India is keen to share its digital expertise and experience with the countries of the global south to work on various projects, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Prabhat Kumar said. Observers say this could be another step in India’s bid to expand its influence in a changing world.
From digital technology…
According to Commissioner Kumar, the Indian economy is growing at a rapid pace and is currently the fastest growing major economy in the world. In the next five years, India is expected to become the third largest economy in the world with a GDP exceeding $5 trillion.
“We believe that the world is one family and we have to share what we have with the world. It is not a mere slogan. We have followed this philosophy in the past and will continue to do so in the future,” Kumar said, citing India’s support of vaccines, medicines and medical equipment to more than 150 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian diplomat cited a report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies that said India's digital public infrastructure plans have the potential to make the country an $8 trillion economy by 2030. India has also made a splash through programs like unique ID, digital banking, unified payment interface, digital vaccine distribution and direct transfer of benefits.
In addition, there are global organizations established in conjunction with Indian initiatives such as the International Solar Energy Alliance, the Global Biofuels Alliance or the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Alliance “to address energy security and climate issues”.
… to the key factor
“We are in a unique moment, a moment of extreme polarization. All this has put India at the center of a lot of the conversation,” said Professor Harsh V. Pant, Vice President of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. So can India play the role of a peacemaker, a mediator between the North and the South, and even between the East and the West?
“India has seized the opportunity of global change and taken advantage of the world’s upheaval,” said Shivshankar Menon, a China expert and former Indian ambassador to Beijing. “It would be a cliché to say that India’s time has come. I would say that India has benefited from the fact that when the West confronted Russia and sanctioned it, many countries in the world were unhappy with these decisions. They did not want to choose between the West and Moscow, or between Washington and Beijing. They were looking for a third option. And the world has made room for India.”
To make the best use of this “platform” that symbolizes India’s growing diplomatic power, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has come up with an original concept: “Multi-alignment”. A concept that can be understood as a method that is implemented in order to best serve the interests of the country. The refusal to choose sides – which has been India’s consistent stance – can be used as a reason to engage in dialogue with all, which is new.
MINH CHAU synthesis
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