00:00Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Gangte, Excellencies, former Directors General of ICWA, colleagues, researchers, friends.
00:12It's a great pleasure to be with all of you once more at the end of this very memorable day.
00:19And I know I speak for all of you when I express confidence that ICWA will grow from strength to
00:27strength
00:27and live up to its responsibility of serving as an important forum of debate on foreign affairs.
00:36In delivering this valedictory, perhaps an appropriate starting point would be to assess what Indian diplomacy will face in the
00:48coming times.
00:50Let me articulate six issues, six key issues in that regard.
00:55But even while I recognize that there may be many more.
01:01And the first one, the first and foremost, I believe, will be the consequences of India's rapid growth,
01:10which promises to continue into the coming decades.
01:14In the last decade or so, our GDP, as many of you know, has doubled.
01:21And our capabilities have multiplied in many domains.
01:26We are viewed very differently by the world today.
01:30Now, this is not just a matter of figures or of size or quantity.
01:36It has a direct implication for our footprint in the world, for the intensity of our ties with other nations,
01:45and for our relevance to key global debates.
01:50We count more, we influence more, but we also have greater responsibility.
01:58Without dwelling further on that point, let me just ask you to imagine what the foreign policy dimensions of Viksit
02:09Bharat by 2047 will be,
02:12and leave you to plan for it.
02:15My second point.
02:16Every nation has its unique strengths.
02:21In our case, it is indisputably that of our human resources.
02:27One policy consequence of that is the importance that we attach to the international flow of talent and skills.
02:37A globalized era is increasingly creating a globalized workplace, and that, in turn, requires a globalized workforce.
02:49For Indian diplomacy, there is a whole host of issues which flow from that reality.
02:56Our consular services, our community welfare initiatives, our rapid response capabilities, our mobility understandings,
03:05all these, all these have a salience that they have never had before.
03:11This is definitely a more people-centric foreign policy today.
03:18Third, communication and narrative building have always been central to diplomacy.
03:27Rapid technology changes make them both particularly dynamic.
03:31In the last few decades, we moved first into the digital era, and then, in the last few years, into
03:43that of the social media.
03:45Now, they clearly require different techniques, different techniques of capturing attention and of shaping beliefs,
03:54as well as an increased speed of response.
03:59Public policy, generally speaking, may have come under more pressure to react ASAP,
04:06but foreign policy, foreign policy has its own specific issues, its own particular challenges in that regard.
04:16Now, that said, we now confront the prospect of conducting diplomacy in the era of AI.
04:24This is a debate in itself, but the short point is that our business is going to get very much
04:33more complicated.
04:35Four, statecraft may be an exercise in calculation, but sentiment still has a very powerful role in international relations.
04:57In the post-colonial era, the solidarity of nations that regained their freedom is a deeply emotional one.
05:07When India undertook the vaccine, my three during the COVID pandemic, the receiving nations needed no explanation.
05:17Others probably could not understand, even when provided with one.
05:22At a time when the world is today grappling with the 4F crisis of fuel, fertilizers, food and finance,
05:34India is taking up causes that are broader than its immediate national interest.
05:40The global south will always be a key element in our world outlook.
05:47Fifth, a multi-millennial civilization regaining its place on the global stage is an unusual occurrence.
05:58As India's rise unfolds, it will be an understandable subject of discussion and possibly even of misreading from time to
06:09time.
06:11Comparing us with the record of others is simplistic, to say the least.
06:16India will have its own character traits, it will have its own personality, and one that the world will come
06:24to appreciate.
06:25But it is up to us to communicate, to explain, and to facilitate that process.
06:33A civilizational state will naturally take the long view.
06:37Our approach to international relations, to international issues, will be considered, will be sober, and will be composed.
06:48When India advocates dialogue and diplomacy, when we stress that endless war must give way to an end to war,
06:57this is our particular way of thinking.
07:00Indian diplomacy will always have peace and development as its central agenda.
07:06Not just as an idealistic goal, but as a sensible prescription for the world order to advance progress and prosperity.
07:18And sixth, an intrinsic and fundamental feature of India's approach to world affairs is its independence stance,
07:28and it is something the panel before me also discussed.
