India and the World

G20 in China: B20 raises the bar for global e-economy

- by Manish Chand

HANGZHOU (China): China is poised to leave its imprint on the G20 process at the summit of major economies in the scenic city of Hangzhou on September 4-5. The 11th G20 summit aims at restoring global growth through new policy initiatives and enhanced macro-economic coordination among G20 economies. Ahead of the summit, nearly 800 business leaders of G20 countries will meet over the weekend and present a spectrum of ambitious initiatives to revitalise the global economy, which include developing a multilateral trading system, promoting green financing and creating a global electronic trade platform, known as the eWTP.
Fast-tracking the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement will be a major focus area at the G20 summit, which will be attended by not just the leaders of G20 economies, but also a host of other countries, such as Egypt, Chad, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Spain, Laos and Thailand. India had ratified TFA in April. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Hangzhou for the G20 summit, and is expected to push for curbing trade protectionism and enhancing global growth through innovative initiatives.
The proposed construction of the eWTP is set to be a game-changer in accelerating global e-trade and the development of internet economy, a major focus area at the 11th G20 summit.
The eWTP is the brainchild of Jack Ma, chair of the B20’s SME development taskforce and chairman of the multi-billionaire dollar Alibaba Group. “The idea of an electronic world trade platform, eWTP, a mechanism for public-private dialogue in the development of crossborder e-trade, will improve the current trade framework and help small and medium-sized enterprises, developing countries, women and the young generation participate in the global economy,” Jack Ma. Read more…

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Why PM’s Modi visit to Vietnam matters & Why China will be watching

- by Manish Chand

With China closely watching amid the ongoing ferment in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Vietnam, the first stop of his extended overseas trip which will impart a greater strategic traction to India’s Act East policy at the dual ASEAN and EAS summits in Laos.
The importance of Mr Modi’s maiden visit to Vietnam, an emerging ASEAN economy and a crucial plank in the maritime stability in the region, can’t be overstated. Over the years, Vietnam has morphed into a trusted strategy ally of India due to a host of reasons, with China’s assertive posturing in South China Sea driving the two countries in a closer embrace.
PM Modi’s visit to Vietnam will put the spotlight on an intersection of India’s Act East Policy and Hanoi’s Act West Policy as they deepen their military and economic partnership. Building upon the ongoing transformation of the defence relationship, one can expect India to play a bigger role in Vietnam’s military modernisation. In the military sphere, there is a convergence of interests and a demand-supply fit which will ensure that the relationship keeps growing.
Moving beyond merely strategic calculations, what imparts an emotional resonance to India-Vietnam relations is deeply felt solidarity and connections of heart and mind, as exemplified in spiritual linkages of Buddhism and the enduring popularity of Indian films among the Vietnamese people. Instead of getting lost in a strategic maze, the two countries are rightfully focusing on enhancing people-to-people bonds through travel, tourism and cultural contacts.
Taking strategy is no excuse for not seeing the country with your own eyes. It’s time to open the unusual door, see more and open new vistas in this mutually invigorating partnership. Read more…

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A meeting of minds: US backs India against Pakistan-backed terrorism

- by Shweta Aggarwal

Marking a meeting of minds on a host of pressing issues, India and the US have decided to step their counter-terror cooperation, with Washington strongly backing India by renewing call to Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks to justice.
The second Strategic and Commercial Dialogue between India and the US ended on a high note, with both sides upbeat about the blossoming of bilateral relations in all spheres and underlining their resolve to take this strategic partnership to new heights.
The US’ robust backing on India’s concerns over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism was music to New Delhi’s ears. “The US supports all efforts to brining the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to justice… terror is terror no matter where it comes from,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry in New Delhi on August 30, after wide-ranging talks with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The two strategic partners also reiterated their resolve to intensify counter-terror cooperation. They will intensify intelligence sharing and specifically “work for the early operationalization of an agreement on exchanging information on known or suspected terrorists,” said Mrs Swaraj. The two sides also signed a framework agreement on combating cyber crimes.

