Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Monday commended his predecessor and seasoned BJP leader Sushma Swaraj for bolstering relations with the Indian diaspora. Addressing the members of the Indian diaspora in Austria’s Vienna, Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency, “The fact that our relationship with the Indian communities abroad is strong and will remain stronger is because of Sushma Swaraj – she led the front.”
“I would say in those five years when she was the minister, she was the face and the voice of that message. And of course, we created a system for that to happen but I still feel that she was so symbolic of that change that I am personally very grateful that you have recalled her at a time like this,” he added.
Sushma Swaraj – a BJP stalwart – died on August 6, 2019, at the age of 67 following a cardiac arrest – around two months after the party was re-elected to power in the Lok Sabha polls. In the first term of the Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019, she served as the minister of external affairs.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also praised the contribution of the diaspora in promoting Indo-Austria relations.
“When people think of India, they don’t think of a country, they think of a person. They relate to an Indian and the experience they had with that Indian. If that experience with that Indian is good their impression of India flows from there. For me, all the diplomacy I do is nothing compared to the image and the sentiment that you create. So, keep doing what you are doing here,” he said.
On Twitter, the external affairs minister shared pictures of his interaction and wrote: “So glad to interact with the thriving Indian community in Vienna today. Appreciate the cultural performance that underlined how strong the connect is with our motherland. The image of the Indian community has done much to build goodwill between India and Austria.”