EAM Jaishankar on PM Modi's 'chemistry' & 'credibility' with world leaders

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'chemistry' and 'credibility' with world leaders, emphasising the imperative for these qualities as India demonstrates its prowess on the global stage. 

“When we see India is growing and our interests are growing that we need to be much more engaging and there must be that kind of connect. The fact that world leaders know PM Modi, counts,” the EAM told news agency ANI during an interview. 

He underscored the significance of India's G20 presidency in the adoption of the unanimously agreed New Delhi Declaration, particularly amid global polarisation on the Ukraine issue and concerns of the Global South.

He mentioned that India brought everyone to the table at the G20 facilitated by the existing relations each country had with India amid high speculations that member nations will fail to issue a joint statement.

"At the G20, not even 12 hours before the G20 declaration was finalized, there were people publicly predicting that we will fail. But the general expectation that relations today are so polarised on the Ukraine issue, if the concerns of the Global South have become so strong and yet being contested in a way or not being recognized duly by others," he said.

“There was a North-South divide, there was the East-West polarisation, every country was pulling in a different direction and yet the fact was eventually we got everybody come to the table and I accept when they all came to the table, they deserve the credit. The truth is they came to the table because everybody ultimately had relations with India. The other 19 countries said that this matters for India, this is something which is right. The fact is everybody made a compromise and that is how it happened,” he added.