Foreign Minister S Jaishankar makes strong pitch for ‘Reglobalisation’ with focus on Global South

The disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and recent geopolitical conflicts call for a realignment of the world order, India’s foreign minister has said.

“This gradually unfolding crisis in the making was accelerated rapidly by the multiple shocks of debt, Covid and conflict. As a result, the endeavour is now to seek a reglobalisation that is more diversified [and] more democratic,” Subramanyam Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs said on the concluding day of the B20 forum that serves as the official G20 dialogue platform representing the global business community Sunday.

And this would only be possible with greater engagement of the Global South, he stated. Owing to factors such as scale, subsidies, technology, human resources and strategic choices, the nations in the bloc had largely been reduced to being a consumer rather than a producer of goods.

The Global South comprises developing and underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania.

“Their contribution very often was to provide resources for manufacturing elsewhere. They not only did not reap the full benefits of the economic change but often ended up saddled with unviable debts, emanating from opaque initiatives,” observed Jaishankar.

Stating the world now required multiple centres of production and not just consumption, he said businesses could play an important role here.

“We cannot be at the mercy of a few suppliers whose viability could come into question by unanticipated shocks. This was starkly apparent when it came to health during the Covid pandemic.”

Since this applied to other areas as well, it was necessary to create more resilient and reliable supply chains. Referring to concerns surrounding artificial intelligence, he said its counterpart in the digital domain was driven more by anxieties about trust and transparency.

“The volatility of the last few years has brought home to us the importance of strategic autonomy,” averred Jaishankar.

He was quick to point out that the intent for a just, equitable and participative global order could only be fulfilled with matching investments in trade and technology. In this regard, India had already articulated its response through its goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India.