Pics: Franklin D’Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)
Udupi, Mar 19: Dr S Jaishankar, minister for external affairs, visited Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) on Sunday, March 19, 2023.
Dr M D Venkatesh, vice-chancellor of MAHE, and Dr H S Ballal, pro-chancellor, welcomed the minister along with other MAHE officials.
Dr Jaishankar interacted with international students and the Department of Geo-Politics.
During his interaction with international students, Dr Jaishankar emphasized the student exchange programs initiated by the government of India.
He said, "Student exchanges are a productive way to connect the world. Currently, we are in the middle of changing our education policy, and we would like to encourage more students to come to our universities and more of our universities to grow internationally. India has the G20 presidency, and we want to do it very differently. We want the whole world to come to India. 'Make India ready for the world and Make world ready for India' sums up India's presidency of G20. I'm pleased to see such a large number of students with great diversity. Visiting the experience center, I wished I was a few years younger so I could study here. Being the president of G20 this time, India has looked towards skill mapping, which is one of the biggest issues that will confront the world because we are moving towards a very different world, where there is a mismatch between demand and supply. This could be met with global mobility. During Covid, some nations had vaccines more than required for their population."
Answering students' questions on India as an education hub, Jaishankar said, "We have to work more at it. This is a very legitimate question. We are trying to become a much more natural destination, and if we consciously work on attracting more students, it is possible. I remember every international student who studied with me in university, even after 50 years. Today, after Covid, around 78 countries are waiting for the debt from the International Monetary Fund. The climate crisis has become another arena of debate. On a daily basis, there is a major climate event happening somewhere in the world. When Prime Minister Modi became PM, he promised to educate 50 thousand African students. The concept of distance education has made an enormous breakthrough after Covid," he said.
Jaishankar also answered students' questions on the G20 summit, international relations, and other facets.
Answering questions on geo-political subjects, the External Affairs Minister said, "The EU today is our biggest trade partner. But the possibilities could be more. In many areas, we have seeded space. Everybody wants to de-risk the global economy. To do this, they need more supply chains. Europe is ready to do more trade with India. In a digital world, we are actually trying to have a serious technology conversation. I have dealt with times when other countries would not give access to data they have, which was vital to our national security. When their own security was at stake, they would have dealt with it very differently. Digital delivery has been seen by the rest of the world as one of India's biggest achievements. It is not right that the interest of business should kill it, or the rights of citizens should harm society."
Speaking about Saudi Arabia's willingness to join BRICS, Jaishankar said, "The expansion of BRICS is a question that needs to be deliberated. There are a number of countries interested in it. Like any organization looking at expansion, there have to be criteria and other things worked out. The very idea of such an event happening itself is a demonstration of the changing world. Multipolarity does not necessarily mean individual countries; it also means more regional autonomy."
Regarding the relationship with China and Pakistan, Jaishankar said, "We are in a competitive relationship with China. What China has done in 2020 and thereafter is unacceptable, and we will counter it, including bilateral diplomats. We can see if the Chinese get to accept that it's not in their own interest and then find a mutually acceptable way of dealing with it. But that's not what Pakistan is doing. This is a country that has attacked our cities, killed our civilians, which has not felt bound by any rule of the modern world. Show me any country in the world that actually says 'I have the right to attack any of my neighbors. I am recruiting, training, funding.' Everybody knows where the LeT and Jaish camps are. Normalizing Pakistan is the worst mistake we can make. Our effort in the last 10 years has been to demonstrate to the world this is one country utterly unacceptable, a practice that needs to be exposed, and I believe that we will be quite successful in doing it. It's not an issue we should be weak or inconstant about because that will really hurt us. There are responses after the Mumbai attack that are very damaging."
Dr M D Venkatesh, vice-chancellor of MAHE, Dr H S Ballal, pro-chancellor, and other MAHE officials participated in the program.
Dr S Jaishankar also visited the MAHE experience center on the occasion.