External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday stressed the growing role of Indian skills and talent at the global level and said that the developed countries of the world are now manifesting interest in concluding mobility agreements with India.

“In the era of a knowledge economy, the role of Indian skills and talent is also being reassessed. The nature of technological advancement is itself creating greater demand. But there is also the reality of demographic shortages in developed countries. These trends are manifesting themselves right now in an interest across the world to conclude mobility agreements with India,” EAM said while speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2024 in New Delhi.

“On our part, we too would like to see that our talent is treated fairly and transparently. As a global workplace emerges – and believe me, it will grow faster than all of us anticipate. As a global workplace emerges – there are some immediate consequences. Expanding the scale and quality of skilling at home becomes an even more urgent imperative. This is very much in line with the Modi Government’s thinking. They are supported by the spread of the innovation and start-up culture as well. Businesses too need to do their fair share in the upgrading of our human resources,” he added.

Asserting the obligation to secure Indian citizens even abroad, EAM also highlighted India’s successful operations held to evacuate Indian citizens from Ukraine and Sudan and said that their goal is to make India a global hub for innovation, research, and design as well.

“As the global workplace expands, the obligation to secure our citizens abroad will also grow proportionately. Fortunately, this is an area where we have already built capabilities and created SOPs, as evidenced recently in Ukraine and in Sudan. We are also deploying technology more widely for the ease of living of Indians traveling and working abroad,” he said.

“However, as we contemplate the relevance of our talent with the importance of ‘Make in India,’ our goal is to make ourselves into a global hub for innovation, research, and design as well. ‘Work in India’ is the natural outcome, I would say, a supportive basis for ‘Make In India.’ But it will also have ‘Work for the World’ as its subset,” he added.
He also underscored the crisis engulfed across the world due to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and said that the world is experiencing a 3F crisis of fuel, food, and fertilizers, in which India is acting with the judicious combination of ‘Bharat First’ and ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam.’

“Instead today, what is the reality we are staring at? A Ukraine conflict now in its third year. A huge escalation of violence in West Asia/the Middle East that could spread beyond. The disruption of logistics due to war, due to sanctions, drone attacks, and climate events. The world is experiencing a 3F crisis of fuel, food, and fertilizers. In Asia, new tensions have emerged in land and sea as agreements are dishonored and the rule of law disregarded,” he said.

“Terrorism and extremism have started to consume those who have long practiced it. In many ways, we are actually going through the perfect storm. For India, the task is to mitigate its impact on itself and contribute to stabilizing the world to the extent possible. It is this judicious combination of ‘Bharat First’ and ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ that defines our image as ‘Vishwa Bandhu,'” he added.