External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York on Thursday, strongly emphasised the critical interconnectedness of international peace and global development, pointing out the heightened vulnerability faced by the Global South due to ongoing conflicts. He underscored the immediate necessity for increased diplomacy, dialogue, and multilateral cooperation to navigate current global challenges.
Addressing the deterioration of both peace and development, Jaishankar stated, “Our focus today is on the correlation between international peace and global development. In recent times, that is well established, as both deteriorated in parallel. The costs, especially to the Global South, in terms of energy, food, and fertiliser security, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza.”
My remarks at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York. #UNGA80
https://t.co/q0ThDeo5Zc— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 25, 2025
He further highlighted the detrimental economic impact, noting, “Apart from jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and cost themselves became pressure points on nations.” The Minister also called out hypocrisy in global approaches, asserting, “Double standards are clearly in evidence. Peace can certainly enable development, but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace.”
He warned against escalating tensions, adding, “Making energy and other essentials more uncertain in an economically fragile situation helps no one. The way out is to move the needle towards dialogue and diplomacy, not in the opposite direction towards further complications.”
The comments come as the US has been targeting India over Russian oil imports, imposing 50 per cent tariffs, while New Delhi stresses energy security as a priority. India has also pointed to Europe and the US’s significant imports from Russia, while they point fingers at Beijing and New Delhi.
The External Affairs Minister highlighted the crucial role of certain nations in conflict resolution. He noted, “In any conflict situation, there will be a few who have the ability to engage both sides. Such countries can be utilised by the international community to achieve peace and to maintain it.”
This remark can be seen in the context of New Delhi engaging in dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine, stressing peaceful resolution by way of diplomacy.
Jaishankar On Terrorism, ‘Limitations’ Of United Nations
Jaishankar also identified terrorism as a “perennial disruptor of peace” and a persistent threat to development. He stressed, “…A persistent threat to development is that perennial disruptor of peace, terrorism. It is imperative that the world display neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities… Those who act against them on any front render a larger service to the international community as a whole.”
Acknowledging the current limitations of global institutions, he said, “As we confront conflict, economic pressures, and terrorism, the limitations of multilateralism and the United Nations are visible. The need for reforming multilateralism has never been greater.” He urged G20 members to stabilise the volatile international situation through dialogue, combatting terrorism, and strengthening economic and energy security.
Jaishankar Stresses Need For Global Workforce Amid H-1B Visa Row
Speaking at the Observer Research Foundation event ‘At the Heart of Development: Aid, Trade, and Technology’ on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar pointed to the growing demand for a global workforce. He stressed that demographic realities in many countries cannot meet these demands.
“Where that global workforce is to be housed and located may be a matter of a political debate. But there’s no getting away. If you look at demand and you look at demographics, demands cannot be met in many countries purely out of national demographics,” he said, as per news agency PTI. “This is a reality. You cannot run away from this reality. So how do we create a more acceptable, contemporary, efficient model of a global workforce, which is then located in a distributed, global workplace? I think this is a very big question today which the international economy has to address.”
The remarks came as the Trump administration is targeting the H-1B visa system, with stress on employing local US workers. The White House’s recent $100,000 fee announcement sparked confusion and warnings from major tech companies for visa holders to return to the U.S., though officials later clarified that the fee would only apply to new visas.
He added that evolving trade arrangements and technological progress are reshaping global economic dynamics. “We will see, as part of this re-engineered world, new, more different trade arrangements between countries, countries which will make decisions which they may not have made in other circumstances, countries which today will feel the desire, sometimes even the compulsion, to have new partners and new regions.”
Jaishankar highlighted the importance of building capacities for self-reliance, particularly in large nations like India. “Technology-wise, trade-wise, connectivity-wise, workplace-wise, we are going to end up in a very different world in a very short term.” He pointed to India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as an example of a model that is absorbable and relevant for other societies.
He also addressed the challenges of supply chain disruptions and market dependencies, noting, “Today, the central proposition in diplomacy is probably how ‘do you de-risk, how do you hedge, how do you become more resilient, how do you safeguard yourself against unforeseen contingencies, which again I emphasise by definition are unforeseen, and really build policy and plans around that. That’s a very big challenge for the entire world.”
Jaishankar concluded that navigating unpredictability and volatility will require nations to adapt quickly, enhance resilience, and uphold dialogue as the path to sustainable development and global stability.
