India's foreign relations strengthened with its leadership: Jaishankar

He was speaking at an interactive session on foreign policy of the Modi Government, hosted by Thinkers Forum of Mysuru

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that 70 lakh Indians stuck abroad during the Covid pandemic were brought back, with the External Affairs ministry working in shifts, with each team working for eight hours like a factory.

Around 4,000 people, including 11-12 per cent from Karnataka, were brought back from Sudan in 17 flights and five ships with 'Operation Kaveri' in complex situations.

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"All this could happen only because of strong coordination and support of foreign countries, due to cordial relationships and motivation from leadership like PM Narendra Modi, which was lacking in previous governments. In the past nine years, India has taken up several such operations to rescue Indians stranded abroad, as they are there everywhere, through Operation Ganga and Devi Shakthi."

He was speaking at an interactive session on the foreign policy of the Modi Government, hosted by the Thinkers Forum of Mysuru.

Jaishankar said, "Covid pandemic, which had put India under stress, made us realise our potential to look after our citizens in India and abroad, and also step up for the rest of the world. We exported medicines to 150 countries including the developed ones. Invention of vaccination was testimony for what India could do," he said.