S Jaishankar said India has changed and so has the world's view of India (File)
No major issue in the world is decided without consultation with New Delhi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, adding that India has changed and so has the world's view of it.
It is in India's nature to be 'independent' and because of this, New Delhi has to manage its interests with different people instead of being "someone else's subsidiary or enterprise", he further said.
"Many countries today see our weight, power, and influence. We were the 10th largest economy 10 years ago and we are the fifth largest economy now... In a very few years, we will be the third-largest economy. No major issue in the world is decided without some consultation with India. We have changed and the world's view of us has changed," Mr Jaishankar said.
"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of 'Amrit Kaal', think of these 10 years as the foundation. In these 10 years, the building of the next 25 years will be built," he added.
Asked how New Delhi manages to be a part of groupings like the Quad and the BRICS consisting of countries with conflicting interests, the Minister said India is independent and needs to learn how to manage its interests by dealing with different people.
"We are at least a 5,000-year-old civilisation, the most populous civilisation, physically one of the largest countries in the world, and the fifth-largest economy in the world. Our nature is to be independent. We cannot and should not be a part of somebody else's subsidiary or enterprise. Because we are independent, we have to learn how to manage our interests by dealing with different people," he further said.
Notably, the Quad is a bloc of four countries - India, Australia, Japan, and the US. It aims to secure a rules-based global order and a free and secure Indo-Pacific region.
BRICS is a grouping of 10 nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It aims to enhance economic cooperation and trade among the member countries. The latter five countries were made permanent members during the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg last year.
Speaking about the transformation that has taken place in India, S Jaishankar said today the world has come to India and the rise in talent in the country has attracted more investments.
"A country that had three or four metro systems 10 years ago, has around 20 today. Every day in this country for the last 10 years, two new colleges have been opened... For all Indians, the world is not far away. It has come to us. Covid was one sign of the world coming to us," he said.
"Secondly, the way the world sees us has changed. We have 140 crore people. But for the world, how many of them are relevant, and how many are educated, skilled, and employable? If foreign investments are coming to this country in such large numbers, it is because they see the talent in the society," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)