‘Old global order is gone’: Rishi Sunak calls for focus on multipolarity, domestic strength at NDTV Summit

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit on Friday, Sunak discussed the shifting dynamics of global trade, the role of China, and the recently concluded India–UK trade deal.

“The old global order, or globalisation, that I grew up with, which came into place after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is gone, and I don’t think it is coming back,” Sunak said.

“But a couple of themes are clear: there will be more multipolarity in the world and India is an example of that, and I think the second is that countries everywhere are focused much more on domestic capabilities," he said.

Listing the reasons behind this global shift, Sunak said the COVID-19 pandemic was not just a health crisis but also a geopolitical event that exposed “the fragility” of supply chains.

“As the pandemic began, the UK was short of PPE, and it got to a point where the entire country was waiting to see if a flight would land in time with enough gloves, gowns, and masks for the NHS to keep functioning properly that week,” he recalled.

“Every country suddenly realised how vulnerable they were, and today, every country in Europe has a cabinet committee focused on supply chains and domestic capabilities.”

Sunak also pointed to China’s trade behaviour as a catalyst for change, saying that Beijing “does not play by the same rules” as others.

“They don’t view trade purely as an economic function,” he said. “It has meant that countries have to think about security, intellectual property theft, and resilience alongside trading relationships.”

This, he noted, was why the UK and other Western nations banned Huawei and passed new national security laws to protect sensitive sectors.

Sunak on India–UK trade deal

On the long-awaited India–UK trade agreement, which was signed in July this year, Sunak said he had worked on it during his tenure as Prime Minister and was “delighted” to see it concluded.

“In a world that is becoming more protectionist, countries like the UK and India signing a big, deep trade deal just sends a very positive signal to the world,” he said.

“It tells businesses, civil society, cultural organisations, and academic institutions that the relationship matters. And then they go off and find ways to strengthen it, beyond the text of a trade deal.”

He said the partnership’s true potential lies in future cooperation on technology, security, and semiconductors, where “the UK’s research strengths and India’s manufacturing prowess” could be combined to create lasting impact.