Bhopal: Stressing the importance of taking care of a country's diaspora, Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar said that India has carried out one big operation every year since 2015 to bring back its citizens from different parts of the world during the times of conflict.

He said that at any point in time, India has to take care of around 3.5 crore people outside the country, and this requires preparation on a daily basis.

Addressing an event at Town Hall in Bhopal, Jaishankar said, "Since 2015, we have had one big operation every year. Operation Maitri in Nepal, Operation Rahat in Yemen, Sankat Mochan in South Sudan. This is today, necessary. And to do this today, you need to have the preparation, thinking, planning and resources".

"In Turkey during the earthquakes, in Israel during the terror attacks, we had to bring our people back. During Covid, there was a mission called Vande Bharat mission. Through this, we brought back 70 lakh people back to India. No country in the world has ever done this," he added.

The EAM further said that the time of Bharat has come, and people go around the world considering the world as a global workplace.

"If you look around the world, the NRIs, the person of Indian origins, their total number in around 3.5 crore. Now, think, we have to take the responsibility of 3.5 crore people daily. Almost half of them are foreign citizens, but still, around 2 crore Indian citizens are outside India. At any point in time, around 13 lakh Indian students are outside India," Jaishankar said.

He added, "Around 2-3 lakh Indians are engaged in merchant shipping. Around 90 lakh people live and work in Khadi. Imagine the challenge for us and why it is necessary to prepare for it, because, for Bharat, the time has come. It will not just stay in Bharat. The Bharat will go through the world. For us, the world is today, a global workplace".

Speaking on India's G20 presidency, the EAM recalled how the African leaders expressed gratefulness for the African Union's inclusion as a permanent member of G20.

"All of you know that in September, G20 took place in New Delhi and it took people by surprise that when G20 had so many conflicts and tensions, how come we were able to bring a joint statement that too on the first day of the summit? When I went to New York at the end of September for the UN General Assembly, all the African leaders came across and told me that because of India, Africa got a permanent membership of G20," Jaishankar said.

He further said that India takes a strong position on terrorism because "we are big victims of terrorism."

"Today, a good government and strong governance stand up for its people. Just as good governance is necessary at home, right judgements are necessary abroad. We take a strong position on terrorism because we are big victims of terrorism. We will have no credibility if we say that when terrorism impacts us, it's very serious; when it happens to somebody else, it's not serious. We need to have a consistent position," he said.

His remarks come after India abstained from voting on the Jordanian resolution which called for an "immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce" between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

However, it is pertinent to note that India was in favour of the Canadian resolution which condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas.

The Jordanian-led draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, with 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions. The 45 nations that abstained from voting on the resolution included Iceland, India, Panama, Lithuania and Greece.