Jaishankar Says Multipolarity Is Inevitable In New York Address On A Divided World
Indian foreign minister closed UN high-level week with a talk at the Asia Society, setting out five arguments about global turbulence
India's external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, said the emergence of a multipolar world is inevitable, in remarks at the Asia Society in New York at the close of the United Nations General Assembly's high-level week.Image Source: @DrSJaishankar on X
He set out five arguments in the discussion, which he described in a post on X after the event, thanking Daniel Russel of the Asia Society for the conversation.
The first was the difficult state of the world, marked by multiple conflicts and by what he calls the 4F crisis, in food, fuel, fertiliser and finance. The second was what he termed the paradox of obsessive competition alongside deep interdependence. The third was that the indivisibility of the global landscape requires a cohesive outlook. The fourth concerned the multiple causes of current turbulence, and the fifth the inevitability of multipolarity.
The themes track closely with the case India made from the General Assembly podium three days earlier.
In that address, Jaishankar described what he called a weaponisation of everything, arguing that a mindset of extreme competition had set in, undermining institutions and creating chokepoints that run from finance to market access, supply chains and technology. Resources and connectivity, he said, have become instruments of leverage, and countries are now focused on de-risking and diversifying. The result, he said, is an atmosphere no longer built on trust or goodwill.
On the developing world, he had said the predicament was particularly acute, citing a Super El Nino, fertiliser shortages and obstacles to grain movements alongside pressure on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. He argued that the right of poorer countries to industrialise was being undermined by non-market practices and market denial.
Glad to speak at @AsiaSociety at the end of the #UNHighLevelWeek. Thank @dannyrrussel for the conversation. Highlighted the following points:
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 29, 2026
✅ The difficult state of the world, with multiple conflicts and the 4F (food, fuel, fertiliser & finance) crisis.
✅ The paradox of… pic.twitter.com/KBiGHPwf1e
On multipolarity, his formulation at the UN was that the post-1945 order is giving way to new realities, and that the process of adjustment, accommodation and acceptance will not be easy. Much of today's turbulence, he said, comes from precisely those difficulties. The march of a diverse world towards a more democratic future, he added, cannot be halted, and peace in a pluralistic order requires civil conversation, broad consultation and transparent decision-making, with large sections of humanity not excluded from it.
He had closed that speech by quoting words attributed to Mahatma Gandhi and inscribed on the lawns outside the UN building: there is no way to peace, peace is the way.