‘Indian PM would be leader of Free World in 40-50 years’: Former PM Tony Abbott

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday that the 21st century belongs to India, and the prime minister of the country—whoever that might be four or five decades down the line—could take the mantle of “the leader of the free world” from the president of the United States. In a forthright tone, Abbott presented an analytical overview of India’s ties with the US, China, and Pakistan at the NDTV World Summit 2025 and said only Delhi can check Beijing’s ambitions to “dominate the world”. “They want to be hegemonic power... and this spells trouble for all of China’s neighbours, as well as the world.” India has three big advantages—democracy, the rule of law, and the English language—as it gears up for the economic and military ‘take-off’ accomplished by China a few decades ago, he said.

“As PM, I used to say India will emerge as a democratic superpower. Well, now that has happened. The PM of India is likely to be the leader of a free world in the next 40-50 years...”

Abbott also called on Delhi to play its role as one of the new superpowers and as a “democratic counterweight” to China in the Asia-Pacific region and a “strong, reliable partner” for Australia. Trade deals, like the one India signed with Australia in 2022 and with the United Kingdom last month, are signs that the democratic world is shifting from China, he opined.

“India is a counterweight to China. It is now the most populous country. You go to any Indian city... there is massive infrastructure push—new airports, etc. India is rising and can be a substitute to China.”

“The 21st century belongs to India just as it belongs to China,” he added.

‘At heart, Pakistan is a military society with a strong Islamist streak’

Abbott also shared his views on the growing ties between Washington and Islamabad and bluntly said that America’s fundamental interests lie more in a strong friendship with India than with Pakistan.

He took a jab at Trump’s growing ties with the Shehbaz Sharif government in Pakistan and said, “America’s fundamental interests lie in a strong friendship with India compared to Pakistan. India’s fundamental interests lie in a strong partnership with fellow democracies much less than with dictatorships.”

One of the big mistakes that America made during the Cold War was “consistently tilting towards Pakistan, a military dictatorship, as opposed to India, a liberal democracy,” Abbott added, and pointed out that for the last 20 years, the Americans “very sensibly have been trying to rectify that.”

“Pakistan cooperated so closely with the US on terrorism that they gave (Osama) Bin Laden a home for the best part of a decade. There are good people in Pakistan, but it is still at heart a military society with a strong Islamist streak. India is totally different. I’m not saying the US should not work with Pakistan where it can. But it needs to know where its better friends are.”

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‘Weakness is provocative,’

Referring to the threat posed to Taiwan by China, Abbot warned all democratic nations not to take Beijing’s aggressive posturing lightly.

“The best way to ensure nothing untoward happens is not to pretend that China has peaceful intentions... it is to be prepared (and) to let China know, every day, that it cannot get away with these incursions... weakness is provocative,” the former PM said.

‘Incursion wouldn’t have happened if Ukraine had been in NATO’

Abbott also asserted that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had the country been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and been protected by the military might of the US and Europe.

“The Ukrainians have been absolutely heroic. I wish democracies in the world had done more for them... If Ukraine was part of NATO, there would have been no Russian incursion,” he said.

‘Trump misplayed his hand on tariffs with India’

President Donald Trump misplayed his tariff hand with India, said Abbott even as he admitted being Trump supporter. “I think he misplayed his hand with India when he imposed those punitive tariffs... particularly given there are other countries that are cheating here, especially China (which buys more than India), that didn’t get the same treatment.”