Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 4 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday noted that India has "solidly come through" the turbulent global environment amid the West Asian conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, "managing domestic and external challenges successfully."
Addressing the 15th Annual Convocation Ceremony of IIM Raipur, EAM Jaishankar called for "hedging, de-risking and diversifying" to secure India's interests as he noted that the resources can be used as leverage amid shifting power structures across the globe.
Jaishankar said, "The turbulence in the world currently is also structural in many ways. The global order is changing before our very eyes with visible shifts in the relative power and influence of countries. The politics of some societies find it difficult to come to terms with these changes. New developments in technology, in energy, military capabilities, in connectivity and in resources have encouraged risk-taking in an increasingly competitive environment. Everything today is being leveraged, if not actually weaponised. The world is then confronted with the prospect of securing itself in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable environment. This has necessitated to hedge, de-risk and diversify. Whether this is a business choice or a foreign policy.
"There is an optimism in our society that is lacking in many other parts of the world. Now you could ask, why is that? The last 10 years have been much better, giving rise to the confidence that the next 10 and those beyond will also be. We are, after all, now among the top five economies. No one can dispute that the multiple global shocks that have recently tested our resilience, and that India has come through that solidly. We have managed both domestic and external challenges fairly successfully," he added.
He emphasised building national capabilities to realise the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047, while lauding "inclusive growth, representative politics, and decisive leadership" by the Centre.
He said, "More inclusive growth, representative politics, and decisive leadership have created a new foundation from which we can all now harbour higher aspirations. We have not only embraced the digital revolution enthusiastically, but actually purposefully applied it to our lives. Even many developed societies have not done so. Maybe it is also the awakening of a can-do spirit."
"Building national capabilities has become more critical in the light of the global trends that I have mentioned... We must endeavour to build and secure within our control as many capacities as we can. Obviously, some domains will be more difficult than others. In such cases, the answers lie in reliable or trusted partnerships and diverse sourcing. But at the end of the day, there is no getting away from building robust national capabilities. It is the most effective way of de-risking and indeed even developing leverage. And it is at the core of our quest for a Viksit Bharat, one for which people like you bear a particular responsibility," the EAM added.
On the economic front, he said that India's foreign policy is focusing on expanding market access for Indian producers and promoting "Brand India."
"Our foreign policy is today focused on expanding market access for Indian producers. It is also focused on helping to secure resources, technologies and essential goods. It looks after Indians, Indians who may be travelling or Indians who may be living abroad. And especially it looks after them at moments of difficulty. It promotes Brand India," the Union Minister said.
His remarks come in the backdrop of the ongoing West Asia crisis, which began on February 28 with US-Israel strikes on Iran. Subsequent Iranian retaliation engulfed the region in the conflict, affecting global fuel supplies.
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