New Delhi: India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar, suggested in a recent event that the United States is likely to adopt a more isolationist approach, regardless of who becomes the next president, according to a report by Reuters. Speaking at a public event in Canberra on Wednesday, Jaishankar remarked, “Probably starting from (President Barack) Obama, the US has become much more cautious about its global commitments,” referencing the United States’ reluctance to deploy troops, as seen in its withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden. He added, “President Trump may be more articulate and expressive in that regard.”
Jaishankar emphasized the importance of viewing the US more in terms of its national stance than solely through the lens of the current administration’s ideology. “If we are truly analyzing them, I think we have to prepare for a world where the kind of dominance and generosity the US showed in earlier times may not continue,” he said, implying a shift in US foreign policy that India and the world must adapt to.
These comments come as polling is underway in the United States to elect its 47th president, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a close contest. Earlier, Jaishankar had also mentioned that India’s relationship with the US would continue to strengthen in the future, regardless of these changes in global strategy.
During a panel discussion with the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand, Jaishankar reiterated the importance of collaboration among nations. “We all have an interest today in creating some kind of collaborative consensual arrangement,” he said. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters echoed this sentiment, stating, “There is more protectionism. The world we were once trying to build on is changing, and we’ll have to react and change with it.”
