2023 Year-Ender "Bharat's Foreign policy : Successful hosting of G20, 'player' in shaping global issues"

Nirendra Dev *

India’s long standing complex and, what is called the, difficult relationship with China and also 'conflict' with Pakistan do not matter much now. As 2023 draws to an end, Bharat, that is India, is now ready for a 'real new India' -- confident and assertive.

The foreign policy is also on a positive mode -- perhaps at an 'all time best' to a large extent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime could be often called a 'Hindu nationalist government' but it has not stopped key global players from wooing it. The fact of the matter is the government has pursued an inclusive agenda and statisticstell that Muslims have benefited immensely in welfare measures and poverty alleviation schemes.

As many as 31 percent of homes under the Awas Yojana have reached Muslims in 25 minority dominated areas.Similarly as an example one can say 33 percent of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi have also reached minorities.

In strategic diplomacy, India has become a leading US partner in countering China, as they put it. And for their part, the Prime Minister and his foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar make a formidable team cherishing the vision for Amrit Kal under the vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

The two-day G20 Summit in September - that also gave a voice to Global South and included African Union in the illustrious club was a "testament" to New Delhi's coming on stage as a global leader. Modi identified himself as the leader of Bharat at the formal Summit gatherings.

India has demonstrated its ability to lead and shape global affairs in a far more challenging situation in a recession-hit and war-facing post-Covid and post-Russia-Ukraine conflict world. Of course in all these, India is seen as a responsible stakeholder in addressing common challenges and exploiting common opportunities. India also has able to showcase the soft power and cultural diversity.

Of course the circa 2023 could be a flash point, but it all started much earlier. In fact, in September 2022 that is a year before New Delhi hosted G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi has told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that-- "Today’s era is not an era of war".

India is certainly a key pillar of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) alongside Japan, Australia and the US. But the Modi government was never being vulnerable to give in to US and European pressure in the UN votes condemning the Russian war of aggression.

Repeatedly, India abstained from voting. Moscow was charmed and the Russian President now cherishes good relations with the Indian government and has nice things to say about Modi, more than once.

Did we miss the point that India's gestures and India emerging the 'biggest importer' of Russian crude oil has protected Moscow 'far from being isolated' as the West would like to believe ?

Rather it's a fact of the matter that the United States chose to look away as New Delhi also ignored the 'price cap' imposed by Western countries. Reference what Dr Jaishankar said about India's dealing with Russian oil.

"Our trade with Russia is at a very small level- USD 12-13 billion, in comparison to European countries. We've also given the Russians a set of products... I don't think people should read more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any trading country to increase its trade," Dr Jaishankar said once addressing a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.

"I would urge you to look at these figures. There is a website called 'Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker' that would give you country-by-country data of who is really importing what and I suspect that might be very very helpful," he also added.

No wonder in September 2023, 'new Bharat' had actually arrived. The G20 summit ended in Delhi with world leaders praising India’s presidency for achieving many 'concrete outcomes'. Compliments were not mere formalities and statements made as courtesy calls. Modi also urged for the UN Security Council to be expanded and reformed to reflect the new realities of the world.

African leaders welcomed the unanimous decision of the G20 to admit the African Union as its permanent member, with many seeing it as an opportunity for the large and rich continent to advance its agenda on the global stage.

In terms of applauds:

President Joe Biden himself hailed the partnership between India and the US, saying it is based on Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of trusteeship that is shared between the two countries.

Of course, Russian President Putin could not come. But his trusted foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the G20 Summit 2023 under Modi's and India’s presidency was a “breakthrough” conclave in more ways than one. The outcomes showed a path to the world to move forward on a range of challenges and demonstrated the emerging 'importance' of the Global South.

However, the Sikh 'terrorism' and Canada's complexity have made things little complicated to an extent. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged 'Indian' involvement in eliminating a Sikh separatist but a citizen of Canada.

Later media reports surfaced vis-a-vis the US angle too. It later came out to be a 'foiled assassination plot' against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India has announced the formation of a high-level committee to investigate. Reportedly, the US officials first raised the issue with New Delhi in August, and probably even Biden flagged it off in talks with Modi at the G-20 Summit.

However, the story goes it took media reports and a White House statement to push India into announcing an official inquiry. Now even Prime Minister Modi has sought to clarify that this episode cannot hit Indo-US bilateral relations.

“If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law....If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it,” the Prime Minister said in an interview with 'the Financial Times' breaking his silence on the issue of charge against an 'Indian citizen' with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on US soil.

This was also a crucial year when during PM Modi's visit to Sydney in May, his Australian counterpartAnthony Albanese referred to him as "The Boss" and compared his popularity to that of legendary rock-star Bruce Springsteen, who is also known by his fans with the same title.

Bharat has reached that critical stage of history when the country has a robust economy. Overall, the international situation and India's growing credibility offer a special window of opportunity for India to and prove its position and role as one of the key global players.

The key message is India is no longer caught up in the regional conflictsof South Asia. With 8.7 per cent growth in 2021, India has advanced to being the fifth-largest economic power.Germany could be soon left behind from the illustrious league of the US, China and Japan.The geo-strategic elite will always see India as belonging to the top group.

There is an immensely complex and mixed global situation. China’s aggressive foreign policy, its lack of transparency regarding the Coronavirus and issues related to supply chain has also opened new avenues.

Bharat has great potential in its class of English-speaking professionals. The large Indian market with a growing middle class are attractive boosters to foreign investors. Wait for the great show and time to see India make 2024 its global year.

Today, many governments and emerging economies regard the diversification of supply chains as an indispensable measure and this is also a tremendous India-friendly development.