External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that in a dynamic and complex global situation, the Covid pandemic has introduced many more variables. “Not just that, some of these actually came as a shock to the entire global system,” the minister said at a global seminar.

Jaishankar said that the pandemic raised concerns about the virtues of globalization by bringing out the importance of reliable supply chains and showed the uncomfortable realities of global politics as countries faced the pandemic stress. Among other things the coronavirus showed us was that: “health security and perhaps food security far more integral to national security of countries,” said Jaishankar.

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Within this rapidly changing global scenario, Jaishankar highlighted how India fared. He said: “Where does India come out in all of this? Our rapid capability response, effective supplies to those in need, strong social discipline and visible leadership have all stood out. As a society for whom the world was a work place, we mounted an unprecedented repatriation operation through the Vande Bharat Mission. And as we moved to deal with the pandemic itself, our domestic priorities were harmonized with our global outlook in the Vaccine Maitri that now extends to almost 80 nations.”

The minister also focused on the swiftly-changing global politics through both the processes—multi-polarity and re-balancing. He said that new global players have emerged on the scene and more are in the making. “It means assertions of identity and different conversations. The entire process is, of course, set against the backdrop of globalization and the debates around its merits,” Jaishankar added.

Read Jaishankar's full speech here

He highlighted how the rise of China, and to some extent of India, is part of a changing “power play”. Jaishankar highlighted that historical players like Turkey and even Iran are far more active in their regions. “As a trend, the influence of middle powers has grown much more in a flatter world. It has also made both challenges and solutions far more regional than before, for example in the Gulf. The continents of Africa and Latin America are more aware of their interests and more focused on pursuing them.”

Interestingly, Jaishankar highlighted how globalisation has been impacted and how technology has such a major role to play in shaping the world and shifting power. He said: “technology has brought in sweeping consequences, among them the growth and power of Big Tech. New metrics of power have emerged, such as connectivity.”

The minister wound up his speech by saying that power play amongst nations will continue but on a changed playing field. Jaishankar said: “ … But the mother of all black swans will ensure that our very manner of thinking will be different. So welcome to the post-pandemic world!”