India EAM Jaishankar says ‘economics will give way to politics and security in how nations make choices’ Business News & Hub

Political and strategic considerations will overshadow economic ones in the choices that countries make going forward, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday (February 17, 2026). 

Speaking at the Global Economic Cooperation 2026 summit organised by the Future Economic Cooperation Council, Mr. Jaishankar asserted that the world has entered a volatile and uncertain period, “possibly the most turbulent in living memory”.

Also Read | Is India prepared for the end of globalisation?

“Long-standing assumptions and expectations have now been questioned,” he said. “Key dimensions are transforming simultaneously, be they political, strategic, economic or technological. Solutions lie in de-risking and diversifying across multiple dimensions. This approach is increasingly visible in the policies of nations as much as in the choices of enterprises.” 

“Economics will give way to politics and security when it comes to making choices, and technology will be even more transformative than ever before,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

The Minister explained that India’s response is to further build national capabilities, address growth challenges comprehensively, and deal with both short-term issues and long-term prospects. 

“The reform express will continue to roll on,” Mr. Jaishankar asserted. “This has implications both on the supply and the demand side. From a position of strength, India is engaging international partners more intensively. This is demonstrated in recently-concluded trade deals. We will also be more salient in global production, services, technology, skills, and talent.”

Overall, he underscored six notable features of the current international scenario. The first, he said, is that the U.S. is determined to re-industrialise at any cost, and the second is that China’s manufacturing and export focus continues unabated and might even expand. The third and fourth features are that tech competition is intensifying and polarising, and energy trade flows are being “significantly redefined”.

The fifth and sixth features of the global world order, Mr. Jaishankar said, are that new mindsets are encouraging greater risk-taking, and that migration and mobility are becoming contentious issues.

(The reporter is at the GEC 2026 summit on the invitation of the Future Economic Cooperation Council.)