Secure supply chains, resilience key for global economy: Jaishankar

Washington: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said securing supply chains and ensuring their resilience was central to the well-being of the global economy.

Addressing the concluding plenary of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Jaishankar said diversification and de-risking, including in connectivity, are key to supply chain resilience, threatened by pandemics, conflicts, climate events and mishaps.

“The right to industrialise must be promoted; predatory practices and targeting competition should be firmly resisted,” the minister said in a post on X, sharing the broad issues he raised at the G20 meeting convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The minister said de-concentration of the global economy and optimisation of production across geographies can discourage the weaponisation of finance, resources, production and market share.

“The G20 should work towards de-politicisation of markets,” Jaishankar said.

The minister said G20 countries must reconcile their national interests for the collective good by promoting transparent and multiple supply chains, making the global economy truly multi-stakeholder.

Wrapping up the two-day G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Rubio said he made it clear to partners of the US that secure supply chains are essential for growth.

“Critical trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb Strait, must remain secure and open to commerce. And we must continue to strengthen and expand critical mineral supply chains to protect our future,” Rubio said.

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