Jaishankar lauds Vande Bharat Mission, says 'good to hear appreciation'

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday lauded the Indian foreign policy and said that it was "good to hear appreciation" and discussed how the "world perceives India."

On the occasion of the completion of eight years of Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre in Vishakapatnam, he tweeted, "Glad to be in Visakhapatnam. Interacted with a wide cross-section of how the world perceives India. Thank team @BJP4Andhra for organizing."

Sharing his experience of Vande Bharat Mission - the biggest evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions, he said, "Good to hear the appreciation of a Vande Bharat evacuee from Wuhan."

It is considered as the largest exercise to bring back Indian citizens since the evacuation of 177,000 from the Gulf region in the early 1990s at the start of hostilities between Iraq and Kuwait during the first Gulf War.

The mission gave priority to Indian citizens with "compelling reasons to return" - like those whose employment was terminated, whose visas expired and those who lost family members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also welcomed a local civil service ranker who aspired to join the Foreign Service.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also celebrated 8 years in government and highlighted enabling the youth to achieve their dreams and fulfil their potential.

"India's youth is full of energy and remarkable tenacity. Here's a thread on how the government is strengthening our Yuva Shakti to prepare them for their crucial role in building the #AatmaNirbharBharat of our dreams. #8SaalYuvaShaktiKeNaam," tweeted PM Modi on Sunday.

He focussed on various achievements of the government in this thread related to empowering of youth like - National Education Policy 2020, one new IIT & IIM opened every year since 2014, 80 per cent increase in medical seats, one new university every week since 2014, 100 unicorns created, 1.34 crore youth trained under PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana, two new colleges every day since 2014, 1,000 Khelo India Centres being set up and best ever Olympics haul - 7 medals and in Paralympics - 19 medals at Tokyo.

"India's Yuva Shakti is our greatest strength. Our youth is excelling in different sectors and contributing to national progress, said PM Modi.