Modi Defends Open Trade Despite Globalisation’s Waning Allure

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged Tuesday that globalisation is “losing its lustre” but warned that new trade walls are not the answer, opening a week of Davos meetings that will climax with a speech by the loudly protectionist US President Donald Trump, according to AFP.

After spectacular snowfall that stranded some high-flying delegates on their way to the Swiss ski resort, the World Economic Forum started in earnest basking in robust global growth but facing warnings that the world’s have-nots are missing out more than ever.

Modi told the forum that India should serve as an example as it opens up to foreign investment, in a speech that delved into Hindu scripture and echoed an anti-protectionist clarion call issued in Davos a year ago by Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Trump prepared to take office.

“It feels like the opposite of globalisation is happening. The negative impact of this kind of mindset and the wrong priorities cannot be considered less dangerous than climate change or terrorism,” Modi said, in the first appearance at Davos by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

“In fact everyone is talking about an interconnected world but we will have to accept the fact that globalisation is slowly losing its lustre,” he said.

“The solution to this worrisome situation is not isolationism. Its solution is understanding and accepting change and formulating agile and flexible policies for these changing times.”