With External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New York to address the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the government has been highlighting India’s role as an advocate and a focal point for the Global South. Mr. Jaishankar said there was pressure from the South for global change, but it was a world of “double standards” and there was resistance to change.
Speaking on Saturday evening at ‘South Rising: Partnerships, Institutions and Ideas’, an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank close to the government, in collaboration with India’s United Nations mission and Reliance Foundation, Mr. Jaishankar said the world was witnessing political pressure for change, particularly from the Global South. There was also resistance to change, he said, pointing to those wielding economic and institutional influence, such as seen at the United Nations Security Council.
“Those who are economically dominant today are leveraging their production capabilities,” the Minister said, adding that those with historical institutional influence have “weaponised” a lot of these capabilities.
