Speaking on how India helped to stabilise the world’s gas and oil markets during the war between Russia and Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar noted that India’s strategic purchasing policies had a significant effect on global inflation.
During a conversation titled “How a billion people see the world,” which was organised by the Indian High Commission in London, Jaishankar spoke about India’s significant role in world events.
As to a report, Jaishankar stated: “Our purchase policies have actually caused the oil and gas markets to soften.” As a result, we have truly controlled worldwide inflation. I’m awaiting the gratitude.
According to Jaishankar, India’s strategy for buying oil avoided a spike in world oil prices during the interview, averting possible market competition from Europe.
“When it comes to the purchase…I think the global oil prices would have gone higher because we would have gone into the same market to the same suppliers that Europe would have done and as we discovered Europe would have outpriced us,” Jaishankar added during the interview.
Talking about the CNG market, Jaishankar said that India noticed that the global LNG market had many suppliers that were traditionally coming into Asia but were diverted to Europe. “In fact, at least India was a big enough country to command some respect in the markets but there were much smaller countries, who didn’t even get responses to their tender in Paris because the LNG suppliers were no longer interested in dealing with them.”
“They have bigger fish to fry,” the foreign minister added.
While outlining India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Jaishankar stressed the need to strike a careful balance between interests and ideals.
He emphasised the fact that although principles are regularly expressed, national interests frequently have an impact on them. “Difficult experiences have taught us that although people talk about ideas, their discussions are frequently influenced by our own interests. In this particular instance, sustaining our ties with Russia serves a vital national interest.
Journalist Lionel Barber mediated this discussion, which took place at the Royal Over-Seas League Club during Jaishankar’s five-day visit to the UK.
Throughout the conversation, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) emphasised India’s critical role in reshaping international organisations such as the BRICS and G20, characterising India’s strategy as a synthesis of revolutionary and evolutionary tactics.
EAM Jaishankar addressed the gathering and emphasised India’s unique place in the rapidly shifting global scene.
