‘Countries wanted to talk to us…’: Jaishankar on India’s growing role in world order

“The big picture, quite honestly, in the world is not an optimistic picture. I think we have a very worried international community,” Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.

Jaishankar said there are more than opportunities for India, because it’s a very difficult situation.

“I think there are contributions that India can make. I think we have today, a stabilising role today. We have a bridging role. We have a diplomatic role. We have to really see in economic terms, how can we contribute to the de-risking of the global economy? I think in political terms, how can we in some way help depolarise the world?” he said.

“I think those are really expectations that a lot of other countries, especially countries of the global south have of us. Obviously, we will try and do what we can, and we remain in touch with all the bottom countries of the world,” he said.

During his just-concluded trip to New York to attend the annual session of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar had nearly 100 meetings with world leaders and his counterparts from across the world.

“Today, there is an expectation and here I go back to my UNGA discussion. One of the reasons why there were so many meetings this time. Frankly, there was a lot of demand for meetings. Countries wanted to talk to us,” he said.

“Countries wanted to talk to us, because there is a belief that we are in touch with key players we can influence them, we can shape the thinking, we can contribute, we are prepared, sometimes to say things which many others cannot see, or have reached out to countries and leaders in a way may not be possible for everybody to do so,” he said.