Objective of Quad is to do global good, through collaborative efforts, says EAM Dr. S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that as emphasised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the objective of the Quad is to do global good, through collaborative efforts. He stressed that if the grouping of the four nations is to continue growing there should be no effort to strait jacket it or “impose congruence over convergence”.
Delivering 2022 edition of Vice Admiral KK Nayyar Memorial Lecture, Dr Jaishankar said, the Quad works precisely because it is flexible and understanding, a welcome departure from the rigidities of the Cold War era.
The External Affairs Minister said, at the end of the day, the compulsions of inter-dependence and inter-penetration have triumphed over outdated definitions and vested interests.
He said, let us be clear that the Indo-Pacific is the future, not the past. He said, at the heart of Quad is a level of comfort generated by marked improvement for India in multiple sets of bilateral relationships.
Dr Jaishankar said, this is enhanced by a stronger sense of converging purpose in face of regional and global challenges. He said, charges that the Indo-Pacific derives from Cold War thinking are motivated and false.
He said, they are made by the very quarters who seek to freeze the status quo of 1945 and deny the integration that has happened in the last two decades. Dr Jaishankar said, their endeavour is to constrain the choices of others and impose their own interests.
