India, not China, best suited to lead developing world: Indian FM
- Citing economic and other aid New Delhi has given, foreign minister says country’s goals make it ‘different from all those whose rise preceded ours’
- But India treads narrow path with West over friendly ties with Russia and Ottawa’s allegations that New Delhi was involved in a Canadian’s killing
Khushboo Razdanin New York
Published: 3:10am, 27 Sep, 2023
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg
India has staked a claim as the leading voice of the developing world in an “emerging multipolar order”, casting itself at the
United Nations General Assembly as a better fit for the role than other regional powers like China.
Addressing the general assembly in New York on Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar cited
Sri Lanka’s economic downturn, which India and many Western countries and their allies have blamed on Beijing’s “debt diplomacy”.
“When Sri Lanka experienced a severe economic crisis, it was India that first stepped forward,” India’s top diplomat said.
Even in distant regions, partners like the
Pacific island nations “have appreciated our contributions to meet their needs in health, in
technology and in
climate action”, he added.
Jaishankar said “so many nations” identified with India because of its history, geography and culture. As an aspiring leading power, India had “never been seen as being in contradiction with global good”.
“This is not for self-aggrandisement, but to take on greater responsibility and make more contributions,” he added. “The goals we have set for ourselves will make us different from all those whose rise preceded ours.”
At a time when “East-West polarisation is so sharp and the North-South divide so deep”, the success of the
Group of 20 summit
held recently in New Delhi proved India targeted “the key concerns of the many, not just the narrow interests of a few”, he said.
With its expanding diplomatic and economic clout globally as tensions between the US and China remain undimmed, India sees the present moment as ideal for becoming a leader of the Global South – a role China also prizes.
“China opposes hegemonism, power politics, unilateralism and Cold War mentality,” Vice-President Han Zheng said.
“A small number of countries have arbitrarily imposed illegal and unilateral sanctions, severely undermining the harmony and stability of international relations,” he added. “The international community should jointly resist such acts.”
The sentiment was echoed by Chinese President
Xi Jinping at the World Political Parties Summit in Beijing in March, during which he offered to share his country’s experiences in modernisation with other countries.
“
China’s Communist Party is willing to exchange and share experience with political parties of all countries … so we can do more good for our people and people around the world,” Xi said.
To counter China’s more prominent regional and global stature, New Delhi has drawn closer to and cooperates often with the West, especially Washington.
Yet it treads a narrow path with the West, given its friendly ties with
Russia and amid recent allegations of New Delhi’s involvement in the
killing of an Indian dissident in Canada.
“The power of markets should not be utilised to steer food and energy from the needy to the wealthy, nor must we countenance that political convenience determines responses to
terrorism, extremism and violence,” Jaishankar said in a veiled swipe at the West and Ottawa.
“Respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry-picking,” he continued. “Without genuine solidarity, there can never be real trust. This is very much the sentiment of the Global South.”
Jaishankar, who is expected to visit Washington on Wednesday for a meeting with his American counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned that the norm of a few nations shaping the agenda “cannot go indefinitely, nor will it go unchallenged”.
“A fair, equitable and democratic order will surely emerge once we all put our minds to it … that means ensuring that rule makers do not subjugate rule takers”.
Citing economic and other aid New Delhi has given, foreign minister says country’s goals make it ‘different from all those whose rise preceded ours’.
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