External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the need to build “robust national capabilities” during an address on Saturday — highlighting the many challenges faced by India over the past few years. He noted that countries around the globe were currently trying to secure their interests in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable environment. Jaishankar opined that India had come “solidly” through global shocks that have tested its resilience.
“No one can dispute that multiple global shocks have recently tested our resilience and that India has come through them solidly. Our foreign policy focused on expanding market access for producers, securing resources, tech, and essential goods,” he said at the convocation ceremony of IIM Raipur.
‘A decade of change’
It has been a turbulent few years for the planet — with deadly pandemics, new wars and environmental crises domninating headlines.
“You have been benefited from a decade of progress, access to technology, and globalisation that has deeply connected me to the world. As India moves forward in its development journey, this generation will play a key role with our skills driving the nation’s growth. At the same time, you all are graduating in a period of major change, shaped by challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts, and climate change, all of which have significantly impacted all our lives,” Jaishankar said.
The External Affairs Minister also noted that there was no getting away from the need to build robust national capabilities — calling it the most effective way for de-risking and developing leverage. Jaishankar opined that the global order was changing with visible shifts in relative power and influence of countries, adding that the turbulence in the world is currently structural in many ways.
“New developments in technology, energy, military capability, connectivity and resources have encouraged risk-taking in an increasingly competitive environment. Everything today is being leveraged if not weaponised. This has necessitated a larger inclination to hedge, to derisk and diversify, whether it’s a business choice or a foreign policy part,” he added. |
