India did more for Lanka than IMF: Jaishankar

India has done more for Sri Lanka than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar stressed on Saturday. The Modi government, he underlined, is working on developing an “extended neighbourhood” that involves islands in the Indian Ocean, Gulf countries and nations in South-East Asia.

“What we are also trying to do today is for a bigger, influential and ambitious India. We are trying to expand what should be our neighbourhood. We look at what this extended neighbourhood should be. It could be islands in the Indian Ocean, nations in South-East Asia and Central Asia, or Gulf countries. The relationship with the UAE and Saudi Arabia has undergone an enormous transformation. From what was a traditionally much more constricted view of our neighbourhood, we have undertaken something much more ambitious,” said Jaishankar during a talk on “Modi’s India: A Rising Power” at Anant National University in the city.   Pointing out how the world has become more uncertain, volatile and turbulent, Jaishankar underlined it was time to use the “complex global landscape” for the betterment and growth of India.