New Delhi: Referring to the significant deployment of Indian Navy ships to secure the shipping routes amid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar April 29 stressed that 21 Indian Navy ships have been deployed in the distressed region and are protecting the international shipping routes, keeping trade costs down, adding that the endeavour has actually upgraded India’s stature in the world.

“With all this tension between people firing missiles and drones and piracy, 21 of our ships are actually on service out there, who are actually protecting international shipping. They keep trade costs down because if you can protect shipping, insurance costs is less, shipping cost is less. So how do you get relevant? And of course, most important, how do you actually get the respect of the world,” EAM Jaishankar said during an interactive session on Northeast India’s integration with Southeast Asia and Japan.

“And you get the respect of the world just like you get the respect of people, which is you have to perform better. You actually get the respect of the world just like you get the respect of people, which is you have to perform better,” he added.

Jaishankar also highlighted India’s economic growth and its ongoing journey to become the third largest economy in the world and said that the decisions India makes at home are keenly watched by the world.

“If the student does well, if the student delivers or exceeds expectations, I think you get respect. So how we do at home is not just a matter for us at home. We are the largest country in the world. We are the fifth largest economy, soon we’ll be the third. How we do at home is watched by everybody abroad. What decisions we make at home, is also very keenly followed by the world,” he said.

“So if we are now in the coming weeks going to decide our future in whatever way we wish, it’s not just a conversation amongst ourselves. It’s a conversation or a discussion in which the other 6 billion people are also tuned in. These are all actually aspects of why Bharat matters. But I do want to share with you as someone who travels a fair amount, what is actually our global image today,” he added.