Guwahati: Former Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar, said on Thursday that the global order is undergoing significant changes, with traditional international institutions facing growing challenges in an increasingly uncertain and multipolar world.
Delivering the keynote address at a national symposium on ‘West Asia in a Fragmented Global Order: Security Dynamics and Economic Implications’ organised by the Gauhati University, former MoS Akbar added that recent developments in the global energy and financial sectors point to a steady shift in power equations.
He said the decision of the United Arab Emirates to move away from OPEC reflects changing priorities in the region.
According to the former MoS, such developments indicate that national interests are increasingly overriding older alignments shaped by external influence.
Former MoS Akbar also referred to debates surrounding the dominance of the US dollar in global markets, saying these trends together suggest the emergence of a new geopolitical and economic balance.
“The world order is again in flux,” he said, while pointing to renewed strategic contestation among major world powers.
He also added that institutions such as Nato and the United Nations, once seen as key pillars of global stability, are finding it increasingly difficult to assert authority amid changing realities.
Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University, Nani Gopal Mahanta, also spoke on the occasion and highlighted pressures on traditional pillars of American global leadership.
He said that both strategic dominance and ideological influence are being increasingly contested in several regions.
Referring to developments in West Asia, Mahanta said the US, long regarded as a principal security provider in the Gulf region, is now facing questions over its role and reliability.
He also pointed to emerging divergences within Western alliances that could reshape future global alignments.
A panel discussion on “West Asia in Transition: Power Shifts, Global Rivalries, and India’s Strategic Calculus” featured former Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, academicians Subhrajeet Konwer and Obja Bora Hazarika, and strategic affairs expert Abhijan Das.
The speakers discussed intensifying rivalries, shifting power centres and their implications for India’s foreign policy and economic interests, stressing the need for a calibrated and pragmatic approach towards the strategically important region.
(IANS)
