Globalisation should be diversified & democratic: S Jaishankar

External affairs minister S Jaishankar, Speaking at the B20 Summit session on the ‘Role of Global South in Emerging World 2.0’ today, says the volatility over the last few years has brought home the importance of strategic autonomy.

“We may talk about seeking a more just, equitable, and participative global order but at the end of the day that will only happen when we see commensurate investment in trade and technology decisions,” he opines on the concluding day of the summit.

Jaishankar talks about the evolution of the global world order – from being political initially to gaining economic connotations that were accelerated with the advent of factors like technology, energy resources, connectivity, and human ingenuity.

He says the current need is to focus on developing countries for global, food, energy, and fertiliser security, trade disruptions, high-interest rates, and climate events due to the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.

“Increasing climate events have contributed additional factors of stress. The current focus on the Global South emanates from the conviction that these are countries that are truly deserving of special care,” he says, adding that these are also societies under exceptional stress which if left unaddressed would become a serious issue in the world economy.

The challenges and priorities discussed with 125 countries during the ‘Voice of the Global South Summit in January 2023’ have been made central to the G20 agenda, the minister says.

The most pressing issues discussed during India’s G-20 Presidency are the issues of debt and finance in sustainable development, climate action, food security, and women-led development. “The mandate of the G-20 is to promote economic growth and development and that cannot advance if the crucial concerns of the global South in the areas highlighted are not addressed,” says Jaishankar.

According to the Union minister, the ‘emerging world 2.0’ is one with more engines of growth, a fair distribution of the benefits of globalisation, and greater resources devoted to attaining sustainable development goals and promoting climate action and climate justice.

He exhorted the ‘B20 Engagement Group’ for prioritising inclusive growth, resilient supply chain, services trade, digital technologies, innovation, and sustainability in its agenda. He says: “The engagement group has established itself as a credible partner of governments who are working to the same ends.”

Speaking on the session earlier, education, skill development, and entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan says India is witnessing a path-breaking scenario in skilling and entrepreneurship. India, he says, is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world with 100 unicorns driven not only from metro cities but also from tier 2 and 3 cities.

He says the government’s key focus is to make India an "R&D hub" and not just a "backend office" for companies. "By strengthening educational institutions, incubators and accelerators, we are strengthening the research and innovation system. Government is focussed not only on “ease of doing business but also ease of doing research,” says Pradhan.