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Logistics pact to tighten India-US strategic embrace

- by Manish Chand

In the emerging alphabet of India-US relations, another acronym LEMOA has been added as the two countries signed a landmark logistics exchange agreement that will enable their militaries to access each other’s military supplies and refuelling capabilities through ports and military bases.
The agreement was signed in Washington DC on August 29, a day before India and the US hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi. The pact is a leap of faith for India as the long-negotiated pact was bogged down in apprehensions in India regarding infringement of the country’s sovereignty in the military sphere. The inking of the pact underscores the Modi government’s design to risk political pressure to deepen military and strategic ties with the world’s most powerful country.
India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter lauded the signing of the bilateral ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement’ (52940157), saying the pact will facilitate opportunities for “practical engagement and exchange”.

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A new symphony: NSG tops agenda at India-US dialogue

- by Manish Chand

Ahead of the last meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama in China, India and the US will hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi, which will hopefully bring to closure some key issues on the bilateral agenda and map the way ahead.
The Strategic Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Commercial Dialogue will be co-chaired by India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. The August 30 talks, which will be followed by the Modi-Obama meeting in on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, will cap more than a decade of blossoming of the India-US relations, which were transformed by the pathbreaking India-US nuclear deal in the summer of 2005.
With the bilateral relationship on a firm footing, the focus will be logically on the unfinished agenda during the last few months of the Obama presidency. For India, getting full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group tops the agenda as only a strong push from the US can swing around fence-sitters and sceptics.
In the end, with so much going on between the world’s largest democracies, PM Modi and President Obama will surely have a lot to commend each other for bringing the India-US relationship this far. Hesitations of history are passe, and “a new symphony is in place” as PM Modi said memorably in his speech to the US Congress. It’s time to play on, raise the bar and aim big…

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Behind PM Modi’s Balochistan gamble: Shift in India’s foreign policy?

- by India Writes Network

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, has drawn wide attention for his comments on Pakistan although he made no direct reference to the country. He drew a contrast between India’s belief in human values, as illustrated in the widespread grief in India at the massacre of innocent schoolchildren in Peshawar, with the “other side which glorifies terrorists”. He invited India’s neighbours to jointly fight poverty and not “destroy ourselves” by fighting our own people.
As Pakistan is accusing India of fomenting trouble in Baluchistan and POK, it is quite conceivable that it would apply its full template for raising military tension on the border and intensify cross-border terrorism in J&K; we hardly need reminding ourselves that this template, backed by nuclear weapons capability, constitutes Pakistan’s grand strategy towards India. One can envisage greater Pakistan-inspired terrorism in other parts of the country. Pakistan may even aim to escalate the border tension, involving the two armed forces, with the objective of drawing in great power intercession as it had tried during the Kargil conflict. The new Indian strategy assumes a certain risk but aims to apply calibrated pressure on Pakistani policy-makers and making them realise the adverse strategic situation they are in.

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India-Pakistan ties hit new low, Jaitley likely to skip SAARC meet

- by India Writes Network

Signalling a deepening frostiness in bilateral ties with Pakistan, India’s Finance Minister is expected to skip the meeting of SAARC finance ministers in Islamabad August 25-26. Instead, India may send economic affairs secretary for the SAARC meet, informed sources said.
There is no official word on Jaitley’s participation in the SAARC finance ministers’ meeting in Islamabad. The final decision will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The relations between India and Pakistan have plummeted to a new low, with both sides trading accusations and playing a game of one-upmanship. In a tit-for-tat response to Pakistan’s support for violence in Jammu and Kashmir, PM Modi, in his Independence Day speech, subtly alluded to human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, saying people from these regions currently administered by Pakistan have thanked him. This is the first time an Indian prime minister has raised Balochistan and PoK in their Independence Day message, signalling a hardening of the Modi government’s posture towards Pakistan and the drawing of a new line on Kashmir.
Pakistan’s response to Mr Modi’s remarks suggest intransigence, which suggest that bilateral ties are headed for a deep freezer in days to come with minimal high-level contacts.

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