Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, in a blog post on Friday said that the decoupling of China and the US is an opportunity for India and other ASEAN countries to benefit from the diversification of supply chain risks that can be expected.
Adani said that because of the geo-economic fragmentation and weaponisation of economic policies, the world is witnessing the “Great Fracture” (a term coined by the UN Secretary-General). The tension between China and the US has knock-on global consequences and it has severely diluted economic globalisation.
He said no one would have imagined that the world would change so drastically in a short time that the World Economic Forum (WEF) would shift from discussing ‘Globalization 4.0’ at Davos 2019 to discussing ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’ in Davos 2023.
“The rules did get rewritten–but in a totally unanticipated way. This onslaught of multi-dimensional risks is unprecedented, and their confluence creates a far bigger compounding effect or a ‘polycrisis’—a term that was coined in the 1990s and was broadly covered in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report for this year,” he said.
Adani said this year’s WEF meet was his busiest as he met over a dozen heads of states and several business leaders.
“Global alliances are now issue-based rather than allegiance-based. A very interesting remark made by Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister that gave both China and the US ‘very important’ status highlights how fast geopolitical couplings are evolving. The past is no longer a predictor for the future, as no country wants to make just a single bet. Each country is seeking its own form of self-reliance, something we Indians call Atmanirbharta (self-reliance),” said Adani, who plans to invest a massive $100 billion in India by 2030.
“I must say that in the meetings I had with the senior leaders of NEOM (a futuristic city in Saudi Arabia) and Saudi Arabia, the vision of NEOM that aims to redefine “livability” is simply stunning in its scale and scope and will set an unprecedented benchmark in the years to come. It is a rallying cry for the quality of integrated infrastructure that the rest of the world aspires to build.
“While climate change remains the top priority and risk for the global community, it is clear that climate investments will be driven by the energy security agenda and self-interest. It was evident this year that the façade of just focusing on green energy has been blown away by the European energy crisis. While the climate warriors may remain tight-lipped, there is recognition that we need a pragmatic energy transition plan that includes fossil fuels to achieve inclusive growth,” he added.