External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
| Photo Credit: PTI

As the eastern Ladakh military standoff entered its fifth year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India hopes for a resolution of the remaining issues with China and asserted that a return to normal bilateral ties hinges on peace and tranquillity at the border.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, he said the remaining issues mainly pertained to “patrolling rights” and “patrolling abilities”.

Also Read | A China-India partnership, its vast global potential

Specifically asked when a resolution to the row can be expected in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks to Newsweek magazine last month, Mr. Jaishankar said he only provided a “big picture” viewpoint on the matter.

“We would hope that there is a resolution of the remaining issues out there. These issues mainly pertain to patrolling rights and patrolling abilities there,” he said.

“I would not link it to the prime minister’s interview per se. I think the prime minister was giving a big picture viewpoint and his big picture viewpoint was a very reasonable viewpoint which is – after all as neighbours, every country wants good relations with its neighbours,” he said.

“But today, our relations with China are not normal because the peace and tranquillity in the border areas has been disturbed. So he (PM) was expressing the hope that the Chinese side should realise that the present situation is not in its own interest,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

Mr. Modi had said that the border situation needs to be addressed urgently and that stable and peaceful ties between India and China are important for not just the two countries but for the entire region and world.

Mr. Jaishankar said diplomacy is a work of patience and India continues to discuss the issues with the Chinese side.

“I would say that we need to resolve those issues if the relationship is to come back to normal,” he said during the interview on Thursday.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.

Asked why bilateral trade volume with China is going up when New Delhi has been insisting that the ties cannot be normal when the border situation is abnormal, Jaishankar suggested that such a scenario has arisen as adequate attention to the manufacturing sector was not given before 2014.

“I think it is common sense that If there is no peace and tranquillity in the border, how can you have a normal relationship,” he said.

“After all If somebody is at your front door in an unfriendly manner, you are not going to go out there and act as though everything is normal. That to me is a straightforward proposition,” the minister added.

The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

In the diplomatic and military talks with China, the Indian negotiators have been insisting on restoring the status quo ante of April 2020 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Canada Minister Marc Miller. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller has rejected External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s remark that Ottawa is “lax” about admitting people into the country, saying authorities conduct a criminal record check on people entering Canada on student visas.

On May 4, Mr. Jaishankar said that India had “convinced them (Canadian authorities) several times not to give visa, legitimacy or political space to such people which is causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship. “But the Canadian government has not done anything,” Mr. Jaishankar said, adding that India sought the extradition of 25 people, most of whom are pro-Khalistan, but they did not pay any heed.

His remarks came after Canadian authorities charged three Indian nationals with the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. It is reported that they entered Canada on student visas.

Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. Karan Brar (22) Kamalpreet Singh (22) and Karanpreet Singh (28) all Indian nationals residing in Edmonton, have been charged on Friday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Responding to a question on April 7 about Mr. Jaishankar’s remarks, Mr. Miller said, “We’re not lax, and the Indian Foreign Minister is entitled to his opinion,” reported the Cable Public Affairs Channel — a Canadian speciality television channel.

When asked what the Canadian government planned on doing about it, he said, “About what the Indian Foreign Minister said? Let him speak his mind. It’s just not accurate.” He said that Canada conducts a criminal record check on people entering the country on student visas, and when asked how this works, he said. “You check them in if they have a criminal record; they don’t come in.” Canada takes “any report like this very seriously,” Mr. Miller said.

He refused to confirm if the three Indians arrested for Nijjar’s murder were in Canada on a student visa, asserting that there’s information that he can’t share at the time because of the ongoing police investigation.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of 45-year-old Nijjar, a Khalistan separatist.

India has dismissed Mr. Trudeau’s charges as “absurd” and “motivated.” The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated India, which had designated Nijjar a “terrorist.” After the arrest of the three Indian nationals in connection with the murder, police in Canada said they had worked with the U.S. law enforcement agencies without giving additional details. The police suggested more arrests might be coming.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, the force’s commander for the Pacific region said last week that he wouldn’t comment on the alleged links between the three men arrested and Indian officials but noted the force is “investigating connections to the government of India.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar on May 4 said what is happening in poll-bound Canada over the killing of Nijjar is mostly due to their internal vote bank politics and has nothing to do with India.

He said a section of pro-Khalistan people are using Canada’s democracy, creating a lobby and have become a vote bank.

File picture of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar rejected U.S. President Joe Biden’s comment that “xenophobia” was hobbling the South Asian nation’s economic growth, reported on Saturday.

