S Jaishankar's First Remarks After Returning As Foreign Minister

Discussing India's relationship with Pakistan and China for the next five years, S Jaishankar said the two countries pose different challenges.

S Jaishankar officially assumed office as India's Foreign Minister today. Mr Jaishankar, 69, was among several senior BJP leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and Nirmala Sitharaman, who retained their respective ministries from the previous administration.

Discussing India's relationship with Pakistan and China for the next five years, Mr Jaishankar said the two countries pose different challenges. 

"In any country and especially in a democracy, it is a very big deal for a government to get elected three times in a row. So the world will definitely feel that today there is a lot of political stability in India," Mr Jaishankar noted. "As far as Pakistan and China are concerned, the relations with those countries are different, and the problems there are also different. Our focus with regard to China will be on finding a solution for the border issues and with Pakistan, we would want to find a solution to the issue of years-old cross-border terrorism."