very rapidly and whose footprints, interests and influence will expand with time...And as it does so...this (Mediterranean) is a region where there will cer⭕tainly be more of India. And when that happens, and as that happens for us, the relationship with Cyprus is something which will be an anchor in that respect," he said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishan🔯kar on Thursday met his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides here and held productive discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral ties as well as issu𒅌es of mutual and global interests like the Ukraine conflict, as the two sides signed three agreements, including an MOU on defence and military cooperation.
Kaso♉ulides said India and Cyprus were driven by their partnership to diversify and deepen the people-to-people contact to shape a naturally strong and longstanding bond of friendship.
Jaishankar and Kasoulides also took an opportunity to go over the full spectrum𝐆 of bilateral relations alongside a range of global issue💃s such as the Ukraine conflict and the situation in Afghanistan.
Jaishankar said it was a "matter of pleasure to be here on my first official visit as the Minister of External Affairs and this takes place as we mark 60 years of our diplomatic relations. It is a matter of particu𓄧lar pride and pleasure that I cou🧜ld be here for the occasion".
The minister said his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart demon✨strates India's commitment towards deepening its bilateral cooperation. "India-Cyprus partnership is one of immense importance," he said.
"It is rooted in our shared values of democracy, diversity, pluralism and respect for law. The strategic aspects of the relationship have gained a new meaning in re🦄cent years, reflected in our bilateral enga🌠gements," he said.
External Affairs Ministerﷺ S Jaishankar on his first official visit to Cyprus visited the "Konark Wheel" here which symbolises a strong friendship between the two countries.
Jaishankar visited the &qu🍬ot;Konark Whe🦄el" here on Thursday, which was gifted to Cyprus by India in 2017.
"Visited the Konark wheel installed in the Cyprus Foreign Ministry wit🤡h FM @IKasoulides and Interior Minister @NourisNicos," Jaishankar tweet💝ed along with pictures.
&🌳quot;A gift from India in 2017, it symbolises the sꦺtrong friendship between our nations," he tweeted.
The two countries released commemorat🍎ive stamps on Thursday on the occasion of 75 years of India’s Independence 🎶and 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
On Thursday, Jaishankar also met Annita Demetriou, 🐽the President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus and both leaders joined to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
"His universal message of peace and harmony 🔯continues to guide us al𝄹l," Jaishankar tweeted.
The minister also met his Cypriot counterpart Kasoulides a♋nd signed an agreement on defence and military cooperation, an🦋other Letter of Intent on immigration and mobility, as well as the agreement on Cyprus joining the International Solar Alliance.
(With PTI Inputs)