New York: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said that India’s relations with its partners can be affected when they fail to adequately understand the country’s concerns over cross-border terrorism, an apparent reference to Washington’s renewed outreach to Pakistan.
Speaking at an Asia Society event in New York after the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly, Jaishankar described terrorism originating from a neighbouring country as one of India’s foremost security concerns.
The discussion was moderated by Daniel Russel, a former US diplomat and distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Responding to a question on the state of India-US relations and the steps required to put the partnership on a “better track” amid disagreements over trade and tariffs, Jaishankar said the two countries had encountered a number of difficulties.
“One of the issues pertains to the sensitivities of each country,” he said.
Jaishankar said terrorism was an issue of particular importance to India, pointing out that the country had been subjected to attacks from a neighbouring state under what he called a deliberate policy pursued for decades, as reported by The New Indian Express.
“For us in India, what is particularly important is the issue of terrorism,” he said.
“If something which matters so deeply to us, there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that, I think that creates a problem too,” he said.
Jaishankar further warned that a partner’s failure to recognise India’s principal security concerns could have a direct bearing on the bilateral relationship.
“If one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is an impact of that on the relationship,” he added.
The comments came as the administration of US President Donald Trump has stepped up engagement with Pakistan. At the same time, India and the US have been attempting to manage differences relating to tariffs, trade and New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian energy.
Jaishankar said India remained keen to place ties with Washington on a stronger footing, but acknowledged that the existing disputes could not be ignored.
“We would certainly hope for and expect the relationship to move on an upward trajectory. But I have to be real about the issues that we confront, and to the extent we are able to move ahead on some of these issues, I think we’ll have a better relationship,” he said.
The external affairs minister had also placed terrorism at the centre of India’s concerns in his address to the UN General Assembly the previous week. He said India reserved the right to protect itself against terrorist threats and would act accordingly.