New Delhi: In India’s foreign policy, Neighbourhood First is not just a slogan but a practical manifestation of always standing together and going the extra mile with neighbours to build “a collective neighbourhood”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
Speaking at the Diamond Jubilee of the India International Centre (ICC), Jaishankar said, “When in foreign policy, we speak about neighbourhood first, it’s not just a slogan, it’s not something you put in a report, it is a practical manifestation of the importance of standing by each other, of helping each other out, of actually building a larger neighbourhood. A neighbourhood where India’s prosperity, in a way, serves as a lifting tide, where we are generous, non-reciprocal, where we go the extra mile with our neighbours to forge what is a collective neighbourhood.”
In the celebration, he recalled his time when he was part of the IIC. He said the Diamond Jubilee celebration of ICC was something which was really worth commemorating. He also stated that music is the core which helps to understand the global culture.
Talking about his previous interview, which he had given just before the event, Jaishankar said, “I shared with them that my introduction to international relations was actually through music. It was the records and the radio that we listened to in our childhood and youth that connected us to the world. I still believe today that a large part of understanding the culture of the world is music, which is obviously at the core of the culture.”
In the event, South Asian Symphony Orchestra conveyed a message of regional solidarity. The South Asian Symphony Foundation works towards building peace and mutual understanding in South Asia through the medium of music and the creation of the unifying platform of a South Asian Symphony Orchestra.
Former ambassador Nirupama Rao, the founder of the South Asian Symphony Foundation, is a distinguished diplomat who served as India’s Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United States, China, and Sri Lanka.
