Era when a few powers exercised influence over reshaping global order is behind us: S Jaishankar

Seoul: The era when a few powers exercised "disproportionate influence" over the reshaping of the global order is a thing of the past so India and South Korea have a growing responsibility to actively contribute to the process, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, Jaishankar who is here on a two-day visit, said India’s partnership with the Republic of Korea is acquiring a greater salience in a more uncertain and volatile world.

"India and South Korea have a growing responsibility to actively contribute to the reshaping of the global order. The era when a few powers exercised disproportionate influence over that process is now behind us," he said.

"Willy-nilly, it has become a more collaborative and broad-based endeavour. That multilateralism has also stalled and being replaced in good measure by plurilateralism is a factor as well," he said.

Jaishankar said issues like countering terrorism or Weapons of mass Destruction proliferation or indeed ensuring maritime safety and security matter fundamentally to both nations.

"In recent years, challenges like terrorism and WMD proliferation have impacted our national security. We have learnt to be sensitive to changing currents of the global order. While our solutions may be suited to our particular national circumstances, working together has always been to our common advantage," he said.

The concept of the Indo-Pacific emerged as a consequence of geo-political shifts in the last few decades, he said.

"India’s stakes in terms of trade, investment, services, resources, logistics and technology in the Indo-Pacific are growing by the day. Ensuring the stability, safety and security of this region is therefore vital for us. We have an obligation to the global commons, just as we have a duty to do global good," he said.

To realise their potential, Jaishankar said it is important that the two nations intensify their engagement in different spheres.

He said the two nations need more political discussions and more strategic conversations.

"We need stronger business connects and technology interactions," he said.

"We will also have to be more collaborative, recognizing the strengths that we each bring to the table. Today, we are all contemplating the prospect of a re-globalisation that would be very much shaped by emerging technologies. That gives our two nations the opening to progress while contributing to a better world.

He said he was confident that by broadening their horizons, the India-South Korea partnership could emerge as a significant factor in the Indo-Pacific.

"Our expectation is that even within a few years, a very different larger ecosystem will take shape in India in this regard. I am sure that it will create more possibilities for collaboration between India and the Republic of Korea," he said.

"Let me add here that even as we seek to strengthen our bilateral ties, there are a number of international initiatives in which our shared participation would certainly contribute to the bilateral facet of our relationship as well," he said.

"We have also seen opportunity in initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or the Minerals Security Partnership. In crucial domains like digital delivery or clean energy, our national efforts have points of convergence," Jaishankar said.