Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, shared a video conversation with foreign policy scholar Sreeram Chaulia, asserting that India's foreign policy over the last 12 years has been oriented toward delivering on the ambitions, aspirations, and expectations of its citizens under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Context

In his post, Dr. Jaishankar wrote that India's foreign policy has, over the past 12 years, 'worked to deliver on the ambitions, aspirations and expectations of its people.' He invited followers to watch his conversation with Sreeram Chaulia — a prominent scholar on Indian foreign policy — discussing how global partnerships have 'deepened reflecting our growing interests and capabilities' under PM Modi's leadership. The post was accompanied by a YouTube link to the full conversation.

The framing is notable: rather than anchoring the assessment in geopolitical events alone, Jaishankar explicitly ties foreign policy performance to domestic constituencies — a recurring theme in the government's diplomatic communication since 2014.

Policy Backdrop

The 12-year period referenced spans from May 2014, when PM Modi assumed office, to the present. During this window, India formally launched the Act East Policy in 2014, deepening economic and strategic engagement with ASEAN and East Asian nations, and articulated the Neighbourhood First policy to prioritise connectivity and development with immediate neighbours.

In 2015, India and the United States issued a Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region, marking a significant upgrade in defence and maritime cooperation. More broadly, Indian foreign policy has shifted from classical non-alignment toward issue-based multi-alignment — building denser institutional ties with the United States, Japan, Australia, the European Union, and Gulf states, while sustaining engagement with Russia and China.

Dr. Jaishankar, who has served as India's Ambassador to the United States, China, and Singapore before becoming External Affairs Minister in May 2019, has been a principal architect of this posture and a consistent public communicator of its rationale.

Stakeholders and Impact

The explicit framing of foreign policy as serving 'the ambitions, aspirations and expectations' of Indian citizens signals that New Delhi continues to present its global engagements as having tangible domestic returns — whether through diaspora welfare, trade access, technology partnerships, or energy security. This people-centric narrative has become a defining feature of how the current government communicates foreign policy to a domestic audience.

For diplomatic partners, the statement reaffirms India's trajectory as a confident, interests-driven actor whose external engagements are shaped by internal growth imperatives. Sreeram Chaulia, with whom Jaishankar held the conversation, is the Dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs and a widely cited voice on Indian strategic affairs, lending the discussion academic credibility alongside official perspective.

What's Next

The coming months will test the durability of the multi-alignment framework, with Quad leaders' summits, SCO and BRICS ministerial meetings, and potential bilateral trade and technology agreements on the horizon. Each of these forums will offer Dr. Jaishankar further opportunities to demonstrate that deepened global partnerships translate into concrete gains for India's economy and its citizens.

The minister's decision to amplify the conversation publicly suggests the government intends to keep the foreign policy narrative active in public discourse as these engagements unfold.