Copenhagen [Denmark] – External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in a wide-ranging interview with Danish newspaper Politiken on Friday, described terrorism as one of the primary collective challenges facing the Global South, alongside climate change, poverty, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Of the major collective challenges today, I would place terrorism at the top–alongside climate change, growing poverty, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South,” said Jaishankar.
The “Global South” broadly refers to developing nations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.
On the recent escalation of tensions in Jammu and Kashmir, Jaishankar clarified:
“It wasn’t a conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. It was a terrorist attack.”
This referred to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 tourists, including one Nepali citizen, were killed. India responded with “Operation Sindoor,” launched on May 7 by the Indian Armed Forces.
Addressing India’s continued oil imports from Russia amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar offered a dual-perspective explanation:
“Let me split the answer in two. One is about borders, and the other about energy.”
Referring to India’s experience with territorial violations, he said:
“Our borders have been violated by Pakistan in Kashmir ever since our independence in 1947. And what have we seen in the eight decades since then? That large, democratic Europe, to use your own term, has stood side by side with military dictatorships in the region. No one has supported the military regime – and undermined democracy in Pakistan in so many ways – as much as the West.”
He called for mutual respect regarding sovereignty and foreign policy decisions:
“But my worldview and my view of Europe are shaped by my own experiences. You talk about the inviolability of borders – well, why don’t we start with the inviolability of my borders? That’s where my world begins. But we’ve always been told that we had to solve that ourselves.”
On energy, Jaishankar criticized the double standards in global oil trade post-Ukraine war:
“Wealthy Europe turned to the Middle East because it had a problem with Russia and offered inflated prices to get oil redirected to Europe. So what happened was that many countries – not just us – could no longer afford it. The major oil companies didn’t even respond to purchase offers because they were too busy selling to Europe.”
“What was the rest of the world supposed to do? Say ‘okay’, we’ll just do without energy because Europeans need it more than us?”
“We are societies where income levels are 1/120 of Europe’s. For us, energy is a matter of life and death. Just as Europe has every right to make its own choices, you should respect our right to do the same. Let us find our own solutions.”
Discussing the evolving global order, Jaishankar remarked:
“To call it a new world order is probably a bit premature, because things are still in flux. But the outlines are beginning to take clearer shape.”
“There are still strong imprints from the previous, or old, order. So it’s not that a new world order has completely displaced the old one. But we are seeing a gradual rebalancing.”
He added that the world is becoming more multipolar and significantly more Asian:
“Countries, just like societies, need norms, rules, and platforms where they can meet and cooperate. If you ask me what I do on a daily basis, it’s about finding common ground between countries. If you look at the 20-30 largest economies in the world, they have overall become less Western, more diverse, more global, and significantly more Asian.”
Referencing the 2008 financial crisis, Jaishankar stated:
“The global financial crisis in 2008 was a turning point because it showed that the West couldn’t handle it alone. So the former G7 and G8 countries became the G20 during that period.”
“Our institutions are lagging behind global realities. When they were founded, the UN had 50 members. How can the same institutions function now with nearly 200 members? Large parts of the world feel they are not part of the decision-making process in the central international organisations.”
On institutional reform and future cooperation:
“The UN doesn’t really work, because it’s anachronistic – because a few countries block the majority’s desire for change. But then countries will simply find other ways to cooperate. It’s becoming less and less relevant. But politics is like water. It finds a new balance.”
“As I see the emerging world order, we’re heading towards a much more multipolar world. And a world where the importance of the alliances that were part of the previous world order is diminishing. I’m not saying the alliances will disappear, because I don’t believe that. But in Asia, it’s more about cooperation on shared interests rather than entering treaties or writing down rules.”
EAM Jaishankar is currently on a diplomatic tour of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany from May 19 to 24. Earlier in Berlin, he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and conveyed best wishes on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.