"I'm Very Impressed By Your Minister...": UAE Minister On S Jaishankar

Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, on Wednesday lauded External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying he is impressed by how he positions India's foreign policy on the world stage amid geopolitical tugs of war.

Omar Sultan Al Olama, praised Mr Jaishankar during a conference at a Delhi-based think tank. He had virtually joined union ministers from India and several parliamentarians.

"Historically, the world was unipolar, bipolar, or tripolar, where you had to choose sides. I am very impressed by your minister of foreign affairs --- I see some of his speeches. One thing is very clear for both UAE and India is that we don't need to choose sides," Omar Sultan Al Olama said, in response to a question about how he deals with the geopolitical headwinds.

"At the end, geopolitics is determined by the best interest of certain parties. ...The model that existed historically is unfortunately no longer here. Today a country needs to think about its best interests," he added.

He said if UAE works with India, it doesn't mean it cannot work with the United States. "The three of us can work together. I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA) Group is a great example."

Emphasizing the importance of trade and investment, he said now is the time to dominate the world through commerce, and countries like India and the UAE can work together to substantially increase their footprint across the world.

"The way to dominate the world today is through commerce. If countries like India and the UAE can work together, we can substantially increase our footprint in the world," Olama, in his video interaction.

Olama said that there are ingrained roots between India and the UAE and multiple possible areas for cooperation, particularly in collaboration between startups in both countries.

The United Arab Emirates minister made the remarks while virtually speaking at the event called CyFY2022. A three-day conference organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) here in the national capital to discuss technology, security, and society commenced on Wednesday.

Over the next three days, over 28-panel discussions, including 150 speakers and Q&A sessions from 37 countries will be held during the conference called CyFy 2022.

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