Australia
On Thursday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne, wherein the two discussed the military coup in Myanmar. During the virtual conversation, the two leaders discussed the importance of enhancing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s coordination in Myanmar. Moreover, they also spoke of the importance of ensuring an “equitable access” to the COVID-19 vaccine and the significance of cooperating on their “shared objectives in the Indo-Pacific” in 2021.
Cambodia
The Indian ambassador to Cambodia Devyani Uttam Khobragade met with the Cambodian Navy’s commander, Admiral Tea Vinh, on Thursday to discuss enhancing the two sides’ naval cooperation. Following the discussion, Khobragade said that the discussion would be beneficial for both countries as it called for “furthering peace, stability and development in the region. Moreover, she highlighted the significance of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) saying, “India regularly offers defence ITEC courses to Cambodia in the field of engineering, English language training and other service-specific professional courses for the Army and Navy.”
The Indian and Cambodian Naval Forces have seen extended cooperation for years now, with the Indian side offering training and conducting seminars and workshops for the Cambodian side. They have also seen cooperation on several other issues. For instance, from December 29, 2020 to January 1, 2021, the Indian Navy has successfully delivered 15 tonnes of humanitarian assistance and flood relief supplies to Cambodia.
Canada
On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. During the discussion, Modi reassured Trudeau of his commitment to satiate Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements. In response, the Canadian premier expressed his gratitude and applauded India for its “tremendous pharmaceutical capacity”, along with India’s decision to share “this capacity with the world.”
According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the leaders further “reiterated the common perspective shared by India and Canada on many important geo-political issues.” Furthermore, the Canadian statement said that they also discussed the “common interests in free and open Indo-pacific.” Moreover, they agreed to bolster cooperation of global issues such as “climate change and the economic impact of the pandemic”, and further use the several important international fora to achieve this.
The discussion also featured the “recent protests” by Indian farmers. According to the Canadian side’s release on this issue, “The leaders discussed Canada and India’s commitment to democratic principles, recent protests, and the importance of resolving issues through dialogue.” However, the Indian release made no mention of this discussion.
The farmers’ protest issue had previously sparked a minor tiff between the two sides. Shortly after the protests were launched, in a virtual address to the Sikh community on Guru Nanak Jayanti, the Canadian leader expressed concern over India’s response to the demonstrations, and asserted that his country would “always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protest”. This had angered the Indian side, which resulted in a formal complaint being registered against Trudeau’s remarks with the Canadian ambassador in New Delhi. Moreover, just last week, this issue was also brought up in the Parliament, wherein the Indian side said that Trudeau’s “unwarranted” remarks had the potential to dent India-Canada relations.
Algeria
Hamza Yahia Cherif, the Algerian Ambassador to India, spoke with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday. During the meeting, the two discussed enhancing their countries’ bilateral cooperation on “COVID-19, trade, energy, and pharmaceuticals”. This discussion comes just over a week after the first consignment of the India-made Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was successfully delivered to Algeria.
China
Amidst ongoing tensions along their shared border, on Tuesday, India and China conducted bilateral discussions on issues related to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and agreed to “continue their engagement on key issues.” The discussion was led by Yang Tao, the Chinese Director General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences and Prakash Gupta, the Indian Joint Secretary (UNP & Summits) of the Ministry of External Affairs. The meeting also saw the attendance of the officials from the Permanent Missions of India in New York and the Indian Embassy at Beijing.
According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, India briefed the Chinese side about its priorities during its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the council. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called for a “package solution” to introduce reforms to the Council that would be acceptable to all. He added, “As for India’s bid for permanent membership to the UNSC, I can reiterate China’s principled position on the issue. China supports UNSC reforms in a manner that increased the authority and efficacy of the UNSC, increases the representation and voice of developing countries so that small and medium-sized countries have a greater opportunity to participate in the decision making of the UNSC.”
