Finland’s President Alexander Stubb called India a “rising pillar of global power.” He said India will “soon stand alongside the United States and China” as the world’s next major superpower.
He praised India’s growing global influence and described it as a “strategic actor shaping the world’s political and security landscape.” According to him, India’s “multi-vector foreign policy” shows how effectively New Delhi balances competing global interests.
Stubb said, “I am a great admirer of India and I think India will be our next superpower, right up there with the United States and with China. Whether it’s Prime Minister Modi or Foreign Minister Jaishankar, what India is doing now reflects strategic thinking that commands global respect.”
Call for a Stronger and Fairer United Nations
Stubb, a strong supporter of multilateral reforms, urged the world to make the UN more inclusive. He warned that the organisation will “continue to weaken” unless India and other emerging powers get more representation.
He said, “I have said this in the General Assembly twice now. I want the UN Security Council to be expanded. Its membership should be at least doubled. It is wrong that countries like India are not in the Security Council.”
Moreover, he proposed expanding the Security Council to include “one member from Latin America, two from Africa, and two from Asia.” He explained that “multilateralism cannot survive without inclusivity.”
He also warned, “If players like India don’t feel they have agency or skin in the game, the institution is going to continue to weaken.”
India’s Global Role Growing Stronger
Furthermore, Stubb acknowledged India’s major role in global peace and growth. He said, “What India does matters to the world.”
He added that Finland sees India as a key partner in building a “cooperative, rules-based, and technologically advanced international order.”
Emphasising India’s importance, he said, “I believe in multilateralism. And for multilateralism to work, India must be inside the system — not outside looking in.”