“I could have done with a Vande Bharat…”: EAM Jaishankar laughs it off recalling PM Modi’s Ukraine visit by train

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Ukraine by train, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that he could have done that ‘with a Vande Bharat’, adding that it was a 10-hour long journey each way, and was the only option in that situation.

Notably, PM Narendra Modi’s Ukraine visit was the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the war-hit nation. The visit assumes deeper significance as it comes at a time when the region finds itself in the middle of a conflict.

Responding to a question at the ET World Leaders Forum about PM Modi’s train ride to Ukraine, Jaishankar said laughing, “I could have done with a Vande Bharat.”

He added, “It was 10 hours each way, and I think, given the situation, obviously, you got what you got, but 10 hours is 10 hours.”

“I remember Prime Minister Narendra Modi going on a Shinkansen bullet train in Japan, I often cannot remember any other train ride at least for a long time,” he further said, in response to another question on the last time an Indian Prime Minister took a train ride.

Upon arrival, PM Modi was received at the station and subsequently headed to the Hyatt Hotel for initial engagements. Indian diaspora welcomed PM Modi at the hotel.

PM Modi’s visit also included a notable stop at the multimedia Martyrologist at the Ukraine National Museum. Here, the Prime Minister honoured the memory of the children of Ukraine, whose lives were taken by the full-scale Russian invasion.

Further, on the current geopolitical situation, the minister said that every government, consciously or otherwise is today assessing risks, and the majority of the policies are on de-risking.

“If I were to have a one-word summary of this situation, which is risks. Because what we have seen really for the last 15 years is a steady increase in terms of risks in the to the global order, in the international economy, in individual countries. There are risks that are actually coming out of the process of change…If there is a major war going on in Europe, there is a huge conflict going on in West Asia, and the Middle East, there are tensions around Asia, there is a revival of territorial claims, and border frictions. Those are actually, with each one of them, the risks mount…there are risks to supply chains today, not just Houthis in the Red Sea, there could be climate risks, there could be pandemic risks, there could be technology risks,” Jaishankar said.

“The idea that there are borders and borders are some kind of hardlines, and problems can be stopped on that side of the border, those days are over,” the EAM underlined.

“To me, every government, consciously or otherwise is today assessing risks, and the majority of the policies are on de-risking…The ones who do it better, have the ability, then to explore opportunities but the focus of the world is on de-risking,” he further said adding that India, today is exploring opportunities, and trying to get involved more in global supply chains.

Mentioning the Covid-19 pandemic which in 2020, had put the world at a standstill, Jaishankar said that India came out much better of the crisis as it followed its own understanding.

“We were among the countries, who largely, because we followed our own understanding, of our own society, and did not listen too much to free advice which we were getting in large quantities. We actually took a number of steps during that period which allowed us to come out much better of Covid than the world,” he added.