Former UK PM Sunak: The Old Global Order is Gone, UK-India Partnership Vital in New Multipolar World

Sunak said India and the UK can cooperate a lot more on technology and security.

The old global order that people of his generation grew up with "is gone" and the focus will now be on multipolarity and domestic capabilities, former UK Prime Minister Sunak has stated.

During the NDTV World Summit on Friday, Sunak discussed the India-UK trade deal and addressed how China operates outside the standard rules followed by other nations.

In a conversation with NDTV CEO and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal, Senior Managing Editor Vishnu Som, and Managing Editor Padmaja Joshi, the former UK prime minister responded to questions about emerging trade barriers in what was previously a common trading block, particularly resulting from tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Sunak explained, "The old global order, or globalisation, that I grew up with, which came into place after the fall of the Berlin Wall, that is gone, and I don't think it is coming back. But a couple of themes are clear: There will be more multipolarity in the world - and India is an example of that - and I think the second is countries everywhere are focused much more on domestic capabilities."

Explaining the reasons behind this shift, the former PM referenced the Covid pandemic, describing it as both a geopolitical event and a health crisis that made every nation suddenly aware of "the fragility" of their supply chains. He recalled how the UK experienced shortages of PPE (personal protective equipment) during the pandemic's onset, reaching a point where the entire country anxiously awaited flights carrying essential gloves, gowns, and masks needed for the National Health Service to function properly each week.

As a result, he noted, every European country now maintains a cabinet committee dedicated to supply chains and domestic capabilities.

"That's the first reason. The second is China, which, it is clear, does not play by the same rules that many of the rest of us were playing by. They don't view trade purely as an economic function and it has meant that countries have to think about security, IP (Intellectual Property) theft, alongside trading relationships," Sunak stated.

This explains why, he highlighted, the UK and numerous other countries banned Huawei equipment and enacted new national security legislation aimed at exercising greater caution regarding investments in sensitive economic sectors.

On the long-anticipated India-UK trade deal, which was finally signed in July this year, Sunak mentioned his involvement with the agreement during his tenure as prime minister and expressed satisfaction that the new government completed it. However, he emphasized that the deal's significance extends beyond its explicit terms.

"In a world that is becoming more protectionist, countries like the UK and India signing a big, deep trade deal just sends a very positive signal to the world. And the second thing it does is tell businesses, civil society, cultural organizations and academic institutions that the relationship matters. They are getting a signal from the leaders of their countries that this relationship matters, and then they will go off and find ways to strengthen it, beyond the text of a trade deal. And that's what is so powerful about it," he elaborated.

The former prime minister pointed out that both countries have substantial potential for enhanced cooperation in technology and security, particularly in semiconductors, where they can leverage the UK's research strengths alongside India's manufacturing prowess.

"In biotechnology, UK has strengths in in vivo gene editing and India is an agricultural powerhouse. So, if you excuse the pun, there are opportunities for cross-pollination there too," he concluded.