India says cooperation in South Asia all good, minus Pakistan

India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday (October 4) slammed Pakistan, in a veiled reference, as he claimed that the entire South Asian neighbourhood “minus one” has been a “good story” for regional cooperation.

Speaking at an interactive session of the World Economic Forum, Jaishankar said that India’s development can lift the South Asian region as he highlighted the joint infrastructural projects undertaken in the region, reported news agency ANI.

@DrSJaishankar on India's economic, political and social outlook. @borgebrende #ies19 https://t.co/1eKlPDiq7C

— World Economic Forum (@wef) October 4, 2019

“We don’t speak about reciprocity in our neighbourhood anymore. The entire neighbourhood, minus one, has been a good story for regional cooperation,” he was quoted as saying, in an apparent reference to the rival country.

The Foreign Minister further said that as a country India is more nationalistic but its nationalism should not be seen as a negative sentiment. India, he said, doesn’t want tensions between “being nationalistic and being international” in the sense of engaging more with the world.

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During his address, he also outlined India’s contributions across the world while stressing on its will to engage more with countries over different issues.

“Being a market economy, and a democratic and socially pluralistic country, we have comfort with the West. Being a part of rising Asian, we have comfort with a lot of rebalancing with Asian counties,” ANI quoted him as saying.

Jaishankar also said that India has a strong bonding with the Asian and African countries and there is a “new energy” in the country’s foreign affairs. He recalled the recent UN summit and said the event witnessed India’s willingness to engage more with other countries.

(With inputs from agencies)