Mr. Jaishankar said at a round table hosted by The Economic Times on Friday that India’s economy “is not faltering” and that it has historically been a society that is very open.

“That’s why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble… I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India,” Mr. Jaishankar said, referring to a recent law that allows immigrants who have fled persecution from neighbouring countries to become citizens.

Earlier this week, Mr. Biden had said “xenophobia” in China, Japan and India was holding back growth in the respective economies as he argued migration has been good for the U.S. economy.

“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Mr. Biden said at a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign and marking the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast last month that growth in Asia’s three largest economies would slow in 2024 from the previous year.

The IMF also forecast that the U.S. economy would grow 2.7%, slightly brisker than its 2.5% rate last year. Many economists attribute the upbeat forecasts partly to migrants expanding the country’s labour force.

As election season takes off in India, allegations by PM Modi and EAM Jaishankar of foreign interference from the West heat up the campaign – we will look at the history of such allegations worldwide, and whether theres basis for New Delhi’s present concerns.

Hello and Welcome to WorldView- as Elections get under way in India, diplomatic activity may be on the decline- but undiplomatic activity is in the spotlight- as the PM and EAM accuse global powers and western media of running interference in Indian elections

What really is of concern to New Delhi?

1. Reactions in US, Germany and even the UN, that spoke about the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and then perhaps for the first time, spoke of the need for “free and fair elections” in India

2. The release of Human Rights reports, especially during election season by the US and EU parliament.

Pg 8 of EU Parliament Resolution on India Human Rights concerns referred to divisive speeches by leaders

In the US, Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a report this week that said there are significant human rights abuses- spoke of lynchings, Manipur violence and several other issues in India

The MEA response was tough:

“This report, as per our understanding, is deeply biased and reflects a very poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you also to do the same.”

Then, there’s the worry that embassies and diplomats are interfering in India’s internal politics- there have long been allegations by this government on Pakistan, including in Gujarat elections in the past, more recently the government accused Canadian officials based in India of interfering in India’s internal affairs, and then ordered the High Commission to downsize numbers. This was in the context of the allegations over the assassination Nijjar and of the plot against Pannun in the US, that the government’s high-level panel continues to investigate.

Finally, there is the barrage of criticism of Indian elections and democracy in the Western media that has upset the government- despite PM Modi giving interviews to foreign publications like the Financial Times and Newsweek, here’s a list compiled by former CEO of Prasar Bharati

In Ireland, India’s Ambassador came in for criticism for over-stretching his mandate with a response to the Irish Times, where he defended the current government but also criticised previous Indian governments leading to calls for his sacking from the opposition

The Indian worries over foreign interference have yet to be proven, but globally there are many such fears- especially as more than 60 countries around the world go to polls this year. according to an Oxford University Study: Industrialized Disinformation 2020 Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation, at least 81 countries’s governments attempt cyber manipulation for propaganda and disinformation. Historically it was the US and Russia that were accused of manipulating one in 9 countries’ elections during the Cold War

1. This week U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a bill that forces Tik Tok owner Byte dance to sell the company in the next year or face being banned, as the US Congress believes it is used by China’s ruling communist party to influence elections in the US and spy on Americans, a charge the company denies.

2. In 2018, the US Senate released a report that concluded Russia’s spy agencies used Facebook ads to manipulate US voters in the election Donald Trump won in 2016. 

3. Canada just completed an investigation on foreign interference during previous elections, which its NSA said countries including Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and even India may have tried to manipulate. Eventually, however, its report did not find conclusive evidence against India, but did against China. UK conducted a similar enquiry last year

4. This month Microsoft said in a report that Microsoft has issued a warning that Chinese state backed cyber troops will attempt to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India this year using artificial intelligence-generated content, and with support from North Korean groups following a trial run during the presidential election in Taiwan- however, Taiwan elected an anti-China president

.5. In India’s neighbourhood, India is often accused, especially in Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka of leaning in favour of one party or another, to oust anti-India leaders. While these have yet to be proven, the allegations have been made by senior regional leaders like Rajapaksa, Yameen, Khaleda Zia.

6. The European Union too has released a report on its fears over manipulation during upcoming EU parliament elections in June, called Combating foreign interference in elections

7. Of course the major allegations historically made are against the two cold war powers- US and Russia- The US for elections in South America, in what were then called Banana Republics, and Russia in Europe, including famously helping a West German leader survive a confidence vote in 1972.

