India Second Democratic Superpower!

 

"India Has Emerged As 2nd Democratic Superpower": Ex-Australian PM To NDTV

India has emerged as the world's "second democratic superpower" and has the potential to "substitute for China" as a trusted part of global supply chains, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Saturday, Mr Abbott said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "cuts a pretty big figure on the world stage" and could influence many things that are happening around the world.

"When I was Prime Minister, I frequently said that India was the world's emerging democratic superpower. I now think that India under Prime Minister Modi has well and truly emerged. It is the world's second democratic superpower. I think right now we need more democratic superpowers and if there's any unpredictability in the American role, I think that it's important that India is an important bulwark of democracy, not just here in the subcontinent, but globally as well," Mr Abbott said.

Asked whether India could play a role in bridging the tensions between the US and Europe, Mr Abbott praised Prime Minister Modi for his "not an era of war" comment on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"I think Prime Minister Modi cuts a pretty big figure on the world stage. And I think that, should he choose to use it, he certainly could influence many things that are happening around the world right now. I'm certainly conscious of the fact that a couple of years ago, at a conference with President (Vladimir) Putin of Russia, he really took the Russian dictator to task for Putin's use of war as a national policy. And I thought that was a really fine thing for President Modi to say, particularly to President Putin's face," he said

"As the world's most populous nation, as the world's fifth largest economy, as a country which has so much potential to, I think, substitute for China, as a trusted part of global supply chains, India has great and growing influence, and I think it should use its influence for good," he added.