India making its mark in world affairs: Ex-envoy

Patiala, August 23

Former ambassador to United Arab Emirates Navdeep Suri today said India was establishing its rightful position in world affairs.

He was speaking at Punjabi University on ‘Rise of India on the Global Stage’ during the G20 University connect: Engaging young minds lecture series. The event was managed by the Research and Information System (RIS) for Developing Countries, New Delhi.

Suri said India’s foreign policy took a pragmatic turn, which benefitted the country’s global standing. “The world is no longer unipolar and is not controlled by any sole superpower. Global supply chains are now more resilient. India maintained its neutral position during the Russia-Ukraine war and succeeded in getting oil at lower prices from Russia despite the pressure of western countries.”

He said the situation in the Middle East witnessed a qualitative shift during the last decade which included their favourable view regarding India’s internal matters. “Now, we have much better relations with Islamic countries. Factors like sustained high growth, better focus on foreign policy, comfortable domestic food situation, better governance and higher level of technologies helped us to improve our footprint abroad,” he said and added that India also needed to take criticism positively.

Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman, former head, Department of Economics, Punjabi University, said the country must define its priorities according to the availability of resources. Hence, the central government should generously support its programme of crop diversification.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the GST and excise collection in the state had improved considerably with adoption of better policies and plugging of loopholes in tax compliance. “The government is trying to monitor each and every source of revenue so as to make the state financially vibrant.”

Vice-Chancellor Prof Arvind said sustainability must become a part of the lifestyle of society.