'Multipolarity going to be messy, AI taking centrestage in geopolitics': Top quotes from Jaishankar's speech at KEC

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses the fourth edition of the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2025) (Image: Screengrab/PTI)

Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2025), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar offered a wide-ranging assessment of the shifting global order, highlighting how geopolitics is being reshaped by power competition, economic realignments, and technological disruption. Jaishankar described a world marked by the weaponisation of interdependence, the revisiting of alliances, and the weakening of international rules.

Pointing to the growing rivalry between major powers such as the United States and China, he underlined the emergence of multipolarity as both a reality and a work in progress.

For India, Jaishankar said, resilience must come from within -- through stronger manufacturing, infrastructure, and a balanced network of global partnerships.

Here are the top quotes from EAM Jaishankar on evolving geopolitics:

• One of the big changes in recent years is that the United States, which for decades worried about its external energy dependence, has not only become self-sufficient but is now a significant exporter of energy and has made it a key part of its strategic outlook. Just as the US has emerged as a champion of fossil fuels, China has established itself as a leader in renewables - so, whichever path you take on renewables, all roads eventually lead there as well.
• In recent years, we’ve seen a completely new level in the application of sanctions, even the seizure of sovereign assets. The rise of crypto, and competition for rare earths and critical minerals have become major factors shaping global rivalries.
• The nature of weaponry and war has fundamentally changed. Conflicts from Azerbaijan-Armenia to Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Iran show contactless wars with standoff weapons, which can have highly impactful, sometimes decisive outcomes. These define the landscape of today’s turbulent times.
• We have seen alliances and understandings being revisited. Major powers today believe less in the balance of power -- they think they don’t need the rest of the world as much as before. With greater margins of power, they are ready to exercise them in pursuit of their own policies. As a result, the global dynamic has shifted more towards competition, as there is now a growing tendency to weaponise everything.
• There is a serious effort to derisk every factor of politics and economics. There is a tendency today to weaponise everything. We have seen weakening -- sometimes even discarding -- of international regime and rules. We have seen economically that cost may not be any longer a definitive criteria, but ownership, security reliability resilience are equally important.
• We have issues with the United States today -- mainly that we haven’t yet reached a landing ground in our trade discussions. This has led to certain tariffs being levied on us, which we have publicly said are unfair. There is also a second tariff related to sourcing energy from Russia, whereas other countries, even those with more adversarial relations with Russia, have done so. These issues need to be resolved, and we are actively working on them.
• This year we had two meetings of QUAD foreign ministers, the first just after President Trump assumed power. QUAD is alive and well. In turbulent times, it’s important to assess challenges responsibly. I would caution against both extremes -- denying a problem exists and assuming something catastrophic.
• US-China relations will influence the direction of global politics. For ASEAN being caught between US and China is a difficult predicament. Russia's current goals and future opportunities are not aligned.
• The challenge for India is to go beyond the region; defending what we have is not good enough.
• The challenge before us is to build manufacturing. We have 'lost decades', which is why we need to catch up in many areas - but not in contemporary sectors, as we already have the policies for these. We need to do both advanced and orthodox manufacturing and get optimal mix of it.
• Our initial Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) were mostly with Asian countries - ASEAN, Japan, Korea. The challenge is that many economies are competitive, often providing pathways for China due to supply chain dynamics. Our focus should be on economies that are sustainable and predictable. That’s why we are pleased with the FTA with the UK, serious about an FTA with the EU, and striving for an understanding with the US.
• For India, the answer for a more difficult world is not outside, but inside, in terms of deepening manufacturing, bettering HR and infrastructure and finding new trade routes. Posture that India adopts will be to have as many productive relationships as possible, but also ensure that they are not exclusive. When I see a proposal to deepen manufacturing, when I look at a mission to promote advanced manufacturing (semiconductor, drones, EVs, space etc), when I look at a project or policy that would take forward infrastructure or ease of doing business - all this is what India brings to the table.
• Multipolarity is partly happening, but it has to be built as well. All of it will not happen by itself. We are seeing a tendency of the regionally influential country taking the lead in multipolarity. But I’m afraid multipolarity is not going to be a neat sway, it will be messy.
• We are holding an AI Impact summit next year. If there is an X factor, a lot of it would be technology and would centre around AI. A lot of geopolitics would be centred around technology. Geopolitics has been a function of technology competition.