Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist April-May 2019 | Page 27

COVERAGE India’s foremost Strategic Thinkers Amb. Menon & Amb. Saran performing a jugalbandi. Amb. Shivshankar feels that while the world is still multipolar in addressing economic and environmental issues and handling terrorism, in military terms, it is Uni-polar on account of the enormous military superiority of the US. Amb.Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary and Special Envoy of the PM underlining how technology’s sweeping changes are the real drivers of the changes we are witnessing in the world Amb. Shivshankar Menon, former NSA explaining how the world today is Uni-polar in military terms but loosely multi-polar in economic matters. Sunjoy Joshi explaining how trade isn’t merely a matter of commerce the countries which will master the new technologies will have the upper hand and dominate the world. Amb. Shivshankar feels that while the world is still multipolar in addressing economic and environmental issues and handling terrorism, in military terms, it is Uni-polar on account of the enormous military superiority of the US. The countries which are agile and nimble-footed to change and adapt will fare better than those which are not able to adjust to the sweeping changes. Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman, ORF felt that the trade war between the US & China was, in fact, a proxy war for gaining political dominance on the world. IAFA’s Founding President, Amb. Surendra Kumar wondered what the US has achieved by its interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria and why it is seeking out the Taliban desperately which it had driven out of Afghanistan in 2001-2002. He also questioned President Trump’s disruptive conduct of foreign policy and the reversal of Obama’s approach to the Iranian, Israeli-Palestinian issue as well as speculated whether or not Cuba was adding to International disorder.  Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 4 • April-May 2019, Noida • 27