Prime Minister Narendra Modi is back with his global engagements in the backdrop of the positive vibes that the post-Covid scenario has provided to both India and the global community. The first leg of Modi’s three-day, three- nation tour had him in Germany, followed by stop-overs in Denmark and France. The Europe trip is bound to provide occasion to the Prime Minister to have fresh rounds of discussions on bilateral matters and other issues of global importance, including the Russian war in Ukraine.
Bilateral agreements form the main part of such high-level visits and Modi, on his part, has added a new dimension to them by meeting with the Indian diaspora. As the PM did in the past during his visits to the US, the UAE and several other nations, he addressed an impressive crowd of Indians in Berlin. Getting such grand occasions is a matter of both pride and joy for the Indians settled abroad. They feel reassured that they are cared for and wanted back home. During his diplomatic engagements, from the very start, the PM walked a tight-rope when it came to discussing matters like Ukraine. He stressed that India sought a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India and Germany are caught in between the pressures from Russia on the one side and the US-led West on the other. India can neither oppose the war nor back Russia to the hilt. National interests are intertwined with global concerns. India’s long infatuation with the USSR continued at a lesser scale after the Republic’s disintegration and arrival of Vladimir Putin at the head of Russia. At the same time, India cozied up to the US in more significant ways since the turn of the century. A non-aligned approach had been the hallmark of Indian diplomacy all along. Modi too could not change the scenario. There are those who see merit in such a diplomacy but it could also present a future scenario when India will have no one to look up to for solid support in the event of a war with, say, China.
With the Covid-19 restrictions almost over and since international engagements will see a major push forward in the coming months, the Prime Minister can be expected to carry forward his global diplomacy with renewed vigour. The nation would watch eagerly as to what good comes out of such high-profile visits. The past eight years of the Modi rule have not seen any significant achievements for India on the foreign affairs front.
