Diplomacy

India, UK reboot ties: Focus on enhancing defence and anti-terror cooperation

- by Manish Chand

In the first meeting between their leaders after Britain’s planned exit from the European Union, India and the United Kingdom unveiled a decadal vision to reboot their multi-faceted relationship, with Britain offering its support for the Make in India project of joint defence manufacturing and encouraging the rise of India as a major global player.
The two countries also decided to scale up their counter-terror cooperation, with Britain supporting India’s stand on collective global action against states that sponsor terrorism and provide sanctuaries to terrorists.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her British counterpart Theresa May held wide-ranging talks at the stately Hyderabad House in New Delhi on November 7, their first full-spectrum meeting since May became the prime minister of the UK in July. The outcomes that emanated from the talks indicated a deepening of economic and strategic partnership between the two countries, which was crystallised in the joint statement entitled “India-UK Strategic Partnership looking forward to a renewed engagement: Vision for the decade ahead.”
The broad narrative that emerged from the talks between PM Modi and Theresa May was the political resolve of the two sides to reinvigorate this crucial bilateral relationship, with Britain supporting India’s greater international role, and its global aspirations for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

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UK offers Great Club visa for rich Indians, no breather for students

- by India Writes Network

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Theresa May’s day together began in full swing, with participation in the India-UK CEOs forum and the India-UK Tech Summit, before engaging in one-on-one talks in the gardens of Hyderabad House and proceeding to delegation-level talks over a working lunch.

The outcomes of their wide-ranging discussions have been captured in a joint statement. A new fast-tracked visa regime has been announced for Indian businessmen, “reflecting the UK Government’s commitment to continuing to attract inward investment and business from India.” India will become the first visa country to be offered the Registered Travellers Scheme, which will allow business travellers expedited clearance at the UK border by being allowed to come in through e-Passport gates usually reserved for Europeans and Britons and with no requirement to fill in a landing card.
Much to the disappointment of many in India, no measures were announced to revisit the stringent UK visa regime adversely affecting the access of Indian students and workers to UK universities and workplace.

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Theresa May unveils vision for post-Brexit India-UK ties, lauds India as a leading power

- by Shweta Aggarwal

With the overarching focus on refashioning ties with New Delhi in the aftermath of London’s planned exit from the EU, British Prime Minister Theresa May has glowingly described India as the UK’s “most important and closest” friend and “a leading power in the world” as she begins a three-day visit to the world’s fastest growing economy on November 6.
Ahead of her first bilateral visit to a non-EU country, May outlined an ambitious agenda for dovetailing British capital and expertise to help fructify India’s development agenda pivoted around Make in India, smart cities and the spurring of an ongoing digital revolution.
In an article published in the ‘Sunday Telegraph’ a day before May holds talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on November 7, she lauded India and its leader, who is “undertaking a far-reaching programme of reform.” “
For India, seeking clarification on the British government’s visa policy will be a top priority. May’s hard-line views on curbing immigration and tightening of visa rules has generated concern and anxiety in India. Read more….

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Battle for Mosul: Reclaiming the last terrorist bastion in Iraq

- by India Writes Network

The battle lines are drawn for retaking the last terrorist citadel in Iraq. With 25000 of Iraqi soldiers trained and armed by US and its allies, 5000 battle-hardened members of the Kurdish militia Peshmarga, an assortment of Shia militias called Al Hashad Al Shabi groomed by Iran and groups of Sunni tribal fighters in hundreds trained by Turkish army encircling an estimated 10,000 Jehadist fighters of various nationalities in Mosul of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the stakes are higher than ever.

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Modi’s Tokyo visit: India, Japan set to sign nuclear deal

- by India Writes Network

Capping years of tortuous negotiations, India and Japan look set to sign a transformational civil nuclear deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s November 10-12 visit to Tokyo.

The negotiations for the civil nuclear deal were completed during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to New Delhi in December last year. The text for the civil nuclear deal has also been finalised, with all contentious issues sorted out. Since then, nuclear negotiators of both sides have completed a technical and legal scrub of the text of the nuclear agreement.

The agreement is expected to be signed after talks between Mr Modi and his Japanese counterpart Abe in Tokyo on November 11.
The signing of the nuclear deal will pave the way for acceleration of India-Japan relations in all areas as it’s the only issue that is restricting the full potential of the strategic partnership between Asia’s leading democracies, which are moving closer in the backdrop of perceived Chinese assertiveness in the region.

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Why Sardar Patel matters: An Icon of National Unity

- by Manish Chand

An extraordinary leader, freedom fighter and architect of the integration of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, better known as “Iron Man of India,” remains an enduring icon of patriotism, nationalism and the spirit of public service. In a fitting tribute to this giant, India will be launching week-long celebrations on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31, which has been aptly designated as Rashtriya Ekta Divas or National Unity Day.
A quintessential self-made man, Patel’s life story exemplifies the sheer power of will, hard work and sincerity as he scripted a new life for himself first as a lawyer, and then as a freedom fighter and nation-builder amid trying circumstances.
Given his formidable organizational abilities and unflinching commitment to nation-building, Sardar Patel was appointedas the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India, the crucial posts which brought out the best in him and help create an integrated and unified India as we know it now. Patel the Unifier is justly remembered for his iron will and firmness with which he facilitated the integration of over 500 princely states into the framework of federal India.
A pragmatist and realist to the core, Patel was a sharp observer of the international scene and advocated a realistic foreign policy in place of a symbolic idealism. He consistently advocated that no move must be adopted that would compromise the territorial integrity of India, and in particular, cautioned against internationalizing the Kashmir dispute. “I should like to make one thing clear, that we shall not surrender an inch of Kashmir territory to anybody,” Patel famously said.
Sardar Patel may have lived only two and a half years after India’s independence, but in those few months, he shaped the narrative of a modern, strong and self-reliant India. Often compared to Germany’s legendary leader Otto van Bismarck for his key role in the integration of princely states into India, Patel contributed to nation-building in myriad ways.
Decades after his death, Sardar Patel’s absolute love and devotion for India continues to inspire all those who are engaged in the resurgence of India. Tributes and honours continue to pour in for this legendary figure to this day.

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Cultural diplomacy poised for a bigger role, to promote Brand India: ICCR chief Amarendra Khatua

- by Manish Chand

Politics divides, culture connects. In Shanghai, a pact was signed between India and China to recreate Raj Kapoor’s 1951 classic Awaara into a contemporary Chinese opera.
Amarendra Khatua, the new director-general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), who was in Shanghai to deliver the keynote address at the 18th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF), struck an upbeat note on long-standing civilisational ties and promoting cultural exchanges in Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India and China. The joint theatrical remake of Awaara, which remains the most popular Indian movie in China, hints at more such collaborative cultural tie-ups India is set to pursue in days to come.
“Cultural diplomacy is poised to play a bigger role in India’s foreign policy calculus in days and months to come and promote Brand India,” said Khatua, a veteran diplomat who is also famous as an accomplished poet who writes and translates in English, Hindi and other Indian languages.

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