Diplomacy

India & France: Spring Time, New Horizons

- by Manish Chand

It’s spring time in Paris, and there is a new spring, bounce and vitality in India-France relations. Paris in April looks like the heaven on earth, and is the first stop in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden trip to Europe and the continent’s powerful economy. France is India’s key strategic partner in the European continent, and the strategic partnership the two countries forged in 1998 have steadily scaled new frontiers.

When Prime Minister Modi sits down for talks with the French president in Paris April 10, there will be a lot on the table besides delicious gourmet food for which the French are famous. The menu will be appetising and varied – trade and investment, nuclear energy, science and technology, defence deals and space will vie for the leaders’ mind space as they map out an ambitious agenda to upscale India-France relations across the spectrum.

Economic relations are on an upward trajectory, with bilateral trade exceeding $7 billion. French companies are betting on India’s growth prospects, and plan to put in more money into Asia’s third largest economy and one of the world’s fastest growing companies. French investments in India have already exceeded around $10 billion. And more than 700 French companies are doing thriving business in India, creating jobs and setting new benchmarks in innovation.

Paris in April looks a perfect place and time to flower new dreams for this crucial strategic partnership, and map out fresh avenues for the evolving and dynamic India-France relations.

Read More

India, US back inclusive Afghanistan

- by India Writes Network

Following US President Barack Obama’s visit to India earlier this year, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Dan Feldman, visited New Delhi recently to continue high-level US-India consultations on Afghanistan.

Mr Feldman, who was in Delhi on 7th April, met India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary of India, amongst other Indian government officials.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss the best way to support a stable, sustainable, inclusive, sovereign and democratic political order in Afghanistan. They also spoke about the outcomes of Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah’s visit to Washington in March 2015.

Read More

Global climate change: Modi draws red line, focuses on India’s clean energy plans

- by India Writes Network

Months before the Paris global climate summit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid down red lines, saying said he would not succumb to foreign pressure to commit cuts in carbon emissions and stressed on the country’s plan to focus on ramping up the production of clean energy and home growth methods to combat climate change.

He underlined that respecting nature is engrained in our cultural values and India could lead the world in battling climate change, rather than merely following Western guidelines.

Inaugurating a two-day conference of state environment and forest ministers in New Delhi, he said that “we have a legacy of thousands of years in this field… India can show the way to the world out of this crisis”.

India is today the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Though our per capita emissions remain way below the developed countries (1.7 metric tonnes per capita, as opposed to China (6.2 mtpc) and USA (17.6 mtpc)), they are slated to increase with economic growth and development. There is pressure on India to restrict emissions, especially after the US and China committed to reductions in a land mark announcement last year (China agreed to cap emissions latest by 2030 and have 20% share of renewable energy in energy mix). Mr Modi highlighted India’s initiatives in solar and wind energy sectors and the need to switch to renewable energy and find innovative solutions to global warming.

Read More