What does Indian diplomacy need to do:

1. It is necessary to do researched studies rather than make allegations of a foreign hand without substantiating them with proof- this speaks to the country’s diplomatic credibility

2. In the age of AI and Deepfakes, it is important to improve India’s technology security capabilities, and techonology diplomacy to share best practices

3. Counter external influences by building consumer and cyber voter awareness – and share concerns with other democracies

WorldView Take: The best response to interference and criticism is to walk the talk on democracy, and on building democratic practices into India’s diplomatic culture as well. Since independence, India has been seen as a country that is democratic pluralistic and rule-abiding- which is why many speak of “shared values” with India. Over sensitivity to criticism, invoking an imaginary foreign hand, or expressing loyalty to a government not the State or nation are not exemplars of democratic diplomatic culture, however.

Reading Recommendations:

1. Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference by David Shimer

2. Meddling in the Ballot Box and

When the Great Power Gets a Vote: The Effects of Great Power Electoral Interventions on Election Results by Dov H. Levin

3. Rules and Allies: Foreign Election Interventions Kindle Edition by Johannes Bubeck Nikolay Marinov – looking at 300 elections in 100 countries

4. How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa

5. The Digital Divide in Democracy: How Tech Shapes (and Warps) Elections by Sebastian Whitman

6. Deep Disinformation: Can AI-Generated Fake News Swing an Election? by Ashley Parker Owens

7. Foreign Electoral Interference Normative Implications in Light of International Law, Human Rights, and Democratic Theory- Nils Reimann

8. Election Interference: International Law and the Future of Democracy by Jens David Ohlin

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Gayatri Menon and Shibu Narayan

News breaking now of multiple strikes by Israel on bases and nuclear facilities in Iran are further driving up tensions in the region- while the two countries have had a shadow war between them for 45 years, we have not seen such openly direct strikes on each other thus far. Up ahead we will look at how this new turn will change the west Asian landscape, and seven ways India is impacted.

We have been covering everything that has happened since October 7- terror attacks by Hamas, Israel’s pounding of Gaza, but here’s is how the scene is shifting now.

On April 1: Israel launched strikes on Iran’s Embassy in Damascus, killing 7 military diplomats, including a senior General . Iran protested this was a violation of UN conventions, the Vienna conventions- many saw this as Israel’s attempt at broadening the war as its war on Gaza has gone into an impasse, and no progress of freeing Hamas-held hostages

Amir Abdollahian: No member state will remain silent on such an attack…diplomatic agents

April 12: Iran seized an Israel-linked ship MSC Aries- 17 crew members were Indian. While 1 has been sent back to India, the fate of the other 16 remains unclear.

On April 13: Iran launched 300-350 drones and missiles directly on Israel, the first time it has openly done so. The missiles, which were slow moving, were mostly repelled by Israel’s Iron Dome, but also with help from the US, Jordan, and reportedly with intelligence support from some Gulf States. Iran said it had 3 objectives: to deter Israel from further action, to showcase Iran’s missile capabilities and to demonstrate its ability to target vital Israeli military bases at will.

Netanyahu: We will take our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do what it needs to defend itself

On April 19: Israel has reportedly launched strikes on several targets inside Iran- believed to be bases, nuclear facilities and other strategic locations. This despite US President Biden expressly asking PM Netanyahu not to respond to Iran’s strikes.

India has also called on both sides to show restraint- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to both Iranian FM Amir Abdollahaian and Israel FM Israel Katz, but both sides have high expectations from India

On the diplomatic front, we have seen some major moves as well:

UN Security Council met over the escalating tensions, but did not come up with a resolution
US, UK and others imposed new sanctions on Iran- targeting its drone capabilities
12 UNSC members voted in favour of making Palestine a full member state- the US vetoed it however, and Israel debated against it

Israel Amb: Granting the perpetrators full recognition is the vilest reward for the vilest crime

What’s next?

How will Iran respond to the Israeli strikes?

