External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday criticized the United Nations, saying it was “like an old company” which was not fully in sync with the market but was occupying space.
During the conversation at Kautilya Economic Conclave here, he also said that there are two very serious conflicts going on in the world. “And where is the United Nations on them, essentially a spectator,” the minister said.
In response to a question on the potential outcome of the US elections, he said that the US has indeed “made a shift” in its geopolitical and economic outlook, and that regardless of the outcome in November, many of these trends will be “intensified”. The coming days.
#Watch Delhi: Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, External Affairs Minister Dr. Yes, there is a United Nations, no matter how sub-optimal it is… pic.twitter.com/AFFTf9ScHo
– ANI (@ANI) 6 October 2024
S Jaishankar participated in an interactive session on ‘India and the Globe’ and talked about India’s role and challenges amid the changing global dynamics.
“So, we are both a rising tide and also a little bit contradictory,” S Jaishankar said, listing some of the steps taken by India to help other countries, including its neighbors like Sri Lanka.
Asked about his upcoming visit to Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, he again sought to rule out any bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterpart.
S Jaishankar said, “I am going there for a certain job, a certain responsibility. And, I take my responsibilities seriously. So, I am going there to represent India in the SCO meeting, and That’s what I’m going to do.” ,
At an event on Saturday, the External Affairs Minister said he was visiting Islamabad for a ‘multilateral programme’ and not to discuss India-Pakistan relations.
Responding to a question on the role of the United Nations amid the changing global scenario, he took a critical view of the world body, which was born in 1945 after World War II. Initially, it had 50 countries, which has grown almost four times over the years.
“The United Nations is kind of like an old company, not completely keeping up with the market, but occupying the niche. And, when it gets behind the times, in this world you There are start-ups and innovations, so different people start doing their own things,” S Jaishankar said.
He added, “So, what you have today is that yes you finally have a United Nations, no matter how dysfunctional it is, it is still the only multilateral game in town.”
“But, when it doesn’t take action on key issues, countries find their own ways of doing it. For example, let’s take the last five-10 years, probably the biggest thing that happened in our lives was Covid. Now , What did the United Nations do on Covid? I think the answer is – not much,” the minister said.
S Jaishankar said, “Now, you have two conflicts going on in the world today, two very serious conflicts, where is the United Nations on them, basically a spectator,” he said.
So, what is happening is, as happened during Covid also, countries did their part such as initiatives like COVAX which was taken by a group of countries, the minister said. “When it comes to the big issues of the day, you have a growing combination of countries coming together to agree to do something.” He cited examples of connectivity initiatives like India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Quad in Indo-Pacific to look after global interests, International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). Saying that all these bodies fall outside the United Nations structure.
“Today, the UN will continue, but increasingly there is a non-UN active space and I think that is telling about the UN,” Jaishankar said.
According to the United Nations website, more than 75 years after its founding, the United Nations is still working to maintain international peace and security, deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law. Is.
India has been demanding reforms in the world body and its UN Security Council with the changing times.
Earlier this year, S Jaishankar had suggested that the “short-sighted” approach of the five permanent members of the UNSC was hindering progress in long-pending reform of the global body.
The five permanent members are Russia, Britain, China, France and America and these countries can veto any concrete proposal.
S Jaishankar was asked about the possible outcome of the US elections and how India would engage with the new administration.
“You talked about the possibility of one or the other in the US elections. I insist to you, look back over the last five years, how many of the policies that people in 2020 thought were Trump administration policies “Not only were they actually implemented by Biden, but he doubled down on those policies,” he said.
So, it’s not just a politician, it’s not just a fashion, just an administration. “I think very profound changes are taking place,” the minister said.
He said, “This is… an America that has really changed its geopolitical and its economic outlook and has come to the conclusion that the system that was put in place many years ago no longer works to its advantage to that extent.”
“So, I would argue that regardless of the outcome in November, many of these trends will accelerate in the coming days. And, you’re going to get, I would call it, a more fragmented world, but I would say, in some ways. “Reliability and transparency are going to be two very important factors that will become a metric for countries to interact with each other across enterprises and domains,” he said.
On a question on Global South, S Jaishankar said that it has a ‘great value’ in itself.
“It’s a collective. We don’t expect to be leaders. We’re seen as a trusted member, an outspoken member… So, I’m really not comfortable with the idea that you walk away from the Global South Go ahead. On the contrary, I see the value,” the minister said.
He also spoke on the role and impact of artificial intelligence in shaping the world in the future.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)