‘Kim Jong Un or George Soros’: Jaishankar's Picks With Whom He’d Go Out For Dinner, But There’s A Navratri Twist

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar this week at an event gave humorous response when asked who he would like to go out for dinner with and given a choice between Hungarian-American businessmen and investor George Soros or North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Speaking at The Conclave 2024, hosted by Assamese daily Pratidin Times, Jaishankar was asked by the host: “Who would you prefer to have dinner with — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros?”

The minister gave a very witty response by saying: “I think this is Navratri, and I’m fasting”.

The response led to laughter and cheers from those present at the event and showed how Jaishankar’s long diplomatic career has helped to not get drawn into such questions.

In 2023, he strongly criticised billionaire George Soros for questioning the state of India’s democracy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

He said that some people believe “their views must override everything else”, dismissing Soros’s claims of citizens being stripped of their citizenship in India as “absurd” and accused him of spreading fear and damaging the social fabric.

According to a report by the Times of India, he called Soros a “dangerous” outsider, while comparing his involvement in Indian politics to colonialism.

India has condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and said that it destabilises the region at several forums.

The foreign ministers of the Quad — a coalition of India, Japan, Australia, and the United States — last year, urged all UN member states to comply with Security Council resolutions that ban the transfer of arms to or procurement from North Korea.