FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 2023 INDIA THIS WEEK 1 A W e e k l y N e w s p a p e r Fe a t u r i n g N e w s & Tr e n d s f r o m t h e I n d i a n S u b - C o n t i n e n t P u b l i s h e d f r o m t h e U S C a p i t a l Website: www.indiathisweek.online Vol. 31 No: 40 WASHINGTON DC • Phone: 301-445-0200 /301-445-3543/301-917-4800 • email: indiathisweekads@gmail.com • Friday October 6, 2023 “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part FOKANA Celebrates ‘Onam’ of India”: Villagers in Tawang sector slams China for aggressive claims for the first time in 40 years By Hemanta Kumar Nath T a w a n g (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], October 1 (ANI): The residents of the bordering villages in Arunachal Pradesh are expressing their outrage over China’s actions towards the North Eastern state and asserted that the state will forever remain an integral part of India. In August this year, China released a ‘standard map’ claiming Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory. The villagers of Sengnup, Kharseneng, and Grengkhar villages under the Tawang sector said that FOKANA President Dr. Babu Stephen speaking at the FOKANA Onam Celebration B e t h e s d a , Maryland Sept. 24: For the first time since its inception in 1983, the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FOKANA) celebrated ‘Onam’ the national festival of Kerala at the Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Maryland under the leadership of its president Dr. Babu Stephen. At least Six Hundred people from all over Washington Baltimore Metro region, Richmond, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey took part in the celebrations. Most attendees dressed in traditional Kerala attires (Men wearing shirts and dhotis made of Khadi and women wearing Kadhi Set Sarees and matching blouses) re-lived Kerala life in Washington DC. K e r a l a ’ s Remember: Harvest Festival ‘Onam’ is celebrated all across Kerala regardless of religious affiliations every year during the month of ‘Chingam’ (the first month of the Malayalam Calendar) which falls between August and September according to the English Calendar. All of Kerala -Hindus, Christians, and Muslims- swing into a festive mood during Chingam and celebrate the festival with vigor and fervor. Keralites, regardless of where they live never forget to celebrate this unique festival with all its pomp and style. Expatriates from Kerala living in the United States under the auspices of their Regional Kerala Associations celebrate the FOKANA’S ONAM SEE PAGE 4 “A man who contemplates revenge keeps his wounds green.” – Francis Bacon they are living in a peaceful environment and they feel secure because of the Indian army and the current government. Sange Dorjee, a villager of the Kharseneng area told ANI that, the Prime Minster Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Pema Khanduled Arunachal Pradesh government have done lots of developmental work in the bordering villages. “Earlier, the Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 1 (ANI): Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday informed that the Aditya-L1 spacecraft has successfully escaped the sphere of Earth’s influence adding that it is now navigating its path towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1). Taking to X (former Twitter), ISRO said, “The spacecraft has travelled beyond a distance of 9.2 lakh kilometres from Earth, successfully escaping the sphere of Earth’s influence. It is now navigating its path towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1).” ISRO further stated that it is the second time in succession that the space agency could send a spacecraft outside the sphere of influence of the Earth with the first time being the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan). The PSLVC57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on September 2. The successful launch of the maiden solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3. According to the agency, the Aditya- L1 mission is expected to reach the observation point in four months. It will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun. It will carry seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields. Major objectives of India’s solar mission include the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy, and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and flares and near-earth space weather. (ANI) ARUNACHAL PRADESH SEE PAGE 6 “Aditya L1 spacecraft escapes sphere of earth’s influence”: ISRO
