The entire impact of Trump’s tariff policies over the last six months or so has taken the whole world back, and India too had a bit of a jolt just two to three days ago, Tharoor said.”We are going to have to recover because the American relationship, and I don’t just mean the trade relationship, the strategic partnership, is important enough for us to want to make the real effort to make this work.So I think there is a lot that needs to be done,” he said.He added that the credibility of the United Nations Charter and the Security Council is cast into question.”The wars are being conducted with the active involvement of some of the biggest powers in the world.And that, again, means that the people who are supposed to be upholding world order are contributing to promoting disorder.In the midst of all this, what does India do to navigate its position? Well, first of all, of course, we have to be very clear in our minds what our national interests are,” Tharoor said.India’s first and most important national interest is the well-being of its people, of the Indian people, he said.”And that means focusing on our development, on our prosperity, on our harmony, on our coexistence with each other, and on the safety and security of our borders as well, which have recently been threatened both from the Chinese side and the Pakistani side.And we have to be prepared to be robustly able to defend ourselves without jeopardising the larger story of our development and our growth,” he said.On the international front, India has to play a constructive role, he said.”We have to be amongst the rule makers and not just the rule takers.We have to be a significant player so that we are not in a position where others can dictate to us or push us around. Our credibility matters. We are already the most populous country in the world. We are already amongst the largest economies in the world and will soon be the third largest. In all these circumstances, we do matter. We have to be counted. But at the same time, we have to be sure what we want to be counted for,” he asserted.
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