India and the World

With an eye on China, India renews outreach to Seychelles

- by India Writes Network

An archipelago of 115 islands off the coast of East Africa, Seychelles virtually disappears when the world map is zoomed out. However, its strategic significance for India’s diplomatic endeavors in the Indian Ocean maritime space is only set to increase, especially against the backdrop of China’s increasing forays in the pristine islands.
In this context, the recent visit of India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to Seychelles on October 10 was significant to allay some of the concerns raised by the Seychelles government over the agreement on India’s build-up of military infrastructure on Assumption Island.
There have been reports floating around that suggest that there are forces within the Seychelles government who are trying to hinder India’s infrastructural ambitions in these islands. In his last press conference in August, Seychelles’ President Danny Faure had said: “We would like to relook at the agreement which does not have a legal statute on the Seychelles side. But for India, it has a legal statute. We have to go back to the drawing board.” The reason for that could be attributed to the growing intimacy with China Read more..

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Bonding over Sanskrit, India, Lithuania script new horizons

- by India Writes Network

They are located thousands of miles away, but India and the southernmost Baltic state of Lithuania find it easy to connect culturally and do business, with the ancient Sanskrit language serving as an enduring bond between the two nations.
There are some 10,000 Sanskrit words in Lithuanian language, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius told his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj during his recent visit to New Delhi. Mrs Swaraj, who has deftly woven core values of Indian culture in her diplomatic outreach, was delighted as the minister gifted her a dictionary of 108 common Sanskrit and Lithuanian words, called the “Sanskrit-Lithuanian Mala.”
Sanskrit and the Lithuanian language, as the oldest surviving languages, share a unique phonetic and grammatical bond. Last year, at the Make in India Week in Mumbai, Lithuania had presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a specially published small Sanskrit-Lithuanian dictionary.
It’s not just Sanskrit and yoga that are scripting a new phase in India-Lithuania relationship. Building on spiritual bonds, India and Lithuania, a picturesque country known as land of wood and water, are now stepping up their efforts to fashion a contemporary multi-faceted relationship, which was reflected during the Lithuanian foreign minister’s Oct 8-11 visit to India.

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Namaste, Ni Hao! Sitharaman’s charm offensive signals improving India-China ties

- by India Writes Network

Namaste, Ni Hao! It’s time for bonhomie and friendly gestures between India and China, who are trying to put the bitterness of the Doklam standoff behind. India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Nathu La in Sikkim and her informal interaction with the Chinese troops across the border has been hailed in China as a warming signal for better India-China relations.

A video clip showing Ms. Sitharaman teaching the meaning of ‘namaste’ to the People’s Liberation Army soldiers has gone viral with several Chinese media groups sharing it widely as a positive gesture from the Indian side. “Do you know what ‘Namaste’ means?,” Mrs Sitharaman is seen asking in the clip to which one Chinese soldier responds saying: “Namaste means nice to meet you” before greeting her with a “Ni hao” in Chinese. Soon after the exchange of greetings, Ms. Sitharaman tweeted saying, “Acknowledged a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures on my reaching Nathu La.” Nathu La border post is around 30 km from Doklam where the two countries were engaged in a prolonged 73-day standoff.

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World leaders hail Nobel Peace Prize for ICAN

- by India Writes Network

Amid rising tensions of a nuclear threat from North Korea and the risks around the Iran nuclear deal, world leaders and peace activists have hailed the Nobel Peace Prize for the Geneva-based anti-nuclear advocacy group International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
The recognition follows the organisation’s decade long work which led to the recent signing of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“The organisation is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement. “Through binding international agreements, the international community has previously adopted prohibitions against land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition,” said Nobel Committee chairman Berit Reiss-Andersen announcing the prize. The UN treaty adopted in July has the support of 122 countries, which also includes Iran. However, major nuclear powers like the United States and Russia have stayed away from it.