October 6, 2023, 2023 INDIA THIS WEEK Friday Over 40 Years Of Experience 5 FAMILY HAIRCUT $ MEN • WOMEN • CHILDREN ROOT TOUCH-UP FOR MEN 20 & up $ SERVICES • BEARD TRIM $500 $ • SHAMPOO 1000 • BLOW DRY $1000 $ 00 • PERM FROM 20 $ 00 • COLOR FROM 20 • HIGHLIGHTS FROM $3500 • SPA PEDICURE FROM $1700 Beauty & Barber Shop 7311 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003 info@csbarbernschool.com Punjab: Father kills three daughters due to extreme poverty Jalandhar (Punjab) [India], October 2 (ANI): Jalandhar SSP Mukhwinder Singh on Monday made a major revelation in the Jalandhar triple death case and said on Monday that the three girls were killed by their own father due to the extreme poverty faced by the family. According to the accused father, the children resorted to scavenging for fallen food items, illustrating the extreme conditions the family was facing. The victims, identified as Amrita Kumari (9), Kanchan Kumari (7), and Vasu (3) tragically fell prey to the povertystricken circumstances of the family. Earlier during the day, DSP Balbir Singh had expressed the police team’s suspicion about the mysterious death of the three girls and the way their bodies were found in a trunk. “...we have our suspicions about the whole matter although there are no marks of any sort on the body or the neck...” said DSP Singh. “... We had received information about the three children missing... the parents are labourers and were living on rent... the parents went for duty in the morning and couldn’t find their children upon coming back...” said DSP Balbir Singh. “Search operation was conducted the entire night...next day in the morning our sub inspector Major Singh went to the same house next morning, the bodies of the three girls found between a trunk in the room...” he added. DSP Singh further said that during the investigation, the father of the three girls had said that possibly, the girls entered the trunk while playing and the trunk closed itself upon them and they might have died due to suffocation. (ANI)
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October 6, 2023, 2023 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK FOKANA Celebrates Onam for the first time in 40 years with professional singers. Chenda Melam, unique to Kerala, performed by both men’s and women’s groups from Baltimore added rhythm and beauty and electrified the whole event. As a mark of patriotic responsibility, FOKANA under the leadership of Dr. Stephen is also engaged in providing housing facilities for several financially disadvantaged people in the home state of Kerala. He had met with the Kerala Chief Minister Mr. Pinaray Vijayan to discuss and to coordinate FOKANA’s efforts with the government agencies and District Collectors to identify the most deserving candidates. FOKANA ONAM FROM PAGE 1 Onam festival in each of their jurisdictions every year. In the WashingonBaltimore Metro region, Kerala Association of Greater Washington (KAGW), Kerala Cultural Society (KCS), Kairali of Baltimore, and Kerala Association, Richmond (VA) have all celebrated Onam this year as usual. Until last year, FOKANA aligned with regional organizations to celebrate the event, but for the first time in its forty-year history, Dr. Stephen introduced the idea to celebrate Onam under FOKANA’s leadership and all the regional organizations participated in the grand event which was filled with fun and excitement for all the participants. Red rice served on banana leaves with at least 15 varieties of delectable vegetarian dishes, which included an array of sweets like Prathman (a kind of porridge made of rice flakes palm jaggery, and other ingredients) vermicelli porridge and baby bananas evoked nostalgic feelings that would never escape one’s memory. Children who normally refuse to eat at home could be seen relishing the new experience of eating on a fresh-cut banana leaf without the use of forks and spoons. The food was so appealing to the palates that after lunch, some could be heard saying “Great food and very tasty”. The entire event was free for the participants as it was totally sponsored by FOKANA. Cultural programs that followed the lunch organized by Dr. Kala Shai, the secretary of FOKANA, who also is a professional dancer included a variety of dance forms, plays, and Musicals. Regional organizations and professional dance groups displayed their talents which aroused the audience to the peak of excitement. Local singers proved their talents by singing numbers that could enthrall the audience with their canorous voices proving that they were equally on par FOKANA President Dr. Babu Stephen with Secretary Kala Shahi and Malayalam Film Actress and Chief Guest Sona Nair Guests enjoying the Onam meal As president of FOKANA, Dr. Stephen laid out his vision to engage the children of Kerala descent to be active in politics and has met with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and several Congressional staffers on Capitol Hill to open up internship opportunities and has already got a few openings. “We should have our youth fully engaged in American politics, and should carve leaders to lead this nation” he beamed while speaking to FOKANA members. Malayalam Film Actress Sona Nair who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest extolled the virtues of having a worldwide organization like FOKANA which every Keralite all across the world could be proud of. Though this is the first time FOKANA has celebrated the Onam festival under its own banner, henceforth the FOKANA Onam celebrations will be organized in different states annually during the Onam Season, Dr. Stephen said. For Ads. Call: 301-445-0200 301-917-4800 Attired in traditional costumes Malayalee women performing the Thiruvathira dance indiathisweekads @gmail.com
