- Jaishankar humorously added Japan to India's foreign policy summary.
- He questioned India being labeled a 'middle power' in global order.
- Emphasized economic leverage and 'choke points' in international relations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar drew laughter at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum after pointing out that Japan had been left out of a summary of India's foreign policy, joking that the omission could get him into trouble at home because his wife is Japanese.
During a discussion with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, the moderator quoted Jaishankar's formulation of India's foreign policy as “engage America, manage China, cultivate Europe and reassure Russia”. Jaishankar promptly reminded him that Japan was the fifth country in his original formulation.
#WATCH | Delhi | Bloomberg New Economy Forum | On handling US-India relations, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar says, "...I never said it was easy. So I said, engage America, manage China... In 2020, I was looking at a world... I was looking at Brexit, Donald Trump's election, the backlash against globalization, and kind of partly forecasting, partly analyzing, okay, where's the world going and how does India react to this? So your question, in a way: how difficult is it to engage America? You make it sound as though we are the only country having problems with the United States. The reality is the United States has repositioned itself. It's changed the manner in which it engages the world, the basis on which it engages the world. I think every country, in a way, has to recalculate and reset its relationship with the United States." (Source: MEA/YouTube)
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2026
“I was once challenged to put Indian foreign policy into a single sentence. So, that sentence was actually my answer to the challenge, which was, and by the way, you stopped at four countries, and the fifth country was actually Japan. And if I don’t correct you, I am going to have problems at home. I need to get that on record,” he said.
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Jaishankar was referring to his wife, Kyoko Jaishankar, who is of Japanese origin. The two met when he was serving at the Indian Embassy in Japan.
Why Jaishankar Summarised India's Foreign Policy In One Line
The minister explained that the phrase was intended to capture India's approach to its key international relationships in a concise and memorable way. However, he clarified that the formulation was not meant to suggest that navigating these ties was straightforward.
“So, what I was trying to do is come up with something snappy, catchy, reasonably accurate in a single word. And there was also something I did not say. I never said it was easy. So I said, engage America, manage China. I never said, Oh, engage America, it is going to be a stroll in the park,” he said.
Jaishankar added that he had developed the formulation in 2020, when he was assessing the direction of global affairs and considering how India should respond to an increasingly complicated international environment.
“I wrote this in 2020. In fact, a large part of the book is devoted to how much more difficult the world has become. There is a full chapter there on America, on China, a little less on Europe, a full one on Japan,” he said.
Jaishankar Says India Is More Than A ‘Middle Power’
The light-hearted exchange came during a broader discussion on India's position in the changing global order. Jaishankar also questioned the description of India as a “middle power”, arguing that it did not adequately reflect the country's population, economic scale and growth potential.
“More than a middle power, in a way, we are powers in the middle. What would really define a middle power? To use the Prime Minister's words, the countries who have the power to empower,” he said.
He argued that describing India as a middle power could be restrictive given its size and future economic prospects.
“Would India be a middle power? It's not a comfortable description because if you are the most populous country in the world, you have a GDP of USD 4 trillion, give or take, and you have a lot of growth ahead of you, staring you in the face, then the middle power somehow seems to be limiting itself by that definition,” he added.
The minister also highlighted the growing importance of economic leverage in international relations, describing the current global environment as a “world of choke points”, where control over critical resources and financial systems can be used to exert pressure on other countries.
“It's also today a world of choke points, and you know the tendency to weaponise. We tend to think of rare earths as an example, but the fact is even finance is a choke point. I mean sanctions are a choke point. I mean, people are weaponising their grip on finance or on the US dollar,” he said.
Jaishankar said countries would increasingly need to identify their own interests, formulate independent policies and negotiate arrangements with other nations rather than rely on traditional assumptions about global power.
He cautioned against viewing the changes in the international order pessimistically, saying countries would have to adapt to new economic and strategic realities.
The Bloomberg New Economy Forum discussion in New Delhi brought together PM Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other international figures to examine the evolving global order and the role of countries navigating competition among major powers.