India has to be go-to option for any crisis in subcontinent: Jaishankar

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday emphasised that India has to be the go-to option for any crisis in this subcontinent.

Speaking at the Aravalli Summit on 'India and the World Order: Preparing for 2047' at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), he said India has to itself "underwrite the infrastructure for cooperation" in a scenario of political volatility.

"This is the essence of neighbourhood first policy. India has to be the go-to option in any crisis in this subcontinent.

"The strategic diminishing of India as a result of Partition has to be overcome," Jaishankar added.

Analysing the global world, the External Affairs Minister said the world is witnessing more competition with the needle shifting away from the promise of cooperation.

"It is driven by weaponisation of everything. All nations face predicaments. India has to strategise and continue rising amid such volatility. The challenge is to read this complex landscape," he said.

The JNU alumnus stressed safeguarding the nation's interests along with continuously advancing global hierarchy.

"From India's perspective, the driving forces of demand, demographics and data will propel its rise. We have to create ideas, terminologies and narratives for journey to 2047," he added.

Advising JNU's School of International Studies (SIS) to shift gears, he said it must shoulder the responsibility of helping India enter the higher orbit and emerge as a leading power.

"SIS has been at the forefront of developing India's capability. It has served as an inspiration for the proliferation of international relations studies in the rest of the country," he said, and underscored the importance of addressing the task of achieving the goal of 'Viksit Bharat'. PTI MHS SLB KSS KSS