‘We don’t believe in ‘Me First’ approach’

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday warned that the world was reeling under a storm of protectionism and said India did not agree with American President Donald Trump’s “Me First” approach on the issue.

India, she stressed, believed in the concept of “We, Us and Ourselves”.

“I was sad when President Trump, in the UN General Assembly, said his slogan was Me First,” the external affairs minister said.

She was referring to Trump’s speech at the UN in September last year when he had said, “As President of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always, and should always, put your countries first.”

“There is a storm of protectionism at the global level which is centred around the concept of Me and Myself but India believes in the concept of We, Us and Ourselves. If everyone views the other as equal then there is no place for protectionism in it,” she said.

Ms Swaraj was delivering the first Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay memorial international lecture on “Soft Power Diplomacy: Strength of India”, organised by the ICCR.

After Trump’s speech, Ms Swaraj said she had a meeting with ministers of Latin American and Caribbean States.