New Delhi:
With the first dawn of 2025 less than a week ahead, India has already started work to shape its foreign policy in the new year. To take the India agenda forward, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is travelling to the United States this week, where he’s meeting officials of both the outgoing Biden administration, as well as the incoming Trump team before the transition of power in the US.
During his visit, Mr Jaishankar is likely to meet members of the Trump transition team, and some top nominees for the State and Defence Departments to line up high-level meetings soon after Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, according to a report by The Hindu.
He is also likely to seek an early date for Mr Trump to travel to India for the Quad Summit to be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next year.
The Quad is a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries. State leaders of all four countries are expected to meet during the summit. The focus of this year’s meeting will be interesting as Mr Trump has promised to overhaul the policies of his predecessor, especially regarding health and climate change.
Prime Minister Modi may also travel to the US to meet the incoming US President, according to a report by The Economic Times.
India is also set to host the annual summit with Russia, for which President Vladimir Putin may visit New Delhi. If this happens, it will be Mr Putin’s first visit to India since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Several high-profile meetings are also expected during the BRICS summit in Brazil scheduled in July and the SCO summit in China, scheduled to be held in August-September. During the two summits, all eyes will be set on a possible dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Russian and Chinese counterparts. PM Modi may travel to China for the SEO summit.
A possible meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is especially anticipated during the summit, as the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh seems to be normalising.
The next edition of India’s summit with the EU is also scheduled to be held in New Delhi, for which several European leaders are expected to visit India.
India’s Diplomatic Calendar for 2025 is likely to begin with the visit of Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam in mid-January, the ET report said.
This will be followed by the visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, who is the chief guest for the 2025 Republic Day celebrations. The Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font may also visit India in March or April, the ET report said.
Later in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly also planning to visit France. He may also reportedly travel to Japan for the annual summit.
Towards the latter half of 2025, the G20 summit is scheduled to be held in South Africa and the ASEAN summit is set to be held in Malaysia. Prime Minister Modi may travel to the respective countries to participate in the bloc meets.
