Kampala, Jan 19 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday called for a multipolar world with a "reformed" United Nations at its core as he underlined that the world is struggling with "new forms of inequity and domination".

Addressing the Non-Aligned Movement summit at the Ugandan capital of Kampala, Jaishankar presented perspectives from India "guided by the belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is a family".

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He said the world has changed profoundly since the NAM met in Baku in 2019.

"We have all been ravaged by the Covid pandemic whose scars will take generations to heal. There are conflicts underway whose repercussions are felt far and wide. Gaza, in particular, is the focus of our concern," the minister said.

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He said that climate change is increasingly and more regularly disruptive and there are a few who have not felt its impact. “The triad of debt, inflation and growth challenges also weigh heavily on the development,” the minister said.

Underlying these serious concerns, Jaishankar said, "is the nature of the world we confront".

"We may have overthrown the yoke of colonialism, but we struggle with new forms of inequity and domination," he said.

In the era of globalisation, there are economic concentrations that treat the rest of the world as simply markets or resources, he said.

"Our smallest need is often manufactured furthest away. The anxieties of the Covid experience brought this home sharply. We are also subject to narratives of political correctness and universalism that do not give their due to our culture and traditions," he said.

"We must respond to these challenges," he said. "A multipolar world with a reformed United Nations at its core is key. Economic decentralisation with greater regional production is so as well. But we must also press for cultural rebalancing where all heritage is mutually respected," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)