Will Iran now consolidate actions along with its proxies in the Gulf region

Hezbollah in Lebanon

Houthis in Yemen

Hamas in Gaza

Other militia

What is on the escalation ladder for Israel?
Thus far Israel conducts covert targeted assassinations on Iranian officials and nuclear scientists- will the Damascus attack pave the way for more such open strikes
Big worry over nuclear confrontation- neither country is a declared nuclear weapons power, yet the worry is that with this conflict deepening one or both might reveal their nuclear capabilities, further driving the crisis

Impact on India

1. Geopolitical impact- India has strong strategic ties with both countries, and this escalation makes it more difficult to maintain those ties. In its statements about Iran and Israel action, MEA has taken care to criticise neither side, to much disappointment in both capitals

2. Strategic impact: India’s connectivity projects with both Israel- under I2U2 and the proposed IMEEC are already in jeopardy, now the connectivity through Chabahar port and the INSTC corridor to Central Asia will be in trouble too

3. Oil impact- Even as elections get under way in India, the West Asia conflict will no doubt drive up the price of oil- already under strain with the Russia- Ukraine war- will India be forced to restart oil imports from Iran which it gave up in 2018 under threat from the US

4. Economic Impact- inflation of prices, jittery markets, interest rates are likely to be kept high

5. Trade impact- Cargo trade through the Red Sea and Hormuz is already under attack from Houthi groups, now shippers and insurers are likely to take longer routes around the region, given clouds of conflict

6. Travel impact: Flights will need to take longer detours as well, this will affect air ticket prices and travel times this summer. Air India has already suspended flights to Tel Aviv.

7. Labour Impact: While other Gulf countries account for about 8 million Indian labour and expatriate workers- Israel has only about 18,000 and Iran between 10-15,000 including a large number of merchant navy crew and personnel- caught in the crossfire right now- 6,000 Indian workers recruited for jobs in Israel are unable to leave, and questions about Indian crew on board various ships- with about 2.5 lakhs merchant navy personnel Indian, Indians rank 3^rd in numbers

WV Take:

Given the numbers of Indians living and working in West Asia, a conflict between Israel and Iran, that bookend the region is a conflict in India’s immediate neighbourhood, and New Delhi cannot be immune to the escalation in tensions and on the ground- the immediate casualty, could also be India’s grand plans for connectivity which depend on both Iran and Israel as hubs for trade routes to the West.

WV Reading Recommendations:

1. Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East by Kim Ghattas

2. Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States by Trita Parsi

3. Cold War In The Islamic World by Dilip Hiro

4. Target Tehran: How Israel Is Using Sabotage, Cyberwarfare, Assassination – and Secret Diplomacy – to Stop a Nuclear Iran and Create a New Middle East by Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar

5. The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History Paperback – 14 September 2023 by Jeremy Bowen

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Gayatri Menon and Shibu Narayan

It isn’t often when a foreign policy issue generates as much heat within India’s polity, but this week both the PM and the EAM set off a debate over a 1974 agreement with Sri Lanka that quickly saw pushback from the opposition, and some concern in Colombo. My colleague D. Suresh Kumar has more on the domestic politics over Katchatheevu.

Let’s just tell you how it played out in terms of foreign policy:

1. At a press conference on EAM Jaishankar expanded on a tweet by PM Modi accusing the Congress government of 1974 and the Tamil Nadu State government at the time of “colluding” to “give away” the island.

-The agreement was signed in 1974 and an exchange of letters in 1976 clarified the rights of both sides-

-Katchatheevu, an island less than 2 square kilometres large in the Palk Strait (MAP), was found to lie on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Boundary Line

-Indian fishermen did not have fishing rights around the island, but they could use the land to dry nets, and were allowed to visit the solitary structure, a church for St. Anthony, especially on the day of an annual festival there

-India received rights to the Wadge Bank – rich in petroleum

-The final agreements in 1976 also defined the trijunction point in the waters between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

You can find the agreements themselves on the MEA website, the links are given online

The issue has been contentious for decades, but interestingly, when Mr. Jaishankar was Foreign Secretary in 2015, an RTI by the MEA shown by the opposition actually said that the agreement did not involve “acquiring or ceding” of any territory as none had been demarcated historically.

2. Mr. Jaishankar also claimed that Indian fishermen are still being arrested, shot at and even killed by Sri Lankan authorities as a result of the agreement

While it is true that hundreds of Indian fishermen have been detained – about 100 a year for the past few years, they are not detained on Katchatheevu, according to a parliament reply

3. Finally, and perhaps what really was of interest to foreign policy experts was the EAM’s contention that there needs to be a “solution” to the problems created by the 1974 and 1976 agreement, although the matter remains in the Supreme Court at present.

The questions that have been raised are over what the government plans to do next:

1. Will the government seek to reopen the 1974 and 1976 agreements bilaterally with Sri Lanka? Sri Lankan FM Sabry has said this is not on the table, the MEA said it had no comment

2. Would the reopening of these agreements on Katchatheevu lead to other agreements with Sri Lanka that have no doubt been built on the back of this understanding?

