I’m a rookie in external affairs, admits Krishna

India’s new foreign minister S M Krishna may find it hard to fit into the shoes of his predecessor Pranab Mukherjee who had a wide experience in international relations.  Krishna, the former CM of Karnataka and ex governor of Maharashtra, has preferred to remain in regional politics.

In his first interaction with the media, Krishna looked somewhat bemused by the massive media presence at Karnataka Bhavan. His ministry officials were there to guide him and made sure that he did not have to face a barrage of questions from reporters.

There were just two questions he took — one on Sri Lanka and the other on Pakistan.
When reporters pressed for more he candidly admitted: “I have just been sworn in yesterday, I have had one briefing. I will come back to you all once I am ready.”

Krishna gave an opening statement, broadly out lining the government’s foreign policy. He stressed on India’s “independent” foreign policy, and desire to live in peace with the neighbours and the larger world community.

He also said that he would give highest priority to strengthening ties with India’s neighbours and was looking forward to personal visits to the neighbouring countries.
Expectedly, he stuck to his script and gave no hint of any personal direction.

On Pakistan he said India is ready to “extend the hand of friendship” provided Islamabad “took credible action to destroy the terror infrastructure”. On Sri Lanka he said India was ready to help with rehabilitation and relief and stressed that the root cause of the ethnic conflict should be addressed with devolution of power to the Tamil minorities.