Wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia: Jaishankar on Ukraine conflict

Responding to a question from Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar said, “You talked about Ukraine, I remember less than a year ago what happened in Afghanistan, where the entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world. We in Asia face our own sets of challenges which often have an impact on the rules-based order.”

Responding to another question from Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, Jaishankar said, “If I were to put those very challenges in terms of principles, when a rules-based order was under challenge in Asia, the advice we got from Europe is do more trade. At least we’re not giving you that advice. And, in Afghanistan, please show me which part of the rules-based order justified… What did the world do there?”

In response to a question from former Swedish PM Carl Bildt, the Indian external affairs minister said, “This could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe. It could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia… This has not been an easy part of the world for the last decade. And this is a part of the world where… boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practised, often, sponsored by States. This is a part of the world where… the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade. And I think it’s important for the rest of the world outside Asia to recognize this. It’s not that problems are going to happen. The problems have been happening.”

Jaishankar’s comments were made during a discussion at the Raisina Dialogue, where several foreign ministers and leaders were in the audience.