– Vivekanand Nartam –
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four nations visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France puts another feather in cap of India’s puissant foreign policy. As the Modi Government completes its three years in office, this visit particularly augurs well with the nation as it aims at enhancing India’s presence on the world stage. This visit by PM to three European countries and Russia has certainly helped India boost bilateral relations and seek foreign direct investment in the country giving impetus to PM’s dream projects of ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Start up India’, ‘Clean India’ and ‘Smart Cities’.
Against the backdrop of neighbouring power posing challenges to India’s bid for its due place in international political milieu, it is pertinent to gauge Indian foreign policy under the stewardship of Modi Government. Though three years is rather a short time to evaluate any government’s performance especially in areas like foreign policy, the Modi Government, without doubt, has performed very well on this count. Despite constant denial by government’s critiques at home, there is a larger constituency abroad that acknowledges New Delhi’s setting of new milestones in foreign policy with its pragmatic and realist approach. Given the fact that Modi lacked experience on the foreign policy front, his detractors were pessimist about New Delhi doing anything substantial to concretise its profile in global affairs. But PM Modi proved such a suspicion wrong and followed India’s foreign policy with a great vigour and enthusiasm asserting Indian interests with the international community of states.
While it is true that the foreign policy matters of major powers do not change overnight, Modi Government has been fierce in changing foreign policy trajectory. This is something that the Indian diplomacy of the past could not do because of its clandestine approach while responding to the tectonic shifts in the global politics. By adopting a pragmatic approach, New Delhi’s diplomacy has put an end to the shyness of the past by emphasising upon strong and robust relations with US. Without paying much heed to the certain Indian intellectual establishment that harbors anti-Americanism, the Modi Government has willingly used its decisive mandate to carve a new partnership with the US to harness its capital and technology for India’s domestic development agenda. Not only this but going further, India has taken proactive steps to build up strong ties with Israel coming out of the closet of Nehruvian idealism. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit and subsequent visits of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Israel were reciprocated in the form of visits of President Reuven Rivlin and Defence Minister Moshé Ya’alon from Israel’s side. The bond between the two nations was further substantiated when India, in July 2015, abstained on a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution that condemned Israel over a UN report into the alleged war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict. Another shift Indian diplomacy under Modi Government has experienced is that of unpredictability factor. Taking stock of things closer home, Modi did not hesitate while making surprise stopover in Pakistan to Participate in the wedding ceremony at his counterpart Nawaz Sharif’s home. At the same time, there was no hesitation while executing a surgical strike across line of control in Pak-occupied Kashmir. Such a step suggests that the Modi government is more confident of using force against Pakistan without risking an escalation into full-scale war than the previous Indian regime. The unpredictable stance of India’s foreign policy can be seen through its response to China’s the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). New Delhi, quite clearly, has sent a reminder to Beijing that it too can keep its cards close to its chest till the last minute, and has many ways to respond to the challenge being posed by the Beijing-Islamabad collusion on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). At the same time, India under Modi is poised to shed its hesitancy to counter-challenge China instead of registering customary protests with Beijing that it has far too long continued doing. New Delhi’s changed stance in its China policy reflects in the fact that it is not hesitant of using US, Japan and Australia’s help while building pressure points around China to stabilise Indo-Pacific. Modi Government has taken well calculated steps to develop its own string of pearls in the form of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, the Maldives and Seychelles right from the beginning of government formation in 2014. This initiative will help India to be prepared to face Chinese “string of pearls”, a Chinese agenda in the Indian Ocean to encircle India.
Modi Influence and India’s Foreign Policy
When PM Modi assumed office, there was a lot of skepticism over his leadership in steering the wheels of Indian foreign policy in the international political arena. But Modi has been successful in forging chemistry with some of the influential leaders in the world, thereby reaffirming India’s strategic partnership. The recently concluded four-nation tour to Germany, Spain, Russia and France witnessed his typical style that helped him connect well with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish President Mariano Rajoy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron. In the first leg of his four-nation visit to Germany and Spain, PM Modi was keen on exploring new avenues of cooperation with Germany and other European nations that New Delhi has long neglected. PM Modi’s visit is the first Indian prime ministerial visit to Spain in nearly 30 years after the visit of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. It’s important to note that Spain is India’s Seventh Largest trading partner in the European Union. New Delhi and Madrid signed seven agreements, including on cyber security and technical cooperation in civil aviation, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the European Country.
It is believed that Modi’s trip attained significance for German Chancellor Angela Merkel with terms of exploring lucrative Indian market for slump German industries, at a time when has face elections later in September. In Germany, apart from attending the 4th round of the biannual Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) in Berlin on Tuesday that was aimed comprehensively at reviewing the bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merkel stood witness to the signing of twelve agreements. Both PM Modi and Chancellor Merkel strongly denounced those who encourage, support and finance, provide sanctuary and safe havens that sustain and support terrorist groups and organisations. In the recently concluded meeting Germany expressed solidarity with India’s bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
PM Modi’s visit to Russia aimed at minimising the friction in the old partnership with Moscow. Russia’s drift towards China and Pakistan had been ominous to India particularly when it stands in opposition to China’s one belt one road (OBOR) initiative. Modi’s focus in Moscow was on limiting political differences with Putin and revitalising the stagnate commercial engagement with Russia. In this visit he struck a personal chord with President Putin as he visited the Piskariovskoye Cementry in St Petersburg where over five lakh victims of World War II and 900 day siege of Leningrad are buried. He also recalled that the Russian President’s brother and several of his family members who had laid down their lives for the country are buried there. This certainly is an attempt on the part of Indian PM to reboot the trust based relationship with Moscow.
In the last leg of his four-nation visit, PM Modi tried to establish rapport with newly-elected French President Emanuel Macron. The strong ties with France are particularly important to India as Paris has always been exception to India’s ambivalent relationship with the West. Here in this regard Modi has successfully won Macron’s commitment to build on the special relationship with France in the areas of high technology and defense that also expanded to measures related to joint efforts to root out terror heavens in the world. Macron’s decision to accompany Modi to a memorial of Indian soldiers who fought during the First World War is an acknowledgement of not just Delhi past contribution to European geopolitics, but its future role in ordering this vital region.
In the recently concluded four-nation tour to Europe and Russia Modi has certainly carved out niche for himself in shaping India’s foreign policy. He also has carefully asserted Indian interests in the International politics shedding the stealth of the Indian diplomacy of the previous regime.
(The writer is a teacher in a college affiliated to Delhi University)
High Points
* With the US withdrawing from the Paris climate change pact, Modi said the Paris pact was “part of the world’s shared heritage” and that India would “continue working… above and beyond the Paris Accord”.
* India and Russia signed the pact for two more nuclear power plants at Kudankulam
* India and Russia decided to build an “Energy Bridge” to expand the scope of bilateral relations in all areas of energy—nuclear, hydrocarbon, hydel and renewable energy sources and in improving energy efficiency
* India found support from all the four countries Modi visited for its bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.
* India and Russia agreed to “upgrade and intensify” cooperation, through joint manufacture, co-production, co-development of military hardware and military spares, and sharing of future technologies.
* India and Germany agreed to “pursue closer cooperation on a binding agreement concerning enhanced cooperation in the defence field.
* Narendra Modi, in his meetings with the leaders of Germany, Spain and France, backed the idea of a strong and united European Union which he said was in India’s interest.
* Modi pitched for united and decisive action to eliminate terrorism and
radicalism.
* India and Germany signed eight agreements.
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