This year, India’s Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, not Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for India at the UN General Assembly. Like many, many of the world’s leaders, he called it unacceptable that the principles of international law are being pushed aside by nations taking selfish measures to defend their rights at the expense of others. Bharat, as India also calls itself, will not be pushed around.
“Just look at the state of the world. There are two significant conflicts underway—one in Ukraine, and the other in the Middle East/West Asia. Innumerable other hotspots don’t even make the news,” Jaishankar said. Progress on development goals are “a sorry picture…. Energy and food security have been the first casualties of conflict and disruption, especially since 2022. Better-off societies insulated themselves by having the first call. The resource-stressed ones scrambled to survive, only to hear sanctimonious lectures thereafter.”
In an unmistakable reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff (and now visa) policies, Jaishankar decried that “when it came to trade, non-market practices gamed rules and regimes. The resulting concentration exposed the world to leveraging. On top of that, we now see tariff volatility and uncertain market access. As a result, de-risking is a growing compulsion; whether from limited sources of supply or over-dependence on a particular market.”
These and other problems make “a compelling case for more international cooperation, not less,” he argued. “As members of the UN, we meet here as sovereign equals. That is not formalism, but a recognition of the inherent diversity of our world. Understandably, we have different history, traditions, heritage and culture. For them to co-exist, for them to enrich each other, it is imperative that we foster understanding and respect. This will only happen when we resist political interference and economic pressures, when narratives are free of prejudice, when double standards are abjured and when pluralism is truly appreciated….
“As the most populous nation, as a civilizational state, as a rapidly growing major economy, we are confident about who we are, and what we will be. Bharat will always maintain its freedom of choice. And will always be a voice of the Global South,” he affirmed.
“These are certainly challenging times for the international community…. International cooperation must prevail because islands of prosperity cannot flourish in an ocean of turbulence. A world order requires common purpose, as it does empathy for others. That is where we look to the United Nations.”
