ISAS Insights

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the 48th annual World Economic Forum in Davos on 23 January 2018. He pitched the country as an investment destination to foreign companies and investors, called for a liberal and multipolar world order while acknowledging the challenges facing the world today. Reviving investment is critical for India to raise the growth rate and address the country’s growing challenge of unemployment. Whether Modi’s Davos speech will result in higher investment will depend on whether and how credibly India will walk the talk. How India will perform on the economic and political fronts in the years ahead will also determine to what extent India can provide leadership for the liberal international order threatened by United States President Donald Trump’s ‘deglobalisation’ policy stance.