Jaishankar to Europe: India Wants Partners, Not Preachers Amid Global Power Shifts

Jaishankar to Europe: In an indirect dig at Europe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, "In this reshaping of the multipolar world-the world increasingly beyond Europe-Treasury shoots are interested in looking for partners, not preachers.' India."

Minister S Jaishankar remarked that, "Europe struggles to match the pace of changing realities elsewhere in the world", and that the continent might have to seriously revise its thinking if indeed Europe ever intends to achieve any meaningful partnership with India.

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“When we look at the world, we look for partners, we don't look for preachers. Particularly, preachers who don't practice at home what they preach abroad. Some of Europe is still struggling with that problem. Europe has entered a certain zone of reality check. Whether they are able to step up or not is something we will have to see. If we have to develop a partnership, there has to be some understanding, sensitivity, mutuality of interest and a realisation of how the world works,” Jaishankar said at the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025 in New Delhi.

#WATCH | Delhi: At Arctic Circle India Forum 2025, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says "When we look at the world, we look for partners, we don't look for preachers. Particularly, preachers who don't practice at home what they preach abroad. Some of Europe is still struggling with that… pic.twitter.com/9V8vwBzvaf

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2025

He also went on to say that the United States had come to be self-sufficient to a certain extent lately. “We have now reached a size and a stage where almost anything consequential that happens in any corner of the world matters to us. The United States is much more self-sufficient today than it has been in a long time. Europe is today under pressure to change. The realities of multipolarity are dawning on it. I think it has still not adjusted and absorbed it fully. The US has dramatically changed positions. The Chinese are doing what they were doing. We are going to see an arena of contestation, which is not going to be easy to recall. We are looking at a much more contested world, much sharper competition,” Jaishankar said.

India is expanding engagement in polar regions: Jaishankar

Today, at the forum, Jaishankar highlighted India's deepening presence in polar regions by reminding the audience that India has maintained its presence in Antarctica for over 40 years and recently intensified its engagement with a dedicated Arctic policy and international partnerships.

While talking about the strategic and environmental importance of the Arctic, he said that developments there would have global ramifications and be particularly prominent for a youthful country such as India.

“We have had a growing involvement with the Arctic. We had an even earlier involvement with the Antarctic, which is now more than 40 years. We have come up a few years ago with an Arctic policy. We have agreements with KSAT on Svalbard, which is relevant to our space. As the country with the most young people on this planet, what happens in the Arctic is of extreme importance to us...Given the direction in which things are moving, the consequences are going to be felt not just by us but by the entire world,” the Union Minister said.

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The processes of climate change will open up new shipping routes across the Arctic, changing the scenario in the global economic landscape in terms of technological and resource opportunities.

“Given the Arctic's trajectory, its impact will be global, making it everyone's concern. Warming is opening new routes, while technological and resource dimensions are set to reshape the global economy. For India, this matters deeply as our economic growth accelerates,” Jaishankar added.

Increased global frictions are amplifying, thereby increasing the strategic importance of the Arctic.

“Sharpening geopolitical divides have only heightened the Arctic's global relevance. Arctic's future is inextricably linked to what is happening in the world, including the evolving debates within the US political system,” Jaishankar said.

In a post on X, Jaishankar added, "Spoke about the global consequences of developments in the Arctic. And how the changing world order impacts the region. Underlined India's growing responsibilities in the Arctic, recognising opportunities in connectivity, technology, resources, research and space. While also seeking greater understanding of the risks of global warming."

At the same time, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the Chair of the Arctic Circle and former President of Iceland, has argued that the economic future of India will hinge more and more upon access to Arctic resources. He urged Indian economists to pay special attention to the region, for, as Grimsson put it, the changing pattern of global alliances — mostly exemplified by Chinese-Russian cooperation and the developing US-Russian dynamics — will make India a major player in determining the Arctic's destiny.

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