Washington: “The world is badly in need of some form of re-globalisation,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, underlining that India is “non-Western and not anti-Western”.
Jaishankar was speaking at an event organised by the prestigious think tank Hudson Institute in Washington DC on the topic of ‘India’s Role in a New Pacific Order’.
“If you put it together, I would suggest to you that the world is badly in need of some form of re-globalisation,” he said.
The minister said globalisation itself is undeniable because it has struck very deep roots.
“It has tremendous benefits. Nobody doubts. But this particular model of globalisation has evolved over the last 25 years. Obviously, it has a lot of risks inherent, and today how to address those risks and create a safer world is part of the challenge,” he said.
On the Indo-Pacific, Jaishankar said it is a concept that has gained ground. The separation in a way of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Region is something actually which was an outcome really of the Second World War. The one looked at a global strategy and global understanding before that of the Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean but dealt with it in a much more integrated way, with the emphasis on India, he said.
In terms of the Pacific order, Jaishankar said, a lot of the global concerns are most acute.
“One is of course the larger issue of how you maintain stability in the middle of a very major change taking place because often sharp changes imbalances of power and interest and influence and create risks,” he said.
Responding to a question, Jaishankar underlined that India is not against the West.
“India is non-western and not anti-western,” he said.
The minister reiterated that a country like India and a continent like Africa not being at the UN Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.
Jaishankar said he believes that a United Nations without the most populous country and the fifth largest economy not in the Security Council economy, as well as a continent of 50-plus countries not being there obviously lacks credibility and to a large degree effectiveness.
On Russia, the minister said the West’s relationship with Moscow as a result of the Ukrainian war has virtually broken down. Today Russia, which has been a European power, is looking towards Asia and building its relationship with Asian countries.
“Russia has always seen itself as European…So you’re actually seeing a reinvention of Russia as a consequence of what is happening (in Ukraine),” he said, pointing to the growing Russia-China relationship.
Jaishankar predicted that Russia would focus on the non-western world, away from Europe, away from the United States, and look much more at Asia, possibly in other regions as well.
