Countries of the Global South are facing a “4F crisis” of finance, fuel, food and fertilisers, and the Global North has to do more to find solutions to these challenges, including the derisking of the global economy, external affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
Pointing to the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, Jaishankar said societies and economies far away from these regions and with little say in the matter are “paying the cost” of the turmoil. Speaking at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Chinmaya Mission, he emphasised that the use of terrorism as an “instrument of statecraft” cannot be justified or rationalised.
“The Global South today faces a 4F crisis of finance, fuel, food and fertilisers. The Global North must realise that it has equal stakes in finding solutions,” he said, while addressing a gathering that included the UN resident coordinator in India, Stefan Priesner.
“The international economy must be urgently derisked and nations provided with more diversified options. Market distortions through constriction and choke points only add to suffering. A genuine dialogue in this regard is overdue,” Jaishankar said.
Referring to the fallout of conflicts that threaten peace everywhere, he said: “We cannot remain helpless spectators. India expresses global sentiment when we urge that dialogue and diplomacy are the only solution.” He added that India is engaged in peace-building efforts and open to working with other partners on this issue.
Jaishankar described terrorism as a “deadly threat to peace” and said its use as “an instrument of statecraft is simply unacceptable”. Without naming any country, he added, “It can never be justified. It can never be rationalised. Yet it continues because not all states really display zero tolerance. Despite history holding so many lessons, some still allow political calculations to take precedence.”
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The world has to have a sharper awareness about this common threat and countries have to come together with stronger resolve to counter all forms of terrorism, he said.
Jaishankar described progress and prosperity as the flip side of conflicts and violence, and said that the world “cannot advance half prosperous and half denied”. Such an approach will be a “prescription for continuous instability” in an era of intricate supply chains, globalised markets and common resources, he said.
Jaishankar calls on UN to lead
At a time when calls for reformed multilateralism are getting stronger by the day, the UN must show leadership instead of being a “spectator” to international crises. Jaishankar urged the UN to recognise its shortcomings and limitations and seek improvement.
The world’s collective and cooperative instincts were articulated in the founding of the UN more than eight decades ago, and Article 1 of the UN Charter enjoined the body to be a centre for “harmonising the actions of nations” to attain common ends.
Jaishankar also spoke on the role of emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), in reshaping the world, and contended that humankind is standing at the crossroads. “AI promises to be the mother of all change. But something so sweeping, something so consequential cannot be left in the hands of just a few. That would go counter to the trends of freedom and democratisation that the world has seen over the last 80 years,” he cautioned.
India advocates a "responsible, inclusive and human-centric approach" to technology, and this is a recognition of AI’s universal applicability and the need to develop a wider perspective, he added.