Ripple impact of Mideast conflict still not entirely clear: EAM Jaishankar

Any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.

In an address at an event, Jaishankar, delving into geopolitical upheavals witnessing the world, said the ripple impact of what is taking place in the Middle East right now is still not entirely clear.

The external affairs minister said the consequences of various conflicts in a globalised world spread far beyond immediate geographies as he cited the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

"In different regions, there are smaller happenings whose impact is not inconsequential," he said.

Jaishankar also touched upon the challenge of terrorism and how it is being used as a tool of statecraft, in comments seen as an oblique reference to Pakistan's support to various terror groups.

"There is also the less formal version that is very pervasive. I am speaking about terrorism which has long been honed and practised as a tool of statecraft," he said.

"The basic takeaway for all of us is that given the seamlessness of our existence, any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable," Jaishankar said.

"A big part of this is clearly economic, but do not underestimate the danger of metastasis when it comes to radicalism and extremism," he added.

"No danger is too distant anymore," the external affairs minister noted.

Delving into various aspects of geopolitics, Jaishankar said the last few years have witnessed a 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.

Those highly exposed to tourism or remittances have experienced the consequences of slowdowns strongly, Jaishankar said, adding that international financial institutions have not been able to respond to it adequately.

The external affairs minister also noted that a unipolar world is a "distant history" and that a bipolar world has become even more distant.

"If you look today at what is happening in the Middle East, a lot of it is actually, in a sense, the activities that are intrinsic to the Middle East," he said.

Jaishankar said key regional players are actually going to be dominant in regional situations compared to the past and that they are not going to leave that much space for global players or external players to come in.

"I think you can see that happening in Africa as well," he said.