Waning US influence an opportunity for India – foreign minister Jaishankar
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said that India is poised to play a more influential role on the global stage as the Western-dominated world order undergoes a transformation. Speaking at a public lecture on Saturday, Jaishankar stated that the waning influence of the US and growing discontent with globalization, particularly in the non-Western world, present opportunities for nations like India to lead in shaping a multipolar global order.
The foreign minister pointed to the United States’ departure from its traditional role of shaping global policies, choosing instead to focus on domestic priorities. This shift, he said, has raised anxiety among nations “heavily invested in the existing global order,” but offers an opportunity for less-entrenched countries such as India to step forward.
“For the countries who are less invested, it could very well be a time of opportunity. New openings and novel practices could create space that did not exist earlier. India falls in the latter category. Therefore, the relevance of India to global outcomes will be a subject of ever increasing interest,” he said.
Jaishankar described the current state of world affairs as being influenced by a decades-long rebalancing of economic and political power. He argued that the model of globalization driven by Western economies has reached a critical point, exacerbated by conflicts, pandemics, and climate crises.
He further highlighted the “weaponization of market shares and financial instruments” and a growing divide between nations that dominate global supply chains and those left to fend for themselves in matters such as health, debt, and energy. He added that India is ready to engage within a multipolar and more equitable global framework.
The diplomat’s statements come days after the US expanded its sanctions against Russia, which has become India’s key supplier of crude oil since the escalation of Ukraine conflict – despite pressure and criticism from the US, UK, and EU. Speaking on Saturday, Jaishankar noted that Russia has consistently been a “cornerstone of India’s foreign policy,” and that enhanced economic cooperation between India and Russia “contributes to global economic stability” and offers “significant opportunities.”
Jaishankar clarified that “India may be non-West, but its strategic interests ensure that it is not anti-West,” adding that New Delhi will focus on “maximizing friendships and minimizing problems,” with national interests being a defining factor of its engagement with global partners.
He also noted the “post-colonial sentiment” that distinguishes New Delhi’s foreign policy, saying India has “deep solidarity with the Global South.” He suggested that those who “have been brought up in the culture of alliances” do not often understand the “underlying outlook of the Global South is of fierce independence, respect for sovereignty and resistance to being pressurized on issues of national interest.”
Being an influential voice in the Global South, India has also been bidding for permanent membership in the UN Security Council since 1994, and has received endorsements from Russia and France, among other countries.