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October 6, 2023, 2023 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India”: Villagers in Tawang sector slams China for aggressive claims ARUNACHAL PRADESH FROM PAGE 1 road condition in our area was so bad, but the current government has made a concrete road in our village for which the villagers are getting suitable road connectivity. Most of the people in our village are farmers and the government has extended help to the farmers also. We are happy with the works done by both Central and state governments,” Sange Dorjee said. On the other hand, Karchung, a local resident of Grengkhar village said that they feel proud as an Indian.“We are with the Indian army and the government. China is claiming Arunachal Pradesh as their part, but Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. We will not bow down to China. If needed we will go with the Indian army to fight against China,” Karchung said. Another villager Yontan said that India will always be part of India. The Vibrant Villages Programme was approved on February 15 this year, with the Centre’s contribution of Rs 4800 crore for the period financial year 2022-23 to 2025-26 including Rs 2500 crore specifically for road connectivity and the scheme aimed at the comprehensive development of villages in border areas to improve the quality of life of people and develop the infrastructural development works. The government approved the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th February 2023 for the comprehensive development of the select villages in 46 blocks in From The Poet’s Pen INDIA THIS WEEK- September 15, 2023 The Way of Love Apostle Paul If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 19 districts abutting the northern border in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and UT of Ladakh. (ANI) “No shortage of medicine”: Nanded Hospital Dean denies medical negligence as cause of deaths of 24 patients Nanded (Maharashtra) [India], October 3 (ANI): Amid the outrage among the Opposition over the deaths of 24 people, including 12 newborns, between September 30 and October 1, Shyamrao Wakode, the Dean of Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital Nanded, rejected allegations of negligence against the hospital on Tuesday, claiming that deceased patients were suffering from different ailments such as diabetes, liver failure, and kidney failure. He emphasized INDIA THIS WEEK Address: P.O. Box 352, Bryans Road, MD 20616 Phone: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 www.indiathisweek.online India This Week is published every Friday by ADV Solutions Inc, Views expressed in this paper are those of the individual writers and not necessarily of India This Week. India This Week accepts no liability for the errors in advertisements or in any of its reports. For remedial actions any errors should be brought to the attention of the editor by the information provided below. Publisher: Chief Editor: Contributing Editors: Dr. Babu Stephen Rajan George Saju Mathew Isaac George Asst. Editors: Manu Jacob Sherena Panjikkaran Special Business Correspondent Elisha B. Pulivarti Business Coordinators Rajan C. George Jithu Johny Panjikkaran Dr. Renuka Misra, Special Correspondent: Geeta Goindi Community Coordinator: Prof. Vinod Goel India Office Manesh Krishna Columnists: Anadi Naik World Religions Dr. Sam Prasad Jillella Photo Journalist: Mathew Karmel, System Admn. & Maintenance: Rajan C. George Layout & Graphics: Prinston Samuel, Business Affairs: Mrs. Molly George CALL US • 301-445-0200 • 301-917-4800 e-Mails: Advertisements: indiathisweekads@gmail.com Press Releases: indiathisweekpress@yahoo.com Web: www.indiathisweek.online that there was no shortage of medicines or doctors, and the patients were given proper care, but their bodies did not respond to the treatment. He also outlined that some of the patients were suffering from arsenic and phosphorus poisoning, snake bites etc. “In the last 24 hours, 24 people lost their lives. Around 12 children (1-2 days old) died in the last 24 hours. These children were suffering from different ailments. Among the adults, there were 8 patients between 70 and 80 years of age. They had different problems, like diabetes, liver failure, and kidney failure. Patients usually come here in serious condition,” said Wakode, adding, “There was no shortage of medicines or doctors. Proper care was provided to the patients, but their bodies did not respond to the treatment, which caused deaths,” he said. “Around 12 children died in the last 24 hours...12 adults also died due to various ailments (snake bites, arsenic and phosphorus poisoning etc). Due to transfers of various staff, there was some difficulty for us... We were supposed to buy medicines from the Haffkine Institute but that also didn’t happen....Also, patients come from far off to this hospital and there were many patients whose sanctioned budget also got disturbed...,” he added. Remember: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ” JESUS CHRIST
FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 2023 7 Delegation from Karnataka visits Montgomery County A state delegation from the State of Karnataka in India, led by the minister for large and medium industries and infrastructure development M. B. Patil, visited Montgomery County in Maryland. USIndia SME Council hosted a small intimate ceremony bringing the Karnataka delegation, the county leadership, and local business leaders together. It was held in the Greencourt Innovation Center in North Bethesda. Elisha Pulivarti, CEO of the US-India SME Council, opened the evening by welcoming the delegation. He elaborated on the importance of small and medium businesses and how close US-India ties benefit SMEs. He also introduced Marc Elrich, the Montgomery County Executive. Marc highlighted salient points of Montgomery County and invited closer collaboration with Karnataka that leads to mutually beneficial growth. He invited Karnataka to invest in Montgomery (L-R) Rajan Natarajan, Elisha Pulivarti, M. B. Patil, Marc Elrich, S. Selvakumar, Gunjan Saxena County and encouraged local businesses to partner with Karnataka. He also spoke about the rich talent pool of Montgomery County. Minister M. B. Patil was felicitated by the US-India SME Council. He thanked the County and business leaders for their hospitality and interaction. He projected the friendly and welcoming nature of Karnataka. Mild-natured and well-mannered, he quickly gained the attention of the room. He touted recent investments in Karnataka from big international organizations and a thriving ecosystem of SMEs. His team members included Principal Secretary of Commerce and Industries Department S. Selvakumar, Commissioner of Commerce and Industries Department Gunjan Saxena, his PA Narendra Santhehaklu, Deputy Director of Invest Karnataka Forum Ravindra Hosanahalli, and knowledge partners Anshul Gupta and Jahanavi Bansal. Commissioner Gunjan Saxena led the presentation about the Invest Karnataka Forum. She emphasized that Karnataka is the first in the India Innovation Index, in a number of R & D centers and in service exports. K a r n a t a k a also leads in electronic designs, electric vehicle innovation, machine tools, aerospace and defense, biotech, software exports, and renewable energy. She touted Karnataka as a credible alternative to China. With 52 universities, 234 engineering colleges, and 1777 trade schools Karnataka has rich resources of highly skilled talent, according to her presentation. She concluded her presentation by showing rich heritage and culture of Karnataka. About thirty local business leaders were present. They all introduced themselves to the delegation. After all the formal presentations Karnataka delegation, the county leadership, and business leaders mingled with one another, while enjoying a traditional Karnataka dinner prepared by Jewel of India. ~ INDIA ~ NEPAL ~ BANGLA DESH ~ PAKISTAN ~ SRI LANKA ~ AFRICA ~ ASIA ~ EUROPE ~ MIDDLE EAST 1-800-343-0038 WEBSITE: GOFLYHOME.COM
No-Confidence Motion from page 1 October 6, 2023, 2023 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK New India is an India of Chandrayaan, CoWIN, 5G...”: EAM Jaishankar Washington DC [US], October 1 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday highlighted the major achievements of India in the field of space, technology and pharmacy and said that the new India is an India of Chandrayaan, an India of CoWIN, and an India of 5G. He made the statement while addressing the Indian diaspora at the ‘Colors of Friendship’ event at India House in Washington DC. While addressing the event, Jaishankar said, “So I mentioned this to you because it’s a great achievement (success of Chandrayaan-3)... Yes, we’ve joined the special club, but today in many ways, the new India is an India of Chandraayan, it’s an India of CoWIN, it’s an India of 5G.” The EAM further said that the India–US relationship has exceeded expectations and has raised the bar. “This is really what we are capable of, and it is this India today that the United States also sees. It is this India with which the United States actually has an appetite for working, much more closely,” he said. Sharing his experience of meeting the incredible people behind the success of Chandrayaan-3, Jaishankar shared a story. “I had the privilege when we (Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi and I) were abroad. When the landing took place, we were at a meeting in South Africa. Obviously, we took time off from the meeting, you all saw Prime Minister was following the landing and was talking to the ISRO. Because these are tense moments, however confident anybody is about a mission at that period, you want to have somebody around you who would give you reassurance,” he said. Adding to this, Jaishankar stressed that no one can give assurance better than PM Modi. “Believe me, nobody can do the assurance better than Mr Modi. He’s today reassuring the entire country, in many ways the whole world,” he said. Further detailing the story, he said that as the Chandryaan-3 was successfully landed, PM Modi decided to directly land in Bengaluru to meet the people behind the soft landing. “It all