Prime Minister Modi himself has raised the issue with several leaders, says S. Jaishankar. (File)
Sura:
The Indian government has prioritized the issue of banning the import of unpolished diamonds of Russian origin by the European Union (EU) and G7 countries as the measure will ultimately harm the domestic diamond cutting industry, which is mainly is located in the city of Surat in Gujarat. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday.
The first phase of an EU and G7 ban on diamond imports from Russia via third countries came into effect in early March, a step taken as part of sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
“Our effort is to delay the first phase of the ban, soften it, and best of all, not let it happen at all. For us, this has become a priority issue and we will try to find a solution in the near future. days,” said S Jaishankar.
He was responding to a question on how the ban will hurt Surat’s diamond industry, which polishes 90 percent of the world’s rough diamonds.
S Jaishankar, during an interaction with young business leaders organized by the Disha Foundation in Surat, said the 27-member EU has imposed sanctions on the import of Russian diamonds and the G7, the group of the world’s richest countries, has also that direction.
The countries that have banned the import of Russian rough diamonds through third countries as part of sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine are only consumers and their employment does not depend on it, the minister noted.
“Their idea is to hurt Russia. And this topic is completely different from blood diamonds. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi himself has raised the issue with several leaders and sent me to several countries, including Belgium (which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU), to discuss the issue with the government there,” S Jaishankar pointed out .
Sanctions are currently imposed on 1-carat diamonds, and the issue could be resolved if there is a ceasefire (between Russia and Ukraine), but this is unlikely to happen anytime soon, he said.
“If the war continues, it will create challenges (for the Indian diamond industry). We are having discussions on the issue collectively and on a bilateral basis. Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Modi spoke to the Belgian Prime Minister (Alexander De Croo ), and our (Union Commerce) Minister Piyush Goyal will follow up on this in the coming days,” informed S Jaishankar.
The government’s attempt is to make the EU and G7 countries understand that their decision ultimately harms the third person and not the target (a reference to Russia), the minister emphasized.
As for the challenges faced by the Surat textile industry from Bangladesh and Vietnam, the Indian government’s efforts to sign a free trade agreement with the EU will help address them as the sector will be a major beneficiary of such a business pact . he noticed.
In his interaction, S Jaishankar emphasized that instead of following the ‘China Plus One’ strategy, taking on the new supply chain being created across the world and gaining a foothold in the digital world through India’s reputation of reliability will help the country’s industry.
The strategy encourages companies to diversify their supply chain and manufacturing operations outside of China to reduce risks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)