India’s immediate neighbors engaged in state-sponsored cross-border terror: S Jaishankar (File)
Hyderabad:
India’s relentless efforts helped keep the spotlight on the cross-border terrorism it faced and the world was gradually becoming aware of the global nature of international terror, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
Without naming Pakistan, he said one of India’s immediate neighbors is engaged in state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
“We have in our immediate neighborhood a particularly glaring example of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism. The world is gradually becoming aware of the global nature of international terrorism,” he said in a virtual address at the a program organized by the Indian. School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad.
The minister added: “Our relentless efforts have kept it in the spotlight by highlighting related aspects such as the radicalization of terrorist financing and IT recruitments.”
Speaking about the Vande Bharat mission, he said India brought back more than 24 lakh of its nationals from other countries during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The country has also extended its assistance to send more than a lakh of foreigners back to their respective countries during the pandemic, he said.
More than 24 lakh of our people have been repatriated by land and sea flights. From Air India to the Indian Navy, we have put pressure on all our resources to achieve this goal, Jaishankar said.
The intention was very simple, India today will not leave any Indian abroad in distress.
“After all, we are in many ways a single economy that relies heavily on mobility and migration. Our credibility depends on the assurance we provide to those abroad who contribute to progress at home.” , he added.
Mr Jaishankar said there were many lessons from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic that would be reflected in times to come.
“The country’s immediate focus was on economic recovery and the numbers for September and October were” really encouraging, “he said.
There was also a greater awareness globally of a more resilient supply chain and India can harness the feeling of additional growth engines, by creating better conditions for production, he said. he declares.
Explaining India’s capabilities in terms of medical equipment in the wake of COVID-19, he said the country currently has 15,000 dedicated facilities with 1.5 million isolation beds.
More than one million people were being tested for the virus at more than 7,000 testing centers across the country.
The challenge now is to take this ability to rise up to the moment of crisis and transform it into a more routine set of practices and procedures, he said.
The world was not going to go about its business as usual as the winds of change blew again. Those with the most selfish views on world politics will have to come to terms with the needs of the day, he said without mentioning any country.
