S Jaishankar said in Raisina – ‘India has the ability to bring all countries on one platform’

New Delhi, March 7. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, in his address on Saturday, the last day of the 11th edition of the National Capital Raisina Dialogue 2026, praised India’s diplomacy in the Indian Ocean. He said, ‘India has the ability to bring all countries together on one platform because they trust us more.’

Dr S Jaishankar said, ‘When it comes to the Indian Ocean, India has a special importance and hence a special responsibility and a special contribution. This is not just because we are big and central but also because we really have the ability to bring a lot of countries together at the table or on the platform because we have good relations with them. Maybe they trust us more or they are more comfortable with us, call it whatever you want.

“The rise of India will be determined by India. It will be determined by our strength, not by the mistakes of others.”

Just finished an animated session ‘Heart of the Seas: The Future of the Indian Ocean’ at #RaisinaDialogue2026 with colleagues FMs @HMVijithaHerath,… pic.twitter.com/4Lbj5MTyPo

—Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 7, 2026

Jaishankar further said, ‘What this means for me is that at the Fusion Center in Gurugram there are so many people, so many countries, so many representatives, who are ready to work together here at this time, ready to share, ready to create a holistic picture. This not only reflects the importance of the Indian Ocean but also underlines India’s role on the global stage.

The Foreign Minister said, ‘We are continuously building such institutions, which include platforms like IOR, Colombo Security Conference and BIMSTEC. Although we are not part of some groupings like the GCC, all these efforts are the foundation of a greater Indian Ocean. On the other hand, the countries of the Pacific region are also becoming the basis of this comprehensive structure. These are the foundation of a larger kind of overall picture. Now apart from this, it is also bilateral.

Speaking alongside FMs @BarryFaure of Seychelles, @RitishRamful of Mauritius, @HMVijithaHerath of Sri Lanka, former FM Marise Payne of Australia at #RaisinaDialogue2026 on Heart of the Seas: Future of the Indian Ocean.

—Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 7, 2026

On India and its allies, Jaishankar said, ‘When I look there at our three allies, Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka with their navies and their coast guards, we have a long history of working together. Many of them have ships or crafts of Indian origin. We have trained together, we have exercised together and not just with them, if you actually look at the big exercises in the Indian Ocean or the Indo-Pacific, Australia is again a very important exercise partner.

He said, “You look at the Indian Navy or the Indian Coast Guard. That’s actually a common element in each of them. I mean if you take the totality of maritime activities and say which country has the most characteristics then we are there. We are members of the organization based in Singapore to counter piracy, but part of it is presence, working together. But we really help practically, we help in terms of countering drugs networks, we help in terms of countering IUU fish. We deal with the HADR situation. There was a big oil spill in Mauritius. It was actually the Indian vessels that went there and helped in the clean up. What I mean is that when you used the term, we are a net security provider.”