Diplomacy

Britain targets India: From courted to courtier

- by India Writes Network

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France, Germany and Canada in early April this year in his first official trip to Europe. Rafale fighter jets, increasing manufacturing through the Make in India campaign, urging the EU to move forward on the stalled FTA, and attracting trade and investment featured on the agenda.

While PM Modi has stated that he “usually tries to visit two to four nations together” in convenient clusters, the UK that has been desperately courting India was missing on his travel agenda. While Britain erects a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at London’s Parliament Square in a desperate attempt to entice India, amid all the hysteria in India involving Modi’s visits to relevant countries and vice versa, Britain has been greatly sidelined.

In 2014, five prominent UK politicians made official visits to India from Foreign Secretary William Hague to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Deputy PM Nick Clegg. Indeed, Prime Minister David Cameron himself has visited India three times since assuming office in 2010, including twice in 2013, professing that India is Britain’s “partner of choice” and “relations with India are at the top of the UK’s foreign policy priorities”.

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US cautions India on Iran ties: Don’t rush, hold your horses

- by India Writes Network

The Iran deal is not done yet. Don’t rush – “hold your horses.” This is the message of Wendy Sherman, the US’ key negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal, to India and all those countries who are eagerly looking to step up economic and energy ties with Tehran in the hope of the much-anticipated lifting of sanctions.
“I would say ‘hold your horses’. We are not quite to an agreement yet,” Sherman, US Undersecretary of Political Affairs, said in the Indian capital. She was responding to a question on the US’ position on India and other buyers of Iranian oil that want to increase their trade ties with Tehran.
The deadline for the Iranian nuclear deal, which aims at preventing Iran from developing an atomic bomb and to bring the country into the global mainstream, has been set for June 30. However, the United States says there is no guarantee of the closure of the deal as tough nuclear negotiations lie ahead.

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