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Why India-EU summit matters: Mapping next steps

- by Manish Chand

Unfazed by Brexit, India and the European Union are set to map the next steps in their mutually enriching and empowering partnership at their 14th summit in New Delhi. The 14th summit is taking place against a mutating geopolitical and geo-economic landscape, marked by uneven global economic growth and the rise of radicalism and alt-right forces in Europe and elsewhere.
In his interaction with EU leaders, including Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to raise the bar for India-EU partnership in both economic and strategic spheres.
Besides upscaling economic and strategic partnership, the 14th summit could be a milestone in entrenching the EU’s role as a key partner in India’s ongoing nation-building projects. In days to come, one can see enhanced support of the EU for flagship schemes of national resurgence like Smart City, Skill India, Clean Ganga, Digital India and Start-up India. In particular, the EU is set to emerge as one of preferred partners in India’s quest for urban renaissance.
Moving beyond specific deliverables, the 14th summit should culminate in a big picture view of steering this strategic partnership between the vibrant multi-cultural, multi-ethnic societies of India and the European Union. With the liberal global order under attack by alt-right politics and divisive forces, India and the EU can blend their strengths to champion a new narrative for open societies and inclusive globalisation.

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ASEAN-India music festival: Sounds of the future

- by India Writes Network

In a world where border walls are becoming the norm and doors are being shut to keep ‘the others’ out, the ASEAN-India music festival is aiming to do just the opposite – making borders translucent, even irrelevant with the power of music and free flow of ideas.
The first ever edition of the unique festival being organised by India’sMinistry of External Affairs, in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Seher, an NGO, aims to initiate a new musical dialogue to celebrate cultural diversity and foster a spirit of collaboration and ever-more connectedness between India and 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The three-day festival (Oct 6-8), to be held in New Delhi’s iconic 16th century fortress Purana Qila, is part of a series of special events being organised to commemorate 25 historic years of India’s dialogue partnership with the ASEAN, themed around ‘Shared Values, Common Destiny’.

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With China on mind, India’s Navy Chief steps up Vietnam connect

- by India Writes Network

India’s Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is on a five-day visit to Vietnam to step up defence and security cooperation with the South Asian nation which has emerged as a pivot of India’s Act East policy.
Given the fast changing geo-strategic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region, marked by China’s increased assertiveness in the region, the Navy Chief’s visit is being watched closely in Beijing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Hanoi in September 2016 was transformational and placed the expanding India-Vietnam ties on a new footing. During his visit, the Indian leader pledged $500 million in Lines of Credit for a host of development and defence-related projects in the Southeast Asian nation.

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Riding on love & courage slogan,Canadian Sikh to lead National Democrats

- by India Writes Network

At a time when the world is grappling with voices of polarization and Islamophobia, and when the ultranationalist rhetoric of several world leaders has done little to mitigate the situation, the rise of the Canadian Sikh man Jagmeet Singh on a slogan of ‘love and courage’ and a vision for an inclusive society has generated much curiosity and interest the world over. In just a span of a few years, the 38-year-old suave former lawyer has taken the Canadian political scene by storm, emerging as a strong rival to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

With his election as the leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party on October 1, securing a clear victory with nearly 54 per cent votes, racing way ahead of more experienced contenders, Mr. Singh has become the first non-white to be elected for the top job of a prominent Canadian political party. This makes his rise all the more important. A visibly jubilant Mr. Singh officially launched his campaign to contest the federal election next year. “The run for prime minister begins now,” he tweeted.

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US oil shipment opens a new chapter in Indo-US ties

- by India Writes Network

India’s quest to broad-base its energy security received a major boost after the first shipment of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil arrived at Paradip port in Orissa on October 2, following US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agreement on a strategic energy partnership in June this year. The shipment is part of a cumulative order of 3.9 million barrel placed by the Indian public sector refiner Indian Oil.
Crude oil exports from the US were banned for nearly four decades, starting from the 1973 OPEC (Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil embargo to late 2015 when the then President Barack Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Since 2017, crude oil exports have surpassed more than one million barrels per day (BPD) on multiple occasions.
Mr. Sanjay Sudhir, joint secretary (International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, hailed the shipment as a “new chapter in the history of Indo-US trade” that will be able to guide price stability and energy security in India. He was present along with Ms. Katherine B Hadda, US Consul General in Hyderabad, and other officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Oil at the ceremony to welcome the cargo. “MT New Prosperity, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), of capacity 2 million barrels of crude, left US Gulf Coast on 19th August and arrived at Paradip port today. Indian Oil will process the crude at its East-Coast base refineries, located at Paradip, Haldia, Barauni and Bongaigaon,” the press release said.

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