New Delhi: The world faces an “unprecedented challenge” in the wake of the deadly coronavirus crisis and the “true extent of its destruction” still remains “unclear”, according to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
In his virtual address to the Sixth Round table of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks, the minister said, “The world faces an unprecedented challenge. And believe me, the term ‘unprecedented’ is not an exaggeration. None of us has seen a crisis of this proportion before, or indeed uncertainty of this level. How, when and with what result this pandemic will end is still a very open question.”
He added, “Even after several months, the true extent of its destruction in terms of losses of lives and livelihood remains unclear. We cannot pretend that this is just another happening, only bigger. On the contrary, the impact of the coronavirus has been beyond our collective imagination.”
The minister highlighted that there could be an erosion of 6.5 per cent to 9.7 per cent of the global GDP, which will translate into losses in the range of $5.8-8.8 trillion.
“The contraction of the world economy being predicted will surely be the largest since the Great Depression,” he said.
The minister further said not just the economy, the world will also face challenges with regard to security, connectivity and politics.
Therefore, he urged the 10-member ASEAN grouping — Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei — to focus on the Indo-Pacific construct.
“We are not only proximate to each other, but together help shape Asia and the world. It is important that at this juncture, we put our heads together. There are conceptual issues to debate including Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific Oceans initiative that we have tabled needs elaboration. As global relationships alter, we too need to take stock,” he said.
“As we come out of this pandemic, let us be clear on one fact. The world will never be the same again. That means new thinking, fresh ideas, more imagination and greater openness. We need to go beyond orthodoxies, whether of trade, politics or security,” he added.
ASEAN-India ties should go beyond social definitions
On ASEAN-India ties, Jaishankar said the relationship was founded on the basis of “shared interest in globalisation”.
“In Asia, at least, the ASEAN were pioneers of that process and helped bring India into it. But as it comes under stress today, we need to go beyond its economic and even social definitions. Globalisation may be reflected as trade, travel and financial flows. But in reality, it is something very much larger,” he said.
Jaishankar said the international community needs to work together in search of “collective solutions”.
“The big issue that confronts the thinking world is not simply the state of the economy, the damage to societies or the challenges to governance. It is actually a debate on the future directions of global affairs and what kind of world order — or disorder — we are going to live in,” he said.
According to Jaishankar, the most valued “commodity” in international relations is “trust”.
“The pandemic has now added to that the importance of health security. In fact, the concept of strategic autonomy that was once fashionable in a unipolar world has now assumed relevance once again in terms of global supply chains,” he said.
He urged ASEAN and the world to come up with a “more positive and practical model of cooperation”.
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