Edited by Deepali Verma
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently found himself engaging in a conversation regarding globalisation. He remarked that globalisation comes with a designated currency having trade and tourism as “weapons”, and laid emphasis on that those in control of the world order established in 1945 are reluctant to create increasing opportunities.
Pointing out the drawback of globalisation, he said that it has led to the pooling of economic power in a few regions, causing a major portion of the world to be dependent on them.
“Today, the currency, trade and tourism is a weapon. They are dominant as producers and they may stand dominant as consumers and often, with limited hesitation, leverage their market shares on the global system for their particular national purpose. We are aware that this is a world order that was devised in 1945 when the count for United Nations members were roughly 25% of what they are today This world order arrives on obstinately as those who are in the driving seat don’t believe in creating more seats for other people to be at that engine,” remarked EAM Jaishankar while addressing the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos.
The Union minister discussed the observation that world order, which was at its natural diversity, had been distorted by Western domination.
“The world was generally diverse but was distorted by the period of Western domination and in being a post-Colonial world now restoring that natural diversity is actually a collective objective. There stand then several challenges to the process. Primarily, though many of us attained independence, we all have had to build our Nations and societies,” he added.
Further highlighting, Jaishankar discussed the challenges to bring the world to its natural diversity and remarked that those who dominated the world for the last 200 to 300 years will continue to build their dominance by employing new instruments and techniques using new regimes.
“Though, globalisation has marked many positive results. It has also paved the path for undeniable deep economic concentrations that much of the world now depends on the production of a few geographies,” he said.
The EAM finds himself in Nigeria to co-chair the 6th India-Nigeria Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his counterpart. He will also be inaugurating the 3rd edition of the Nigeria-India Business Council meeting.
