Jaishankar back as External Affairs Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw takes charge too

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NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday assumed office, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge.

After assuming charge as External Affairs Minister, Dr Jaishankar said that it was an immense honour for him to be once again given the responsibility of leading the Ministry of External Affairs.

He said, “… I am fully confident that under PM Modi’s leadership, the foreign policy of Modi 3.0 will be very successful…For us, the influence of India has been steadily growing, not just in terms of our perception but also in terms of what other countries think.

“They feel that India is truly their friend and they have seen that in times of crisis, if there is one country that stands with the Global South, it is India. They have seen that when we put forward the African Union membership during the presidency of G20, the world trusted us and our responsibilities are also increasing. So we also believe that under the leadership of PM Modi, India’s identity in the world will increase…”

Ashwini Vaishnaw after taking charge as Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister, said the people have once again blessed PM Modi to serve the country.

He said, “Yesterday on the very first day of his first tenure, the Prime Minister took decisions dedicated to the poor and farmers. A very strong foundation has to be laid for the youth…I express my gratitude to PM Modi for giving me this opportunity.”

Bhupender Yadav took charge as the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

He said, “I will work with full readiness to discharge this responsibility. Mission LIFE was started by PM Modi in the Glasgow COP as a very big action programme for the environmental crisis in the world. Today, Mission LIFE is going on worldwide with the help of sustainable development and mindful consumption.

“PM Modi’s ‘Ek ped maa ke naam’ campaign should be done with utmost responsibility to keep our Earth green. Many steps have been taken by this ministry in the last 10 years under the leadership of PM Modi and we are moving ahead taking environment and development together,” said Yadav.

Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar also took charge as the Union Power Minister.