Canberra: Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Australian PM Scott Morrison said that the Indian leader has brought a strong national-interest orientation and a pragmatic approach to India’s foreign policy, with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar also playing a key role in carrying forward the vision.
Morrison reflected on the trajectory of Indian foreign policy during an interview with Italian-Indian entrepreneur and analyst Vas Shenoy as New Delhi prepares to hold the 80th Independence Day celebrations on Saturday.
The former Australian PM emphasised that India is now increasingly focused on realising its potential while being guided by its national interests.
“India continues to honour its independence and its independent settings, but not slavishly, not for its own sake. Its interests drive it into closer engagement with the United States, Australia, Japan, Korea and many other countries. But that is not done to the exclusion of its other relationships. I’ve found Prime Minister Modi quite unapologetic about the fact that he’ll pick up the phone and talk to whoever he wants to. He’ll go to whichever country he needs to in order to advance India’s national interest. That’s what every leader of every country does: advance the national interest,” said Morrison.
“Prime Minister Modi has brought a very strong national-interest focus and a very practical focus to India’s foreign policy. Dr Jaishankar has been an able lieutenant in that process and incredibly industrious in following through on that leadership. Whether it is the economy, technology or space, there are enormous opportunities ahead. I think India will be a space powerhouse over the next 20 or 30 years as its space economy matures,” he added.
Morrison stressed that India’s active participation remains central to Quad’s significance, describing New Delhi’s engagement as a critical factor for the success of the grouping. He also highlighted the growing emphasis on maritime security across the wider Indo-Pacific, saying there was a need for the Quad’s agenda to give greater weight to the “Indo” in the Indo-Pacific.
He noted that the security dimension of the grouping had received renewed attention under the US administration and that the foreign ministers had continued to make progress.
“Secretary of State Rubio and his Deputy Secretary are very aware of the significant role of the Quad. They’ve taken a strong view about it when it comes to maritime security, and not just in the Pacific but the Indo-Pacific. I’m a keen advocate for more Indo in the Indo-Pacific when it comes to the agenda of the Quad. The security element of the Quad was reinforced by Secretary Rubio literally the day after the administration was sworn in. The foreign ministers have been making good progress,” Morrison, who served as Australian Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, told Shenoy during the ‘Indo-Mediterranean Dialogues’.
While acknowledging that a Quad leaders’ meeting has yet to take place, Morrison welcomed the recent visits of the Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers to Australia.
Recalling his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, he said they had discussed developments in the Indo-Pacific.
“I had the opportunity to see Prime Minister Modi when he was here as well, and we had quite a long conversation about things in the Indo-Pacific. He remains very alive to those issues. India’s engagement in the Quad is what makes it so unique. I can’t underscore that enough. India’s continued engagement with the Quad is critical to its success,” he said.
Emphasising that the Indo-Pacific is now the geopolitical centre of the world, Morrison said that understanding developments in the region — including its security and economic challenges, threats and opportunities — is “absolutely critical” for European companies. He added that this is an area of expertise they need to develop.
“Australia and India are great platforms for Europe to gain that understanding of this part of the world. India and Australia are very different countries, but together with Japan, Korea and other countries in the region, they provide important points of engagement,” he noted.