went well and then he decided that instead of flying back to Delhi, he would actually land directly in Bengaluru and go straight to the ISRO headquarters. Now, fortunately, I mean, since I was travelling with him, I too had a chance to tag along,” he said. Being a former member of the Space Commission, Jaishankar expressed his delight and said, “I have been interested in space and nuclear for a long part of my career. When you sat there and there was this room of about a thousand people, at one level, they looked like the most normal people you could think of, yet you could feel they were the most special people. And the kind of confidence that they exuded, because I could actually be sitting among them, actually asked them, saying, so how tense were you guys? Did you see it? Were you worried? What were the possibilities of something not going the way you thought? And I must tell you, their confidence, their conviction about the mission was simply amazing...” Jaishankar further shared that as that feeling got stuck in his mind, he thought of visiting the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, located in Kerala. “Because it stuck so deeply in my mind, that a few weeks later, I went to Kerala. In Kerala, they have an institute that trains people in space. It’s called the IISST, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology...there were people who were the feedstock of our space program,” he noted. The minister further praised the students for their capabilities in the space program. Jaishankar said, “When you see today what these young people in their graduate and postgraduate degree processes, what they are capable of, what they have done, the kind of things which they have themselves invented, which feed, by the way, a lot of it feeds directly into the space program. So I mentioned this to you because, yes, it’s a great achievement.” Highlighting an interesting fact, the minister noted that some of the recent things India and the US have done together start with the alphabet ‘I’. “It’s an interesting discovery we made that if you look at some of the recent things in India we’ve done together, they all start with the alphabet ‘I’. So we just spoke about this Middle Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 4 (ANI): The cloudburst in North Sikkim and subsequent release of water resulted in an outburst in Lake Lhonak and a major breach in Chungthang dam. After that, more than 8000 cubic metres per second of water has been released from the Teesta barrage which has resulted in flood-like situations in the downstream districts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar, a press release about the flood situation in West Bengal stated. The National Highway-10 connecting Gangtok to Siliguri has been completely washed away near the LikhuvirSetijhora stretch. Immediate repairs on a war footing will be taken as and when the water recedes in Teesta. The Chief Engineer along with the entire team has rushed to the location, the release stated. The message of the cloudburst and subsequent flashflood in Teesta River was communicated by Chief Secretary Sikkim and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation authorities at 3 am Wednesday morning. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was immediately informed about the disaster following which she directed the Chief Secretary to alert all the concerned District Magistrates and Superintendent of Police (SP) and mobilize all the Departments to ensure the launching of quick rescue operations so that there is no loss of lives. D i s t r i c t Magistrates, Police Commissioners and SPs immediately started the evacuation and shifting of people from vulnerable areas of the four districts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and parts of Cooch Behar, the release said. Four teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) have been deployed presently in North Bengal (two in Jalpaiguri, one in Darjeeling and one in Siliguri). Two more companies of NDRF have also been dispatched to Jalpaiguri. Apart from NDRF, seven SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) teams are presently deployed in these three districts. One column of the Army has been requisitioned to rescue a family that has been stranded in the Rangpo area. A large number of people have been evacuated to safer places. Flood shelters have been opened and relief distribution has started, the release stated. Cloudburst in North Sikkim leads to flooding in four districts in West Bengal Eastern Corridor. It’s called IMEC India, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. There was an earlier initiative called 12U2– India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.” Adding to this, he also said, “All of you are familiar today with the term Indo-Pacific....” He further said that the alphabet ‘I’ is good for the US. “Somewhere, people have figured this one out. Go for the alphabet I, then pick a word. Hopefully, there’s a country there. There are good people out there. Those are the guys you need to work with,” he added. Moreover, lauding the India–US relationship, Jaishankar