Jaishankar’s Witty Reply On Whether ‘US Attracting India Into its Sphere?’

New Delhi: Known for his sharp replies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday gave a witty reply when he was posed with a question on whether the United States was trying to attract India into its sphere.

Jaishankar was speaking at the 22nd edition of the Doha Forum panel on 'Conflict Resolution in a New Era,' alongside Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

Here’s What EAM Jaishankar Replied

"We've been trying to attract them (US) into the Indian sphere," EAM Jaishankar replied at a panel discussion at the Doha Forum in Qatar.

'India Has Never Been For De-dollarisation’

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated that India has never supported de-dollarisation and that there is no proposal for a BRICS currency. 

His comments came in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's threat of 100% tariffs if BRICS tries to de-dollarise.

“We have always said that India has never been for de-dollarisation and right now there is no proposal to have a BRICS currency. The BRICS do discuss financial transactions, US is our largest trade partner and we have no interest in weakening the dollar at all. We had a good relationship, a very solid relationship with the first Trump administration, yes there were some issues mostly trade related but there were a whole lot of issues on which President Trump was very international,” EAM Jaishankar said. 

EAM Jaishankar is on an official visit to Qatar and Bahrain from December 6-9. In Bahrain, he will co-chair the 4th India-Bahrain High Joint Commission (HJC) with Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. 

Foreign Minister will also participate in the 20th edition of the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on December 8.

(With inputs from ANI)