India may resume visa facility for Canadians, says EAM S. Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said that today the unipolar world is a distant history, and a lot of the analysis needs to overcome the burden of past constructs.

Addressing Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi today, he said, international financial institutions have not been able to respond adequately to concerns emanating from rising debt and market volatility.

Dr. Jaishankar said, the bipolar world was even more distant in the bipolarity of the US-Soviet Union and he doesn't think that US, China will really end up bipolar.

He said, there are too many next-run powers with sufficient clout and autonomous activity and regions of their own dominance and privacy for that to happen.

The External Affairs Minister said, the reality is yes at one level, the world is far more globalized. He said, today's situation has changed and the dominance of regional players won't allow any external or global players to enter.

Dr Jaishankar said, if we look today at what is happening in the Middle East, a lot of it is actually, in a sense, the activities are intrinsic to the Middle East.

He said, if we compare it with 1973 or 1967, they are very different.

The External Affairs Minister said, the key regional players on regional situations are actually today going to be so dominant compared to the past that they are not going to leave that much space for global players or external players to come in.

He said, people can see that happening in Africa as well.

Dr Jaishankar further stressed on the direct disruptive impact of climate change on the international economy, as well as the concerns of the global economy due to rising debt and market volatility.

He said, there has been long debate that climate challenges as a trend undermine the well-being of the planet.

However, as weather patterns shift, they can affect the loads of production as well as the supply chains that emanate from them.

He said, given the increasing frequency of such weather happenings, this is now a risk that we need to build into the calculations.

The Minister said, the working of the global economy has itself added to the concerning side of the ledger.

The last few years have witnessed rising debt often resulting from a combination of imprudent choices unbiased borrowings and opaque projects.

He said, market volatility has been difficult for smaller economies with a narrow trade basket to handle.

Dr Jaishankar said, those highly exposed to tourism or remittances have experienced the consequences of slowdowns very strongly.

He said, international financial institutions have not been able to respond adequately, whether due to paucity of resources or lack of priority.

Replying to a question on India-Canada relations, Dr Jaishankar said, India invoked the provision of parity in Canada’s diplomatic presence in the country in view of concerns over interference in New Delhi’s affairs by Canadian personnel.

He also said that India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

The Minister said, diplomatic parity is very much provided for in the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

Dr Jaishankar said the relationship between India and Canada right now is going through a difficult phase, adding that India has problems with certain segments of Canadian politics.

The ties between India and Canada came under strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations last month of potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

Days after Trudeau’s allegations, India announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.