highlighted the journey of the India–US relationship which has come so far in the past years. “This relationship today, I started at a time in the early 80s when you actually had to explain where you’re from, what you’re about know, it’s good to see members of congress here. Those were tough days. They didn’t even let you into the rooms in the congress. And at that time, there was no Indian American member of Congress at that time. But if one looks at the journey, how far we’ve come and how deep the relationship is,” he stressed. Emphasising “chemistry and comfort”, Jaishankar said that today India and the US have come up as “desirable, optimal and comfortable” partners. Several senior officials of the Biden administration including; US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, President Biden’s domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden, and Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Dr Rahul Gupta were part of the reception.US lawmakers Shri Thanedar and Rick McCormik, Democrat and Republican, were present at the event. Just days away from Gandhi Jayanti, Jaishankar paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and made several remarks about the legacy of Gandhi. Jaishankar is on a visit to the US from September 22-30. He addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He also held meetings with several top US officials during his visit. (ANI)
FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 2023 9 Sale Ends 10/31/2023 “Russia’s ties with India exceptional but broken with West”: Jaishankar Washington, DC [US], September 29 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India–Russia ties may not be spectacular but are very “exceptional and steady”, adding that in many ways Moscow’s relationship with the West has “broken down”. Speaking at Hudson University, Jaishankar compared Russia’s ties with India to that with other countries. “...if you consider international relations over the last 70 years, the US–Russian relations, the China-Russia relations, the US-China relations, pretty much every big relationship in the last 70 years has seen a great deal of volatility, you had sharp ups and downs,” Jaishankar said, adding, “India–Russia relations is very exceptional. It’s been very steady.” Noting the India– Russia relations may “not be spectacular”, Jaishankar said they have stabilised at a certain level, but have not seen the ups and downs that Moscow’s relationships with China, US, or Europe have been through. “And that’s in itself a statement,” Jaishankar added. “Now, if one looks at Russia today... as a consequence of what is going on in Ukraine... it seems to them clear that in many ways Russia‘s relationship with the West has broken down,” he said. On why Russia’s emphasis on India is increasing, Jaishankar said, “...India will and has come into calculations as well. So I would predict a Russia that would consciously focus on the non-Western world away from Europe, away from the United States, look much more at Asia, look possibly at other regions as well. But Asia is economically the most active. So I guess that’s what you’re going to see.” Further, the EAM underscored India’s increasing footprints in the global economy and its increasing trade with the Middle East countries. “We have to understand today that as India becomes a larger consumer, a bigger economy, our salience in the Middle East countries calculations, especially the Gulf economies, is that much higher. We are the largest trade partner of the UAE and we would be among probably the top three of the Saudis,” Jaishankar said. Earlier this week, Jaishankar met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly session in New York City. The two appreciated the rapid progress in India, UAE bilateral cooperation and valued regular exchange of perspectives on regional and global issues. “Always a pleasure to meet FM @ABZayed of UAE, this time in New York. Appreciate the rapid progress in our bilateral cooperation. Value our regular exchange of perspectives on regional and global issues,” EAM Jaishankar wrote on X. “They discovered during COVID that the Gulf is actually dependent on daily food consumption for what comes out of India. So the economies have really got very, very deeply meshed...” Jaishankar said during an interaction at the Hudson Insitute. UAE and India along with Saudi Arabia, the US and European Union (EU), had recently announced an ambitious infrastructure plan — the ‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor’. This initiative launched at the G20 summit in New Delhi, seeks to reshape the trade route between the Gulf, Europe and South Asia, connecting them by rail and sea links. Jaishankar is currently in the last leg of his US visit. Earlier, he was in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Wrapping up his New York visit, the EAM arrived in Washington, DC on September 28. Jaishankar will also address the 4th World Culture Festival, which is being organised by the Art of Living Foundation of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. (ANI)
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