The year has been scarred by one of the most significant events of the century. The COVID-19 virus has disrupted more lives than the two World Wars combined. Despite the severity of the disease and the grave threat that it poses, India has faced the virus on a war footing, doing the utmost it can at home and simultaneously following a rigorous foreign policy to ensure a global approach to the problem at hand and any such conceivable problems in the future. Some major updates to cover in today’s Foreign Policy Report are as follow:
India-US, Foreign Office Consultations
Historically, India has always chosen to tread the neutral path when it has been faced with the decision of choosing a side in geopolitics, especially during the Nehruvian years, that is immediately after it attained independence, where it followed a strict policy of non-alignment. However, in recent times as India has chosen to increase its influence and emerge as an important geopolitical leader in the South-Asian region, it has substantially increased its cooperation and strengthened its ties with the United States. The latest developments between the two nations include a set of Foreign Office Consultations. The virtual meeting took place between the Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, David Hale. Given the current situation where the virus is surging by leaps and bounds in both countries, the two representatives agreed to further strengthen the health partnership, including in the areas of pharmaceuticals and vaccine development.
They further agreed to ensure the enhancement of mutually beneficial trade and people-to-people ties. During this discussion, the Indian delegation addressed the issues regarding the VISA facilitation post-COVID, especially keeping in mind professionals and students. Following this, the two representatives moved on to address the elephant in the room, the Indo-Pacific, that has come to be seen as one of the most strategically important regions in the world, with 75% of world trade passing through the region. Keeping in mind India’s geographic proximity to the region and the US’ trade and military interests, both nations have persevered in the past to ensure a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, against China’s predatory approach. The following consultation acted as a testimony to India-US joint initiatives in the Indo-Pacific in the future. Lastly, the United States emphasised the US-India cooperation in the United Nation, especially after India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the year 2020-21.
India-European Union Summit
India’s increased engagement in the Western Indian Ocean regions has led to the country cooperating and investing in strategic relationships with several European Nations. The 15th meeting of the India-European Union summit is scheduled to be held virtually. The meeting was co-chaired by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the President of the European Union, H.E Charles, and the President of the European Commission, H.E Ursula Von Der Leyen. The summit that is to be held in the coming days will mainly focus on India-EU cooperation covering political and security relations and at the same time will look into avenues of trade and investment. The summit would mainly be addressing the issues of development during the COVID 19 pandemic and contemporary global matters.
Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border Affairs
India has been locking horns with the Chinese Republic over several issues. Most recent of these has been the border situation, at the Galwan Valley. On the 10th of July, 2020. The 16th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held. The Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs. Meanwhile, the Chinese delegation was led by the Director-General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before deliberating over the future steps in regards to the de-escalation in violence at the border regions, the two delegations looked back at the agreements between the two nations. The first of these agreements were between the two foreign ministers on the 17th of June, following which there was an agreement reached between special representatives on the 5th of July. The recent consultation essentially reviewed the situation at the India-China border including the progress made in terms of the ongoing disengagement of troops. It was decided that another meeting of the WMCC will be conducted in the future, followed by a meeting of the Senior Commanders, which will discuss further steps to ensure a complete disengagement and de-escalation in a timely manner.
High-Level Summit of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Prime Minister recently delivered the keynote address at a high-level summit of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the 17th of July. PM Narendra Modi had previously addressed the member nations of the council in 2016 at the 70th anniversary of the ECOSOC. This time around the Prime Minister delivered his address at the Valedictory session, where he was joined by the Prime Minister of Norway and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The summit attracted a diverse set of representatives from several nations. The Conference that celebrated the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, bears the theme of ‘Multilateralism after COVID 19: What kind of United Nations do we need at the 75th anniversary’. The session that primarily focused on bolstering leadership through global cooperation and international institutions, was the first opportunity the Indian Prime Minister had to address member nations since India got elected to the United Nations Security Council. The Summit acts to India’s advantage as it aligns with India’s Security Council priority, wherein India has emphasised the need for reformed multilateralism in a post-COVID-19 world. The session also recalled India’s role as a holder of the inaugural Presidency of the Economic and Social Council.
International Appointments
Jawed Ashraf, the Indian Ambassador to the French Republic has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador to Principality of Monaco. At the same time Dr Vidya P Nair, who currently serves as a Director in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been designated as the next Ambassador to Turkmenistan. Lastly, Shri Hemant Harishchandra Kotalwar, presently Joint Secretary on deputation to NCSC has recently taken up the position of the next Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Conclusion
India has for long followed an inward-facing forward policy, that did not prioritise bilateral relations and strategic partnerships and adopted a neutral stance on geopolitical matters. However, that is not the case anymore. With the given situation that the country finds itself in regards to the Chinese Republic, and the leadership position it has assumed after the Indian Prime Minister addressed nations at the Shangri-La dialogue, India has further increased its relations with European Nations and further strengthened its bilateral relations with the United States, to an extent where India has been promoted to the status, generally granted to treaty allies. With India’s burgeoning interest in geopolitics, India’s current foreign policy decisions will shape the position it assumes in the post-pandemic world order.
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