Some major updates to cover in today’s Indian Foreign Policy Report are as follow:

United Nations Economic and Social Council

On the 75th anniversary of the United Nations ECOSOC, this week, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the virtual gathering. This happened to be the second time, that Mr Modi had the opportunity to address the council, as he had delivered the keynote address back when the council was celebrating its 70th anniversary in the year 2015. However, this does happen to be the first opportunity the Prime Minister has had to address the gathering of member nations since India was overwhelmingly elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The summit was themed around Multilateralism post- COVID-19 and the kind of United Nations we need on the 75th anniversary.

During the address, the Prime Minister called for a reformed multilateralism with a reformed United Nations at its centre. He also stressed on India’s motto, ‘Sabkasaath, Sabkavikaas, Sabkavishwas’, that resonated with the SDG principle of leaving no one behind. The Prime Minister also used this opportunity to reflect on India’s perseverance in improving the socio-economic situation in the country. On that note, he said, “While marching forward on the path to development, we are not forgetting our responsibility towards our planet.” In terms of India’s effort in battling the virus, the Prime Minister praised the system in place by commenting, “Our grassroots health system is helping India attain one of the best recovery rates around the world, in the fight against COVID.”

A large majority of the Prime Minister’s speech revolved around International cooperation and India’s role and partnership with the ECOSOC and other international bodies. The present member states, made note of a significant impact on the global SDGs, due to India’s contribution to the improvement of socio-economic conditions and the support it provided to other developing countries. The Prime Minister also focussed on the role of the first responder that India has been carrying out in the region an example of which would be, India’s Operation Sagar, carried out in the Indian Ocean Region to provide both material and medical assistance to countries. Lastly, the Prime Minister spoke about the importance of financial inclusion and the necessity of providing housing and healthcare, by giving the example of the on-going development efforts in India, especially the ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign.

Indo-Pak Relation

Relations between the two neighbours; India and Pakistan experienced a new low in the last few days as the Charge d’Affairs of Pakistan was summoned by the Indian Government, following an unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistani forces on the night of the 17th of July, 2020 in the

Krishna Ghati Sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Keeping in mind the soaring number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan which have resulted in the death of 21 Indians and have injured close to 94 civilians, has pushed India to strongly condemn the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians by the Pakistani forces. The Indian Government has also seized this opportunity to show their contempt at the subvert and continued Pakistani support for cross border terrorist infiltration into India. India has called upon Pakistan to adhere to the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding between the two countries, which requires them both to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Control and the international border.

India Ideas Summit

The India Ideas Summit, being organized by the India-US Business Council, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, had the prime Minister deliver the keynote address. The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Building a Better Future’. The summit essentially aims at developing a strategic working relationship between the United States and the Indian Republic. The summit will include both Indian and American government policymakers and state-level officials. Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, U.S Secretary of State Mr Mike Pompeo, Senator of Virginia and the co-chair of the Indian Caucus, Mr Mark Warner and the U.S ambassador to the United Nations, Ms Nikki Haley will be among those attending the summit. The summit essentially aims to discuss India-US cooperation and the relations between the two countries in a post COVID world.

India-Spain Foreign Office Consultations

India this week was a part of the 6th Foreign Office consultation with Spain, held on the 21st of July. The Indian delegation was led by Mr Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West). Meanwhile, the Spanish side had, Ms Cristina Gallach, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ibero-America, and the Caribbean, at its helm. The two countries along with discussing reforms and opportunities for enhancing bilateral economic cooperation exchanged views on the COVID 19 response and post- COVID recovery priorities. Lastly, the two sides revised agreements under consideration and mutually agreed to forward the bilateral agenda, including exchange by both sides.

Release of Nidan Singh Sachdeva

Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was kidnapped last month from the Chamkani district in Pakita province on 22nd June 2020, was recently released from captivity. Nidan Singh belongs to the Hindu-Sikh community of Afghanistan. The Indian Government conveyed its appreciation to the Government of Afghanistan and various tribal leaders of the region for their help. The kidnapping of Nidan Singh has revealed the ongoing targeting and persecution of minority members by terrorists who are controlled by their external supporters. Lastly, in a decisive measure, India has decided to facilitate the return of those minority members who face external security threats.

Conclusion

Even though the country is experiencing a worsening of conditions with its neighbours, keeping in mind the recent development of tensions with Pakistan, over the unprovoked fire at the Line of Control, the country has extended a helping hand towards both nations like Afghanistan in the Middle East and at the same time European nations such as Spain. In the last few years the country has developed military relations with the United States, but in recent times it has looked at the possibility of venturing into developing an economic partnership with the superpower. Lastly, India’s image as developing power worldwide has been further augmented by its election into the United Nations Security Council and the keynote address delivered by the Prime Minister at the Economic and Social Council.

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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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