"Simple Solutions To Complicated Problems": S Jaishankar's Top Quotes

"India's G20 presidency has been unique. The G20 itself is unique and India's Presidency is special because the world today is far more complicated because of a once-in-a-century pandemic and an ongoing conflict. The state of the world is far more worrisome. In such a situation, who can step forward and find a middle ground? There are east-west and north-south divides. Who can bridge this? The country should not be neutral, but command respect and have something to show to the world. That is India."

"PM Modi has a lot of interest in foreign policy. I met him in China for the first time in 2011 in China. He was very interested and willing to learn. A lot of his travels are to understand what is going on around the world. He is tech-friendly, and open-minded. He is a person with great curiosity and gives a lot of time to foreign policy. I have seen he has a strong understanding of global politics. His one sentence: "Yeh yuddh ka yug nahi hain (this is not an era of war)" summed it all up. The global sentiment doesn't envisage war. In this one sentence, he articulated it all. I am still amazed by the people he knows and the places he has been to. There's a lot to him..."

"The talks around Chandrayaan-3 began at the Johannesburg retreat on the first day. The next day, at the morning session, PM Modi left because he wanted to join ISRO. By the second day, the talks completely shifted to Chandrayaan-3. It had gone into people's attention and imagination. By evening, everyone felt a part of Chandrayaan-3. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would like to sit next to PM Modi so that "some of it can rub off on me". A very large part of the world was with us."

"The world used this issue (the Kashmir issue) to pressurise us. What we did with Article 370, I would say is one of our biggest achievements in the last 10 years. Go to Lal Chowk and see for yourself. About Kashmir, honestly, I was a member of the cabinet in 2019 and involved in the decisions taken. One part of me is still amazed at how we allowed this situation to fester for so long."

"If today no one talks about Pakistan or it is not mentioned as much... what can I say? One way of looking at it as the 'verdict of the market'. Who talks about a losing stock? No one talks about a losing stock."

"We have gone to 125 countries and asked them about G20 issues. The climate issue is getting worse. This is not a different department. Climate disasters are happening regularly and have become a major economic disruptor. If supply chains are interrupted by climate changes, your entire economy will be in jeopardy."

"The Global South knows they are the Global South. Because at the end of the day, the Global South is a reflection of development, income, and history, and is a place in the heart. Anyone can say we are the Global South. But do you behave that way?"

"The Global South are those who, whatever their limited resources, will do for other countries because we feel we all are a part of a family and their problem is our problem."

"When I tour countries, I notice that a lot of countries have started speaking to us over the last few years. When they see the efficiency and scale of our schemes, they see these as inspiration and feel this can be replicated and done."

"China has put out such maps in the past where they have claimed territories that don't belong to them. Putting out a map does not mean anything. These territories are very much a part of India. We are very clear what our territories are. Making absurd claims does not make other people's territories yours."