“Our Prime Minister Said Jai Shri Ram, Lord Curzon Would Have Drowned”: UK Envoy

New Delhi:

The scale of India’s rise and its importance in the global order can be measured by two simple criteria, according to the UK’s envoy to India, Alex Ellis.

One is how India has set an important benchmark on how to carry out the G20 presidency, Ellis said today at the NDTV G20 Conclave.

The other is how the British Prime Minister of Indian origin, Rishi Sunak, said “Jai Shri Ram” on August 15, India’s Independence Day, according to Ellis.

“India tops all three visa categories in the UK: students, visitors and skilled workers… Did you ever imagine that one day a person staying at 10 Downing Street on 15th August would say Jai Shri Ram? Lord Curzon would have drowned,” Ellis told NDTV.

Ellis said that India’s scale and ambition in tackling the world’s problems is enormous.

“India has broken the mold on how to run the G20 presidency: scale and ambition to tackle the world’s big problems like global hunger, low growth and poverty,” he said.

“The interest in India is a long-term thing. The invasion of Ukraine shows what a highly contested world we find ourselves in. India will continue to be an extremely central country in the world, and we have to find a way to negotiate with Russia,” he said. ellis. .

Former US diplomat Atul Keshap said that pragmatic and progressive countries – democracies like India – are even more relevant to each other. He said that the Ukrainian war must end.

“We must focus on ending human suffering…India has been exceptionally generous to its neighbors…India and the United States are reacting in a very constructive and positive way to the challenges,” Keshap said.

Ellis, referring to the scale of the G20 Summit, said that this group contributes at least 80 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).