'Lens of national interest' key as India navigates turbulent world: Jaishankar at HTLS

Speaking at HTLS 2026, Jaishankar said the world order today was navigating stormy seas amid multiple conflicts, frictions and uncertainties.

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The turbulence the world is going through could last a few years, maybe till the end of the decade, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, adding that India's compass for steer through these choppy waters is the "lens of national interest".

Jaishankar said the global order today was navigating "stormy seas" amid multiple conflicts, frictions and uncertainties, and was going through a transition. He was speaking to R Sukumar, Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan Times, at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi. The theme of this year's summit is "New Rules. New Realities." Track LIVE updates from Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here

Asked what the "new world order" could look like, Jaishankar said it was not completely abstract, and stressed that it would be multipolar, with many decision-making centres. He said he hoped India would play a big role in it.

"It [the world order] will have a transition and we are in the transition phase. We hope we have much stronger influence... an Indian perspective. The new order would be more multipolar...Many more centres of autonomous decision-making," he said.

The foreign minister touched upon the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine, and also spoke of the crises parts of Africa are facing.

Speaking of the "readjustment" of the world order, which he said includes the rise of new powers, Jaishankar said the rivalry between the United States and China was one of the factors behind the ongoing frictions, but not the only one.

"There are multiple causations here. But the US-China competition is a big part of the overall disturbance. One part of it is when countries get caught up in between," he said.

A strong and steady leadership is imperative in these times, he said, adding that the turbulence was likely to "show up in different ways" over the next few years.

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