'World Today Looking Very Difficult, A Storm Is Building': Jaishankar Stresses Need For Strong Leadership In India Amid Global Challenges

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday (20 May) highlighted the challenges facing the world due to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and tensions in various other parts of the globe, emphasising that the coming years will be difficult.

He also said that it was absolutely vital to have a "safe pairs of hands" to take the world through the crisis.

"We are interconnected with the world and we should always keep that in mind. The world is today looking very difficult. There is a war in Ukraine, there are issues with Israel-Gaza, Israel-Iran, Chabahar. Our own borders, we have issues with China in the North and with Pakistan, there is the cross-border terrorism issue. In Asia, South China Sea and lot of other tensions...," Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister was interacting with the first-time voters at Delhi Tamil Association School in the national capital on Monday.

"And, in all of that, the economic situation of the world is very difficult and why i say this is [because] its very important to look at the future that we think of how to take India safely through a storm. There's a storm around us, storm is building and it is going to get worse. But it is absolutely vital that we have a safe pair of hands and good sensible people who take us through a very difficult period," he added.

He urged for a foreign policy that maintains peace and secures India's borders.

"The first thing for India's diplomacy is 'Bharat First,'" he asserted, noting India's role in seeking resolutions to the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts.

He emphasised the importance of peace for India and the world, advocating for strong borders and deterrents against potential threats.

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