India is engaging with international partners more intensively from a position of strength, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, citing recent trade deals, amid the recent pact with the US.

Speaking at the Global Economic Cooperation conference here, Jaishankar also said the world is witnessing the weaponisation of production, finance, leveraging of market shares and tightening of export controls.

"From a position of strength, India is engaging international partners more intensively. This is demonstrated in the recently concluded trade deals," he said.

Jaishankar further said the world has entered a volatile and uncertain era, possibly the most turbulent in living memory. He described the transition in the global order as “messy, risky, unpredictable, perhaps even dangerous”, adding that elements of the old and emerging systems will coexist for some time. "The established global order is clearly changing; replacements are hard to create, and we appear to be headed to a long twilight zone," he added.

Jaishankar listed six defining features of the current international landscape—the United States’ push to re-industrialise, China’s continued manufacturing and export expansion, intensified and polarised technology competition, a reworking of energy trade equations, greater risk-taking, including military use of capabilities, and tighter scrutiny of migration and mobility.

He said lessons from COVID-19 and the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia have exposed vulnerabilities in concentrated production networks and supply chains. “We are today witnessing weaponisation of production, weaponisation of finance, leveraging of markets, and tightening of export controls. To add to all of this, there are now uncertainties on the demand side due to the application of bilateral tariffs. We are no longer concerned just about crisis situations, but big trade wars as well,” he said. 

To address the global headwinds, Jaishankar called for economic security through stronger self-reliance and more trusted partners. “In a globalised world, the two goals are actually sides of the same coin. Greater capabilities attract more partnerships, which in turn reinforce such resilience. As a market economy, a political democracy and as a global society, like-minded partners would see particular value in the success of India. We will not only contribute to global growth, but also to global stability and predictability,” he said.

India is progressing towards the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of a developed India by 2047, he said the country must advance simultaneously in manufacturing and services, agriculture and advanced technology, infrastructure and innovation.

Over the past decade, improvements in highways, railways, ports, aviation and energy have strengthened ease of doing business, he said, describing digital public infrastructure as a “real game changer” in delivering financial inclusion and social benefits.

India is also stepping up efforts in semiconductors, defence, space, renewables and artificial intelligence, he added, arguing that a broad industrial base is essential to generate domestic technologies.

A stronger and more capable India, Jaishankar said, would contribute not only to global growth but also to global stability. “It has created a foundation for India to emerge as a credible and reliable international partner in this age of uncertainty,” he said.