Jaishankar In Cyprus: Veiled Attack On Pakistan And China, G20 Presidency, Defence Agreement; All You Need To Know

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 because no country has suffered from terrorism as much as India.

"We have been very clear that we will not normalise and rationalise terrorism", he said.

Without mentioning Pakistan, the foreign minister said, "We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiating table. We want good neighbourly relations with everybody, but that does not mean excusing or looking away or rationalising terrorism."

EAM Jaishankar is on his first official visit to Cyprus as the two countries celebrate the 60 years of diplomatic relations.

During his visit, Jaishankar met his Cypriot counterpart Kasoulides and signed an agreement on defence and military cooperation, another Letter of Intent 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.

India becoming manufacturing hub; USD 5 trillion economy by 2025

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 the 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 confident to reach the last year's figure much earlier this year.

He said India and Cyprus had an active institutional mechanism in economic cooperation.

The minister stressed that Cyprus is the 10th largest investor in India with an accumulative investment of USD 12 billion during the last 20 years.

India exported pharmaceutical products such as hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol, iron, steel, ceramic products, and electrical machinery to Cyprus during the 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 global 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 and infrastructure progress made in the last few years created an appetite for world investment in India.

The minister said India used the COVID-19 period to carry out ambitious 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 trillion 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".

India to take up affordability & accessibility to energy, foodgrains, fertilisers issue at G20 'very strongly'

EAM Jaishankar said that during its G20 presidency, India intends to take up the issue of affordability and accessibility to energy, foodgrains and fertilisers "very strongly" as the economies of the Global South have been impacted.

India formally assumed 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 and 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, noted 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, foodgrains 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 vegetable 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 the climate change issue

Noting that the climate action issue is a common concern across the globe, the last few years, he said, "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 100 per cent".

"We have led not just by expanding massively our renewables at home, one of the big initiatives we are currently working on is to use the G20 presidency to advance that is actually to advocate the change in lifestyle," he said.

Jaishankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi also feels very strongly that changing lifestyles would actually make a big difference to the environment.

The minister said India has also been a leader in two international initiatives -- the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient infrastructure.

At a time when global pressures are taking the world away from the Paris climate commitments and away from the agenda 2030 Sustainable Development commitments, India is staying true to both of them.

"Among the G20 countries, we are on course to deliver before time on whatever 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 themselves.

"One, of course, is the world of finance...because Cyprus is an important pathway for financial flows into India. And if you're looking 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 shipping, 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 placing before you coming into India," he said.

The third area of cooperation is tourism. "The coming wave will be of Indian 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 necessarily 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 members of the European Union, we are negotiating mobility and migration agreements. We have done this successfully with Portugal, Denmark, France and Germany...what 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 other, it's also worth giving a thought of working 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 India.

"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 certainly 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.

India, Cyprus ink defence cooperation agreement as Jaishankar visits Nicosia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides here and held productive discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral ties as well as issues of mutual and global interests like the Ukraine conflict, as the two sides signed three agreements, including an MOU on defence and military cooperation.

Kasoulides 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 spectrum of bilateral relations alongside a range of global issues 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 particular pride and pleasure that I could be here for the occasion".

The minister said his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart demonstrates 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 recent years, reflected in our bilateral engagements," he said.

EAM Jaishankar visits Konark Wheel in Cyprus

External Affairs Minister 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 "Konark Wheel" here on Thursday, which was gifted to Cyprus by India in 2017.

"Visited the Konark wheel installed in the Cyprus Foreign Ministry with FM @IKasoulides and Interior Minister @NourisNicos," Jaishankar tweeted along with pictures.

"A gift from India in 2017, it symbolises the strong friendship between our nations," he tweeted.

The two countries released commemorative 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 all," Jaishankar tweeted.

The minister also met his Cypriot counterpart Kasoulides and signed an agreement on defence and military cooperation, another Letter of Intent on immigration and mobility, as well as the agreement on Cyprus joining the International Solar Alliance.

(With PTI Inputs)