S Jaishankar said the world will witness a “very, very stormy” churn for the rest of the decade.
New Delhi:
The world will witness a “very, very stormy” churn this decade due to conflict, power shifts and intensifying competition, making it all the more important for India to have a stable and mature leadership, said foreign minister S. Jaishankar.
In an exclusive interview with Press Trust of India, Mr Jaishankar painted a picture of the world in the late 1920s that is radically different from the world we live in today, when he was asked to draw on his nearly fifty years of experience in diplomacy and politics. an assessment of the global balance of power.
“Multiple conflicts, tensions, divisions! With all these variables that I am presenting to you, I am essentially painting you a very, very stormy international scene for the rest of the decade,” said Mr Jaishankar, a former ambassador to China and the United States who was appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 were tapped for the political role.
Mr. Jaishankar mainly referred to the declining influence of the United States, the conflict in Ukraine, the fighting in Gaza, attacks in the Red Sea, tensions in the South China Sea, the challenge of terrorism in various regions and the advent of new technologies as drivers of ‘churn’.
“I think the combination of all this today creates a kind of picture of high churn, and on top of that, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce,” he said.
In this context, he added that it is imperative that voters choose wisely in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls so that India continues to have a stable and mature leadership.
“I think today one of the biggest choices that Indian voters have to make lies in this situation: who do you trust to lead the Indian government,” he said, as he declared himself a candidate to continue the government of the National Democratic Alliance.
Mr Jaishankar, who has a huge following in the country for raising the international profile of India and the Modi government through his tough diplomacy, pointed out that the churn is already underway.
“Today you have a conflict in Ukraine, you have fighting in Gaza, you have attacks in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, you have tensions in the South China Sea, you have terrorism in different regions, you have the kind of problem that we are talking about the LAC (Line of Actual Control) with China, but other countries also have their own issues with China,” he said.
At the same time, the dominance of the United States is declining, he said.
‘The United States is still the most important power in the world. But for several reasons, you could say that the next set of powers is so much closer to the United States than it used to be. The US itself has also changed. his attitude towards the world,” he said.
The minister also argued that the international economy has evolved, noting that globalization over the past 25 years has resulted in a concentration of production and technology in one region, while eroding capabilities in many countries.
“And there is a response to both,” he said, arguing that countries around the world were beginning to focus on having more manufacturing centers and more supply chains.
“One part of it is a move to actually diversify the global economy, the second is because of the erosion of the economy, there is a desire from many economies today to protect their jobs. That they see the social consequences of this is quite, I would say, a flawed model of globalization. This will be a very big driver,” Mr. Jaishankar added.
The Foreign Minister also highlighted the “huge” impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, chips, drones, electric vehicles, batteries, green and clean technologies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
