India among few that can engage Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday underscored that India was among the few countries that could engage with both Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Iran amid the current geopolitical churn. Speaking at Business Today Mindrush 2025, Jaishankar said the mantra of 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas' applied to foreign policy as well.

"In the current polarised era, India is among a few nations that can engage Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, the Quad and Brics. Sabka saath, sabka vikas apply equally to foreign policy as well," he said.

Unlike the West and European nations, India has not sided with any country in the Ukraine-Russia war and has harped that the nation was "siding with peace".

At the same time, India has also balanced its strategic ties with both Iran and Israel amid the conflict in the Middle East that started with Hamas's surprise attack on the Jewish nation in 2023. While Israel has emerged as a key defence supplier, India has relied on Iran for crude oil.

In fact, India's neutral stance in the conflicts was recently praised by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as well, much to the chagrin of the party. Reacting to it, Jaishankar quipped, "Always admired Tharoor's judgement on us."

ON CONFLICTS AND TARIFF WARS

Jaishankar asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "range of relationships" with world leaders and his insights played a key role in how India navigates geopolitical shifts.

"We looked at the (Russia-Ukraine) conflict, the drivers of it, the larger environment, in a very objective way. A lot of other players understandably perhaps were carried away emotionally about it and that clouded their judgment," he said.

Jaishankar, known for his assertive diplomacy, emphasised that even though the world was grappling with the reality of tariff wars, India would take an "India First" approach with "Viksit Bharat" as its goal.

"Today, the world is grappling with the reality of industrial policies, export controls and tariff wars... there is a widespread concern today about de-risking the global economy. The solution lies in more diversified manufacturing," he said.

US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs move has led to a global trade upheaval. India, which has been called out by Trump as a "big abuser" of trade ties, will face reciprocal tariffs on April 2.

Jaishankar said India was currently engaged in three important negotiations - the FTAs (free trade agreements) with the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the BTA (bilateral trade agreement) with the United States.

DIG AT WEST

In a subtle dig at the West, Jaishankar said that building up China was their "strategic objective". "Building up China was, for a long time, a strategic objective of the West. Building them up as a society, praising their achievements, history. Running us (India) down was equally a strategic compulsion of the West," he said.

'DATA CENTRES ARE NEW REFINERIES'

Stressing the need for broad energy ties, Jaishankar underscored that artificial intelligence (AI) and EVs (electric vehicles) are going to generate much higher energy demands on top of the natural needs. "If data is the new oil, then data centres are the new refineries, and they will need to be powered," the Union Minister said.

He said that there was a need to make India a global capability centre. "As we contemplate a more technology and services-driven future, it is important to plan and prepare for the global workplace," Jaishankar said.