India’s amended citizenship law has reduced the number of stateless people, which should be appreciated, said foreign minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday. Addressing the ET Global Business Summit, he said, ““Everybody, when they look at citizenship, have a context and has a criterion. Show me a country in the world which says everybody in the world is welcome. Nobody says that,” the minister said.

“We have tried to reduce the number of stateless people through this legislation. That should be appreciated,” he said when asked about the CAA. “We have done it in a way that we do not create a bigger problem for ourselves.”

Taking a tough stand against the UNHRC’s stand on Kashmir and CAA, he said, the UN body has been wrong before, particularly on Kashmir. “UNHRC skirts around cross-border terrorism as if it has nothing to do with country next door. Please understand where they are coming from; look at UNHRC's record how they handled Kashmir issue in past,” he added.

Looking at Indian foreign policy in today ’s context, Jaishankar told the assembled business elites that India’s rise being inextricably linked to the rise of Indian industry, the government would back them fully. Trying to dispel a notion that the BJP government was not business-friendly, he asserted, “Brand India has many facets for the world. And Business India is one of its most important. Your success is part of our success and as you go out in the world, count on us; we are there for you.”

Dwelling on the two key aspects that defines modern global politics, he identified connectivity and technology as the two drivers. “Connectivity today is the new Great Game. It shapes choices and builds linkages that could well determine the architecture of the order in making. India’s views on connectivity were made clear in 2017 and have been reiterated in greater detail since. In that sense, we have been the pioneering voice of this emerging conversation. In essence, the world in our view is best served by connectivity that is transparently debated, collaboratively envisaged, is commercially viable, financially sustainable, environmentally friendly and has local participation.”

Technology, he said, has strategic facets, which makes it an essential item of Indian foreign policy. “Technology has always been the driver of global politics and never more so than now. … this has created its own issues of data protection and data security. But from the vantage point of foreign policy, there are some aspects that need greater deliberation as a national approach. The first is to appreciate that by its very nature, technologies are strategic, whether in its capability or in its consequences. … How we fare in the domains of education, digitization, skills and start-ups will determine our relevance and standing.”

