Be agile and careful and defend country’s interests: Venkaiah Naidu to envoys

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday urged the heads of Indian missions across the world to stay “agile and careful” to defend country’s interests amid the “clear signs of turbulence in the present world order.”

Indian ambassadors should leverage India’s moral and material strengths to influence the global discourse through carefully strategised diplomatic response, he said.

Naidu was addressing over 125 Indian ambassadors at his official residence in presence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar.

“There are clear signs of turbulence in the present world order. As the representatives of India in various capitals of the world, you should be alert, agile and quick in grasping the causes and consequences of such disturbances,” he suggested.

He also asked the diplomats to be proactive in shaping global position against terrorism, black money and the fugitives.

He ruled that despite the acknowledged need for an Integrated World Order, new ‘walls’ are being erected to curb free flow of goods and services, besides the movement of people.

“This return to protectionism has the potential to adversely impact the global effort for collective advancement,” he cautioned.

Talking about enhanced global interest in India after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energetic efforts during the last four years, Naidu urged the diplomats to convert this global enthusiasm about India into investments.