Nationalism not a negative sentiment, says Jaishankar

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, on Friday, said that nationalism is not a negative sentiment. ‘There is no doubt that the world has become more nationalistic, and a lot of that nationalism is economic nationalism and cultural nationalism,’ Jaishankar said at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

In India’s case, nationalism is not a negative sentiment directed at the world, he said.

“India is an exception as we are more nationalistic, but at the same time, we don’t see a tension between being nationalistic and being international, in the sense of engaging more with the world, so nationalism is not a negative sentiment,” Jaishankar said.

Asked about the possibility of a trade agreement between India and the US, he said it is not that easy as it is a “fairly complicated matter”. So if it is taking time it is fine, the minister added. Talking about South Asia cooperation, Jaishankar said, “The Indian subcontinent is among the least regionalised economies. PM Modi feels we need to do something about this and the Indian economy is a lifting tide for this. You saw that politically when he invited neighbouring countries at his swearing-in ceremony in 2014.

In an obvious reference to Pakistan, the external affairs minister said India’s entire neighbourhood “minus one” has been a “fairly good story” for regional cooperation.

Asked if the impasse with ‘minus one’ would continue, he said he hopes that someday even the ‘minus one’ comes around to regional cooperation.