Era when few powers exercised influence over global order is behind us, says EAM S Jaishankar

& PTI

Seoul, March 5

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the era when a few powers exercised “disproportionate influence” over the reshaping of the global order is a thing of the past. So India and South Korea have a growing responsibility to contribute to the process actively.

Speaking at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, Jaishankar, who is here on a two-day visit, said that India’s partnership with the Republic of Korea is acquiring a greater salience in a more uncertain and volatile world.

“India and South Korea have a growing responsibility to actively contribute to the reshaping of the global order. The era when a few powers exercised disproportionate influence over that process is now behind us,” he said.

“Willy-nilly, it has become a more collaborative and broad-based endeavour. That multilateralism has also stalled and being replaced in good measure by plurilateralism is a factor as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, during an interaction with the Indian community in Seoul, Jaishankar said the situation in Manipur is “unfortunate” and the eruption of tensions despite the Centre putting in considerable effort in the past 10 years is “disturbing”.

“It is unfortunate. There is nobody who would not regret what is happening there. It is really tragic because the close intermingling of the communities led to this degree of violence, which becomes difficult really to head off. People would like to see normalcy return, they would like to see law and order get back. This is not the India, and certainly not the North-East which anybody is hoping for,” said Jaishankar.

Jaishankar assured the expatriate Indians that the BJP-led Centre was working hard to help North-East India realise its potential. This was the first time during his recent interactions with the Indian community abroad that the minister was closely questioned on the continuing ethnic violence in Manipur.

Asked about the influx of migrants from Myanmar, Jaishankar said the Centre had decided to suspend the free movement regime and is “hardening” the border situation to strengthen internal security and maintain the demographic structure of states bordering Myanmar. But he spoke highly of the benefits of a relaxed border for trade between India, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The minister called on South Korean PM Han Duck-soo and met with Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Dukegun. Earlier in the day, he had met the Director of National Security Chang Ho-jin.