3.If the government is calling into question this agreement, then will it also take a re-look at other agreements made in the past with the intent to revise them, especially those that deal with territorial issues in the neighbourhood

-With Pakistan, India has already called into question the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, writing about a year ago to the government in Islamabad that India is seeking to renegotiate the water sharing agreement that was guaranteed by the World Bank

-In the case of Bangladesh, the government accepted the 1974 for the exchange of enclaves that was signed between PM Indira Gandhi and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In 2015, the Modi government completed the transfer.

-With Nepal, India currently has a major dispute over territory that ignited in 2019, after the publication of new maps by the government post-reorganisation of Jammu-Kashmir and then the Nepali publication of new maps. Could reopening old agreements have an impact on that dispute?

Most importantly, the question about whether foreign policy issues are now entering and even dominating domestic policy discourse.

While the Pulwama attack and Balakot strikes on Pakistan dominated 2019 elections, the issue was one of terrorism- essentially a domestic issue

However, in the run up to 2024 elections, the government notified rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act, which is expected to feature in the election campaign in Assam, and could bring ties with Bangladesh into question. Already, the opposition there has called for an “India Out” campaign, although it hasn’t gathered much steam

The opposition is also raising on practically a daily basis the India-China boundary dispute and China’s land grab along the LAC, which may become more pronounced as the election goes forward

And ties with the Maldives have suffered in reverse, as ties with India were the target during the Maldives election, and President Muizzu has insisted on Indian troops being removed entirely from the island, setting a deadline of May 10 for the process to be completed

WV Take: Just as New Delhi would prefer not to feature as a polarizing campaign issue when neighbours go to vote, it is best to leave foreign policy negotiations outside the briefing room on domestic elections in India as well. Above all, the government should do nothing that calls into question its credibility in current negotiations, by raising a precedent that would mean future governments could reopen present agreements as well.

WV Reading Recommendations

1. Subcontinental Drift: Domestic Politics and India’s Foreign Policy Rajesh Basrur

2. Haksar on India’s Sri Lanka Policy by V Suryanarayan, Ashik J Bonofer

3. INTERTWINED LIVES : P.N. HAKSAR AND INDIRA GANDHI by Jairam Ramesh

4. 1971:A GLOBAL HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF BANGLADESH by Srinath Raghavan

5. Worldviews of Aspiring Powers: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in China, India, Iran, Japan and Russia by Henry R. Nau and Deepa Ollapally

6. India and the Global South: Edited by Surendra Kumar, essays by diplomats and experts

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Gayatri Menon and Richard Kujur

2 years After the Russian war in Ukraine began, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is finally invited to India- does the visit signify a u turn, a rethink or simply rebalancing by New Delhi and Kiev? And given close India Russia ties, What is on the Ukrainian wishlist for India?

This week New Delhi had an unusual visitor: The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba. Unusual because since the beginning of the Ukraine war, and Kuleba’s appointment as FM in 2022

-No Ukrainian Minister at Cabinet level have visited Delhi

-In the part year 2 deputy ministers have visited, but did not change India’s policy

-No Indian minister at any rank has yet visited Kiev during the war, although several ministers were sent to neighbouring countries to help with bringing home Indian students

-MEA secretary Sanjay Verma had visited Ukraine in 2023

-PM Modi has spoken with Ukraine President Zelensky a number of times, met him on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima, but did not accept his request to address the G20 meeting

-In contrast, India and Russia have exchanged a number of ministerial and NSA visits since the war began. PM Modi has not visited Moscow or hosted President Putin, but sent EAM Jaishankar to Russia for a 5 day visit in December

So, what is Ukraine’s FM hoping as the outcomes from his visit? Speaking before he landed in Delhi, here’s what Kuleba said, invoking Mahatma Gandhi to seek Indian support

What does this mean:

-To begin with, Ukraine wants to reset ties with India, that have been strained by Ukraine’s criticism of India’s ties with Russia.

