Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has warned against politicizing essential commodities
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has called out the “double standards” in the West’s attitude towards the energy, food, and fertilizer requirements of the Global South.
Speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the sidelines of the United Nationals General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Jaishankar said global conflicts are disrupting energy supplies and leading to cost escalations.
“Apart from jeopardizing supplies and logistics, access and costs themselves became pressure points on nations,” he said. “Double standards are clearly in evidence.”
Jaishankar added that the costs of energy and commodities have been rising due to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and that this had a major impact on Global South nations.
❗️"Double Standards are Clearly in Evidence”: 🇮🇳EAM Jaishankar Calls Out Hypocrisy Impacting International Peace & Global Development
"Excellencies, peace can certainly enable development, but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace,” Jaishankar noted at the G20… pic.twitter.com/eRCfkIjBRP
The West is now targeting countries maintaining economic ties with Moscow, which includes India, the second largest importer of Russian crude. Jaishankar warned against politicizing energy purchases, adding that making the availability of essentials more uncertain in an “economically fragile situation” helps no one.
“Peace can enable development, but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace,” he added.
Stressing the importance of diplomatic engagement, he noted that only a few countries have the ability to talk to both sides in conflicts, and that the international community should make use of such nations to achieve and sustain peace.
The Indian foreign minister also said it was imperative for the world to show neither tolerance nor accommodation for terrorism. New Delhi has long believed that Western countries have maintained double standards when it came to terrorism aimed at India.
Jaishankar said nations taking concrete action against terrorism are “rendering a larger service to the international community.”
On Wednesday, speaking at the High Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South Countries, Jaishankar called for “much needed reforms” of global institutions such as the UN.
