'War anywhere threatens peace everywhere': EAM Jaishankar calls for global cooperation on UN Day

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday warned conflicts anywhere in the world threaten peace everywhere, citing the wars in Ukraine and West Asia as examples of how distant conflicts impose costs on societies, economies and people with little say in them.

Speaking at the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan on the occasion of United Nations Day, Jaishankar said the interconnected nature of the world had deepened with globalisation, making peace a shared concern for all nations.

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“The indivisibility of our existence permeates every aspect of human activity, and it has actually deepened as globalisation has advanced,” he said, adding that “war anywhere threatens peace everywhere”.

Jaishankar said the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia were affecting people and economies far beyond the regions where the fighting was taking place.

“Societies and economies, peoples far away who have little say in the matter, are actually paying the cost. We cannot remain helpless spectators,” he said.

Invoking the founding principles of the United Nations, Jaishankar said Article 1 of the UN Charter envisaged the organisation as a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in pursuit of common objectives. He said UN Day was an occasion to advance a sense of shared purpose and cooperation.

The minister also described terrorism as a major threat to peace, rejecting its use as an instrument of statecraft.

“Its usage as an instrument of statecraft is simply unacceptable. It can never be justified. It can never be rationalised,” he said, adding that terrorism persisted because not all states demonstrated zero tolerance towards it.

Jaishankar said dialogue and diplomacy remained the only solution to global conflicts and said India was making its own efforts while remaining open to working with other partners to advance peace.

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Jaishankar also called for greater global awareness of the shared costs of conflict, warning that political calculations continued to take precedence despite the lessons of history.

“Progress and prosperity are the flip side of conflict and violence, and they too are equally indivisible. The world cannot advance half prosperous and half denied,” he said.

Highlighting the economic pressures facing developing countries, the minister said the Global South was grappling with a “4F crisis” involving finance, fuel, food and fertilisers. He called on the Global North to recognise that it had an equal stake in resolving these challenges.

“The international economy must be urgently de-risked, and nations provided with more diversified options,” Jaishankar said, adding that market distortions caused by restrictions and choke points were worsening the suffering. He said a genuine dialogue on the issue was overdue.

Turning to technology, Jaishankar said progress was closely associated with technological advancement, with artificial intelligence promising to bring about sweeping changes. However, he cautioned against leaving a technology with such far-reaching consequences in the hands of a few.

Jaishankar called for a responsible, inclusive and human-centric approach to AI, arguing that its development and use should reflect the broader principles of freedom and democratisation.