Friendships not exclusive in multi-polar world: Jaishankar on global ties

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday (November 2, 2024) that friendships are “not exclusive”, particularly in a multi-polar world.

In his address at a book launch in New Delhi, the Minister also said India is today positioning itself as a “Vishwamitra” and “we seek to be friends with as many as possible”.

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“This obviously generates goodwill and positivity towards India. It is reflected in the growing contribution the country makes to global good and in its closer engagement with the international community,” the External Affairs Minister said, adding that in some ways, this is “diplomacy 101”.

He said this at the launch of a book titled “Friends: India’s Closest Strategic Partner”, written by scholar Sreeram Chaulia.

In his address, Mr. Jaishankar underlined that friends are not always black and white, nor will friendship be linear in development.

Friends in the final analysis are “always work in progress”, he added.

“In an imperfect, competitive and evolving global order, let us take these approximate judgments of friends and use them as a convenient yardstick for analysis,” he said.

The Minister also said “sometimes friends have other friends who may not necessarily be ours”, and they may, for example, reflect the dilemma of the old world order and the new.

“It is, therefore, essential that we never confuse convergence for congruence,” he said, without naming any country.

“Friendships are also not exclusive, particularly so in a multi-polar world,” Mr. Jaishankar asserted.

He also cited India’s relations with multiple countries — bilateral as well as plurilateral.

The United States, Japan and Australia have benefitted from the Quad, and they are examples of “overcoming the hesitations of history”, Mr. Jaishankar said.

He described India’s ties with Russia and France as “statements of multi-polarity, ours as much as theirs”.

Underlining the ethos of a partnership, Mr. Jaishankar mentioned that there are cultural and historical factors at work as well, including the fact that “we are not a dogmatic civilisation”.

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“There is a capability aspect as well, which accounts for the self-confidence with which we approach the world,” he said.

“Now that we are friendly, does this automatically mean that we have many friends? Yet it is not to overstate, oversimplify or overassume. Life is more complicated than that,” he added.

“The truth is that relationships develop when interests intersect or, at least, converge. Undoubtedly, sentiments and value do play a part, but not when divorced from interests,” the Union Minister said.

“Cultivating friendship for a large country like India is never easy,” he said, adding that the emotional factor comes from shared experiences and one can see that clearly in respect of the Global South.

“Our presence in the world order today also attracts competition. As we move towards becoming a leading power, this will only grow. Even friendships will not be without some hedging,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

Also, some friends may be “more complicated” than others and may not always share the same culture of mutual respect or ethos of diplomatic etiquette, Mr. Jaishankar said.

“We have, from time to time, seen comments on our domestic issues, accompanied by a professed desire to have an honest conversation. However, the same courtesy is rarely accorded to the other side. What is freedom for one can apparently become interference for the other,” he argued.

“The fact is that sensitivities like sovereignty and territorial integrity will always be factors in evaluating partners,” Mr. Jaishankar added.

“Friends are about comfort and convergence, with an easy ability to work with each other. They are about mutual respect, understanding the compulsions of the parties and maximising the common ground,” he said.