'4F crisis has set back global south': Jaishankar urges India-Africa unity on UN reforms

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for India and Africa to deepen their historic partnership, promote self-reliance and push for reforms in global institutions, stressing that both sides must have fair representation in international decision-making and the freedom to shape their own futures. Speaking at the Adwa Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jaishankar on Friday said that developing countries were bearing the consequences of global conflicts and economic disruptions despite having little to do with the events that triggered them. "What is really the heart of the relationship between us and what we try to do as a focus diplomatic endeavor today. If India and Africa, as the Global South, need to make an impact on the world, obviously the first thing they need to do is to take up the concerns, vocalize, articulate those concerns in a very strong and sharp way," Jaishankar said. He highlighted what he described as the “4F crisis” of fuel, food, fertilisers and finance, arguing that global conflicts and the Covid-19 pandemic had undermined development prospects across the Global South.