NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force Chief VR Chaudhari on Friday pointed to the global shift in international relations leading to multiple challenges, including that of “global conflict.” “We need to acknowledge the headwinds first. The landscape of international relations is constantly shifting and traditional power structures are increasingly being challenged by new players,” said the IAF chief.
“The threat of global conflict looms large, fuelled by ideological divisions, resource scarcity and climate change,” he said, while delivering the inaugural address at the 20th Subroto Mukerjee Seminar organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies, the IAF think tank. The theme of the seminar was ‘India & the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities.’
According to the IAF chief, this has created interconnected challenges such as economic disparity and resource exploitation. “Black Swan events like Covid-19, and conflicts like those we are witnessing across the world have aggravated the situation,” he said.
However, the world is witnessing resilience and sustained economic growth by countries of the Global South. By 2030, it is projected that the top 10 largest economies will be from this group, India being one of them. “While there are challenges, the future promises many opportunities,” he said.
He also emphasised India’s proactive role in raising concerns of the countries of Global South. IAF’s increased footprint during regular training engagements with partner nations has resulted in sharing of best practices in operations and maintenance.
He mentioned the role played by Indian military advisory teams and courses offered through Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme, which had paved the way for increased cooperation by conducting training for more than 2 lakh officials in both civil and defence sectors.
In the past nine years, he said, the IAF trained more than 5,000 foreign trainees from countries of the Global South. He said indigenous aerospace platforms such as LCA, LCH, Akash missile systems and radars offer competitive and reliable options.