-At the beginning of the war Zelensky was critical of India, especially after India abstained on all UN UNGA UNSC IAEA and HRC votes that condemned Russia’s invasion

-Kuleba himself said India should stop buying oil from Russia, saying it was mixed with the “blood of Ukrainians”, as it funded Russia’s war effort

-Another Zelensky advisor questioned India and China’s intellect in backing Russia

-By ensuring an invitation from a Russian partner, Kuleba is sending a message with the optics of the visit, which will be watched closely in Moscow, especially as Russia reels from the massive terror attack this month, which Russia blamed Kiev for

2. Ukraine wants India to become a part of the peace process

-In January 2024, Zelensky met the Swiss President in Berne, asking him to set up a peace summit that will for the first time seek to bring Russia and Ukraine to the table- the summit is now expected in June

-Russia, that wants a ceasefire and status quo to precede all talks has not indicated it will attend

-As a result western powers, Switzerland and Ukraine want those who they believe have clout with Moscow, like India and China to attend the summit. China says it is considering the invitation, the MEA when asked, has been non-committal.

In particular, they want PM Modi to convey the messages of the summit to President Putin, as India has done in the past on the grain initiative and on nuclear safety issues.

3. And on a bilateral note, the Ukraine FM was seeking not just political support, but concrete assistance

-India has thus far sent 15 consignments of humanitarian aid to Ukraine during the war- mainly tents, blankets, medicines

-However, Ukraine wants India to allow exports of more technical goods- especially low cost options of cellphone towers and communication infrastructure to replace those damaged by Russian bombing, medical devices and hospital equipment, as well as construction equipment for reconstruction in the country.

-He also wants Indian companies to be allowed to invest in Ukraine

After the Kuleba-Jaishankar meeting, heres what the two sides said:

Jaishankar said in a tweet that they had exchanged views on initiatives relating to the Ukraine conflict, and discussed cooperation on Trade, health sector and science and technology

So what is the Role India can play, and what’s in it for New Delhi?

By participating in the Swiss Summit,

India can project itself in a global peacemaking role as a responsible interlocutor,

It can leverage its ties with Russia, which have thus far been viewed negatively in the west, in a positive manner and represent the Global South’s emphasis on ensuring food, energy and fertilizer supplies are not disrupted

Counter China’s growing footprint in the space, given Beijing has already proffered its own peace proposal for Ukraine, in the manner it effected an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year

However, India’s abstentions at the UN, its balancing act on the Russian invasion- refusing to criticise Russia’s actions, but sending humanitarian support to Ukraine, and its preference for behind the scenes diplomacy, all indicate that New Delhi may prefer a less visible role

WV Take:

If India aspires for global leadership, the opportunity to play a role in resolving one of the world’s biggest conflicts must not be taken lightly. While there is always the risk of public failure, a prominent role in the peace process would also help India campaign for UN Security Council permanent membership, as well as the more immediate run for temporary member in 2028.

WV Reading Recommendations:

Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin’s Russia by Jade McGlynn

Russia- Ukraine War: The Conflict and Its Global Impact by Ajay Singh

The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy

The Lost Peace: How the West Failed to Prevent a Second Cold War by Richard Sakwa

The Role of BRICS in Large-Scale Armed Conflict: Building a Multi-Polar World Order by Malte Brosig

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Gayatri Menon and Shibu Narayan

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during a meeting with Digital Minister of Malaysia, Gobind Singh Deo, in Malaysia. Photo: X/@DrSJaishankar via PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Malaysia and his meetings with the country’s top leadership presented an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the bilateral Enhanced Strategic Partnership, an official statement said on March 28.

Mr. Jaishankar was in Kuala Lumpur from March 27 to 28 as part of the last leg of his three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

He called on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Bin Ibrahim and thanked him for his support in deepening bilateral ties under the India-Malaysia Enhanced Strategic Partnership, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Mr. Jaishankar’s visit to Malaysia provided an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the Enhanced Strategic Partnership, it said.

Mr. Anwar gave his commitment to facilitate the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) branch campus in Malaysia, the official Bernama news agency reported.

The Prime Minister also expressed appreciation to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, for assisting Malaysia when the country was hit by a rice shortage and hoped for further facilitation on importing agricultural produce from India.

“May the Malaysian-Indian relationship continue to grow and blossom for the benefit of the people of both friendly countries,” Mr. Anwar said.

Mr. Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan and held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral cooperation, including political, trade and economic, defence, digital, cultural and education.

The two foreign Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global interest issues, according to the MEA.

Mr. Jaishankar also met the Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo.

During his visit, Mr. Jaishankar held a round-table meeting with the CEOs and leaders of the industry. He also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora in Malaysia and praised their contribution towards India-Malaysia ties.

Malaysia is a key partner for India in ASEAN and its Act East Policy, the MEA said.