EAM S Jaishankar described dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has reiterated India's position on the Ukraine crisis, saying that India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there.

Delivering India's statement at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, he called for dialogue and diplomacy as the only means of resolution.

According to EAM Jaishankar, "We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles. We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out".

"We are on the side of those struggling to make ends meet, even as they stare at the escalating costs of food, of fuel and fertilizers. It is therefore in our collective interest to work constructively, both within the United Nations and outside, in finding an early resolution to this conflict," EAM Jaishankar added.

He also discussed the issues that India's neighbours are dealing with while the world's focus has been on Ukraine.

"Some of them may be aggravated by the Covid pandemic and ongoing conflicts; but they speak too of a deeper malaise. The accumulation of debt in fragile economies is of particular concern," he pointed out.

"We believe that in such times, the international community must rise above narrow national agendas. India, for its part, is taking exceptional measures in exceptional times," he said.

He further mentioned that India supplied 10,000 metric tonnes of food aid and vaccine supplies to Myanmar; 3.8 billion dollars in credits to Sri Lanka for fuel and other necessities; and 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and numerous tranches of medicine and vaccinations to Afghanistan.

"When we fill the gap in humanitarian needs left unaddressed by political complexity. Whether it is disaster response or humanitarian assistance, India has stood strong, contributing particularly to those nearest to us," EAM Jaishankar remarked.

'WORLD POISED FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES'

"The world, as we knew it, is poised for transformational changes. It has been impacted in recent times by a succession of shocks, each of them significant by itself" EAM Jaishankar pointed out.

The Covid pandemic called into question the over-centralized nature of globalization and "has led all of us" to seek greater resilience and reliability of supply chains, he added.

According to EAM Jaishankar, the repercussions of the ongoing Ukraine conflict have further heightened economic stresses, especially on food and energy while climate events have added to the disruption that the world is already facing.

As for the promise of technology, it has certainly multiplied our capabilities but also added to our vulnerabilities, he said, adding that "Trust and transparency are legitimate expectations of a more digitized world.

The quest to create a better global order would necessarily have to address all these issues. Among them, some are clearly more existential in nature and necessitate intense coordination by the international community, EAM Jaishankar explained. Attachments area