Afghanistan
On the same day, India also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Afghanistan for the construction of the Lalandar/ Shatoot Dam in a virtual meeting. The ceremony took place in the presence of both sides’ Foreign Ministers, S. Jaishankar and Hanif Atmar, along with both countries’ premiers, Narendra Modi and Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
A statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said that the project formed a crucial part of the “New Development Partnership between India and Afghanistan.” It was also particularly important for the people of Kabul, as the project would result in a supply of clean drinking water to over two million citizens. Moreover, the project would also provide the area with flood protection and supply of electricity. The deal was celebrated by Afghan premier Ashraf Ghani as a “gift of water” from the Indian side. This, he said, was in addition to the “gift of vaccine” and the “gift of life to Kabul and the people of Afghanistan”, which he viewed as symbolic of “the value of decency, democracy, humanity, mutual interest, mutual respect, mutual trust, and our interdependent world.”
During the virtual discussion, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reiterated his support for a “peaceful, united, stable, prosperous, and inclusive Afghanistan.” In this context, he condemned the ongoing violence in Afghanistan, calling it a “cowardice act” and urging all responsible parties to declare an “immediate comprehensive ceasefire.”
United Kingdom
On Monday, as a part of her four-day visit to India, British Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss met with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. During their discussion, the two leaders spoke about working towards an “enhanced trade partnership” between the United Kingdom (UK) and India. In an interview following the discussion, Truss said that the two sides agreed to set up working groups to further this aim. She added that “deeper trade relations” between India and the UK are “absolutely a priority.” Through the “enhanced trade partnership”, she said that India and UK aim to “remove barriers to trade”.
The Indian Ministry of Commerce, too, released a statement celebrating the discussion. The statement read, “Taking forward their commitment from the 14thJoint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO) on July 24, 2020, India and UK Trade Ministers reviewed the ongoing engagements between the two sides for an [Economic Trade Partnership], as part of the development of a roadmap that would lead to a potential comprehensive [Free Trade Agreement], including considerations on an interim agreement on a preferential basis.”. Further, it declared that the “enhanced trade partnership” would be formally launched during British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India.
European Union
On the same day, during a virtual meeting with the European Union’s Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal called for an “early-harvest deal”. This, he said, would further the two sides’ vision of a “bound and balanced Free Trade Agreement.” A statement by the EU also looked at these discussions optimistically, saying, “Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis reiterated their interest in resuming negotiations for ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial trade and investment agreements once their respective approaches and positions are close enough.” It added that, in the meantime, both sides are looking at alternative approaches to further cooperation.
This comes less than a month after Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met with the Ambassadors of the member states of the bloc to discuss the upcoming India-EU+27 Leaders’ Summit, which is scheduled to take place in May. The spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Anurag Srivastava, calling the EU a “natural partner” of India, said that the leaders further discussed “trade, investments, climate change, and Indo-Pacific.”
Unites States
On Monday, American President Joe Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss bolstering their cooperation on several issues. A release by the White House said that the leaders committed to “work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism.” Furthermore, a statement by the Indian premier said, “We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further our cooperation against climate change.”
Furthermore, the leaders spoke about bolstering cooperation to further their vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), with a focus on the freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad. Following the discussion, Narendra Modi said that the two remain “committed to a rules-based international order” and were looking forward to “further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
Lastly, they spoke of furthering their commitment to defend democratic institutions and norms. In this context, the discussed the developments in Myanmar, wherein a military coup resulted in the arrest of the country’s democratically elected Chancellor, Aung San Suu Kyi. Against this backdrop, they agreed to continue to collaborate on such global challenges, specifically through international fora.
Just a day following this conversation, the American National Security Advisor Anthony Blinken spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar. During the phone call, they reiterated their commitment towards strengthening their bilateral partnership and further discussed the Myanmar issue.
Later on the same day, the United States State Department spokesperson said, “India is one of the most important partners in the Indo-Pacific to us. We welcome India’s emergence as a leading global power and its role as a net security provider in the region.”
Indian Diplomacy: Weekly Round-Up (6 - 12 February, 2021)
This week, Indian authorities convened several meetings with officials from Australia, the United Kingdom, and China amongst others.
February 12, 2021
SOURCE: THE CANADIAN PRESS