07:41Now, many of you know, it is an outcome of our history, and it is also a characteristic, a natural
07:48characteristic of a very large nation.
07:51Discussions within India will debate the degree of our maneuverability, flexibility, and creativity.
08:01But no one really serious believes that there is an alternative to strategic autonomy.
08:07As a result, we are naturally designed for the multipolar world that awaits us all.
08:15Indeed, you would perceive that India's answer to the culture of extreme competition is to double down on multipolarity.
08:28Now, these perspectives need to be set off against a radically transformed global landscape today,
08:38one that is becoming more turbulent and uncertain by the day.
08:44That a third of the world's manufacturing is concentrated in a single geography has major consequences.
08:52Those who are witnessing an erosion in their primacy no longer believe in the rules that they themselves set.
09:01Ensuring the resilience of supply chains and mitigating the effect of market dominance have therefore become key priorities.
09:10On the demand side, tariff volatility has added to the complications of a corroded international trading system.
09:18Technology certainly remains a big factor of transformation, but the rise of big tech is an altogether new and different
09:28phenomenon.
09:29Tech rivalry threatens to fragment the international system, even as tech diffusion promises to throw up surprises.
09:40Where energy is concerned, key importers have become major exporters, and this role reversal has enormous implications.
09:51If fossil fuel has its own risks and dependency, it is no less the case with renewables.
09:59Revival of nuclear energy could also bring back its accompanying security debate.
10:05The world of finance has also got deeply enmeshed with strategic choices.
10:12Its weaponization is forcing creative responses.
10:17Connectivity is another major variable in this larger matrix.
10:22Along with resources, it has assumed the form of a new great game.
10:27In fact, the net impact of all these factors that I have laid out, these factors have made choke points
10:36a compelling feature of contemporary international affairs.
10:41This is truly a world of leverage, of weaponization, and of risk-taking.
10:47So, how does a nation like India deal with such a scenario?
10:53At one level, the answer is to de-risk and diversify.
10:58We have seen that starkly in the domain of energy, and more gradually when it comes to markets and supply
11:06chains.
11:06There is also the prospect of becoming more self-reliant, and that is why making India is so critical to
11:16our strategic autonomy.
11:17But then, there are also the concepts of trusted partners, tested pathways, French shoring, and near-shoring.
11:27These need to be built assiduously and painstakingly.
11:32Indeed, that is the very work that is under progress.
11:37And as the world goes through its current convulsions, the results may well end up creating a very different architecture.
11:45And precisely because we are staring at an uncharted path, there is a powerful case for deeper debate and discussion.
11:57Friends, a different world calls for new terminology, concepts, and even platforms.
12:05This is precisely what Indian diplomacy and what the Indian debate has undertaken in the last decade and more.
12:14We have popularized terms for better understanding and communication, both within and outside the country.
12:22We have advanced new concepts to better serve our expanding interests.
12:28And we have put forward new initiatives that serve both India and the world well.
12:35Let me share a few examples.
12:38Today, our diplomatic lexicon very prolifically uses Vasudeva Kottumbakam, Neighborhood First, Act East, and Vaccine Maitri.
12:50Each one has a message that is clear to the world.
12:56When it comes to concepts, we have subscribed to the Indo-Pacific, to Sagar and Mahasagar, to the IMEC, to
13:05Global South, and to reformed multilateralism.
13:09There is a practical intent behind each of these proposals.
13:15Similarly, India took the lead to form the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and the Global
13:25Biofuel Alliance.
13:27Our espousal of the International Day of Yoga, the International Year of Millets, or Mission Life, they have all resonated
13:37well with the world.
13:41Now, the ICWA was created to promote a public discourse on world affairs.
13:49In the years that have passed, it has served as a platform for policy addresses as well.
13:56Given its stature, ICWA is a natural congregation point for the think tank, academic, diplomatic, and policy worlds.
14:07India is destined to rise in a very turbulent world, and the intellectual accompaniments of that process will surely be
14:17demanding.
14:18And that is where an institution like ICWA can make an effective contribution.
14:25I congratulate ICWA on this anniversary, and I wish it all the best in its future endeavors.
14:32Thank you very much.
14:32Thank you very much.
Comments