Three global superpowers by 2050, India one of them: Ex-UK PM Tony Blair

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has predicted that India, the United States, and China will emerge as the dominant superpowers by 2050, creating a "complex world order" that global leaders must be prepared to navigate.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Blair, 71, stated that nations will need to adapt to a multipolar world shaped by these three countries.

“You have got to decide where your country fits in the world, because it is going to be a world that is going to be multipolar,” he said. “By the middle of this century, three superpowers effectively: America, China, and probably India.”

Blair, who served as British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, noted that the current global landscape is vastly more complex than it was during his time in office, when the US was the dominant superpower. The rise of China and India, he explained, is reshaping geopolitics and demands a reevaluation of alliances and diplomatic strategies.

“You are going to have to build strong alliances that enable you to talk to these three superpowers with some level of equality,” he added.

Blair also addressed the escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, and the growing risk of a wider conflict.

“It is a very dangerous situation with every potential of escalation, because of what is now happening to the north of Israel,” he said.

The former UK Prime Minister also reiterated his support for a two-state solution as the only viable path to peace between Israel and Palestine. “The core to any solution, in my view, is to construct a day-after plan for Gaza that neither has the Israel Defence Forces nor Hamas running Gaza,” he added.

Blair further said that he believes China could play a diplomatic part in peace negotiations but urged Beijing to restrain its ally, Iran.

He also suggested that Iran was involved in the planning of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, stating the assault had been “a long time in the making.”