Sunil Bharti Mittal, who was among the Indian industrialists who met US President Donald Trump and his senior aides in Davos, said his key takeaway from the meeting was that one has to steer away from the noise amid the current global headwinds.
“The meeting with Trump was predictable. Everyone thought he would go off script, which he did,” the Bharti Enterprises chairman said on Thursday, during an interaction with NDTV.
“I think there’s too much noise, and as (US Treasury) Secretary (Scott) Bessent said: ‘Don’t react to noise. Keep your calm and things will get better’… In the end, the US is an important part of the world. It is a strong democracy, and also holds power,” he said.
Commenting on the geopolitical jitters that were felt in the run-up to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mittal said one thing is clear that “the old world order has shifted”. Europe has been “on a vacation for long”, and Trump’s recent moves have jolted the region.
India has dealt with the Trump administration in a better manner, according to Mittal. New Delhi’s approach was “right, balanced and respectful”, as it kept quiet while being proud of its own strength, he said. Europe, on the other hand, is facing consequences as “flattery can only get you so far”, he added.
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The telecom tycoon also lauded the Indian government for its policies that catalysed the spread and usage of high-speed internet. “India’s digital infrastructure has been tremendously set up. The 5G rollout was very fast,” he said, adding that the government played a crucial role in ensuring the quick rollout.
Mittal also believes that the government is “right in its wisdom” to have three private players, along with the state-run BSNL. Bharti Airtel is one of the three private players in the sector, along with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi).
Vi, which recently received a major AGR relief from the Centre, has its “pockets of strength”, Mittal noted. However, the telco is behind by “several years and several billions of dollars”. The government has done its job by providing the AGR relief, and its now up to the company to act, as per Mittal.
Mittal, during the interview, also pointed towards the importance of 6G for the telecom ecosystem. The technology would result in lower latency and significantly higher speeds, allowing machines to talk to each other. This will boost the usage of AI and robotics, he explained.
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