‘We want partners, not preachers’: Jaishakar slams Europe over global shifts

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday (May 4) took a swipe at Europe, asserting that India is “looking for partners, not preachers.” He added that European nations are struggling to adapt to the evolving multipolar world order.

Jaishankar stated that Europe is having a hard time adjusting to the shift in global realities and must reconsider its approach if it wishes to have meaningful cooperation with India.

“When we look at the world, we look for partners, we don't look for preachers. Particularly, preachers who don't practice at home what they preach abroad. Some of Europe is still struggling with that problem. Europe has entered a certain zone of reality check. Whether they are able to step up or not is something we will have to see. If we have to develop a partnership, there has to be some understanding, sensitivity, mutuality of interest and a realisation of how the world works,” Jaishankar said at the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025 in New Delhi.

He added that the United States has become more self-sufficient recently. “We have now reached a size and a stage where almost anything consequential that happens in any corner of the world matters to us. The United States is much more self-sufficient today than it has been in a long time. Europe is today under pressure to change. The realities of multipolarity are dawning on it. I think it has still not adjusted and absorbed it fully. The US has dramatically changed positions. The Chinese are doing what they were doing. We are going to see an arena of contestation, which is not going to be easy to recall. We are looking at a much more contested world, much sharper competition,” Jaishankar said.

At the forum, the EAM underscored India’s expanding engagement in the polar regions, noting that the country has maintained its presence in Antarctica for more than 40 years. India recently deepened its Arctic involvement with a dedicated policy and global partnerships.

Jaishankar highlighted the Arctic’s strategic and environmental significance, stressing that the development in the region will have profound implications for the world, especially for youthful nations like India.

“We have had a growing involvement with the Arctic. We had an even earlier involvement with the Antarctic, which is now more than 40 years. We have come up a few years ago with an Arctic policy. We have agreements with KSAT on Svalbard, which is relevant to our space. As the country with the most young people on this planet, what happens in the Arctic is of extreme importance to us...Given the direction in which things are moving, the consequences are going to be felt not just by us but by the entire world,” the Union Minister said.

“Given the Arctic’s trajectory, its impact will be global, making it everyone’s concern. Warming is opening new routes, while technological and resource dimensions are set to reshape the global economy. For India, this matters deeply as our economic growth accelerates,” Jaishankar added.

He further said, “Sharpening geopolitical divides have only heightened the Arctic's global relevance. Arctic's future is inextricably linked to what is happening in the world, including the evolving debates within the US political system.”

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Chairman of the Arctic Circle and former President of Iceland, said that India’s economic future will depend on access to Arctic resources. He also urged the country’s economists to pay attention to the region, noting that the shift in global alliances makes the role of India vital in shaping Arctic’s future.