Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday warned that the coming years would be "very difficult" for the world, including India, amid economic headwinds and geopolitical factors.
However, the top Indian diplomat emphasised that India would continue to be "oasis of stability" in increasingly "difficult years" ahead.
"We are very cognisant. The next few years, I am going to be very honest, are going to be very difficult years," Jaishankar told reporters during election campaigning in Bengaluru.
He noted that the world was witnessing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and tensions in Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
"So, it would be very difficult years ahead. For such a period, we need an experienced leader, someone who has global understanding, who has global respect, and that is Prime Minister Modi," Jaishankar stated.
The top Indian diplomat highlighted that India was among a few countries which was "better off" than it was a few years ago.
"If you look at any other part of the world and you say how you are compared to 5-10 years ago... There are very few parts of the world who would say like we can say today, that we are better off than 10 years ago. In a sense, we have progressed, we have secured ourselves, we have built capacities which will keep us stable in very difficult situations," Jaishankar asserted.
"But that shouldn't blind us to the fact that there will be very big challenges and as I said, you need an experienced and a courageous Prime Minister as well as a team in which he has confidence," Jaishankar cautioned.