India's global visibility and strength have increased in 2022

New Delhi: After nearly two years of standstill in the Pandemic period, the clock of 2022 is clicking fast. The earth will complete one more cycle around the sun, and soon 2022 will be an eclipse. The progress report of India in 2022 has remained good internationally.

In one of its latest articles, the Economist said that India "helped create a fund at the UN Climate talks in Egypt to compensate developing countries for climate-related damage.

This week Jon Finer, America's deputy national security adviser, described India as "very high" on America's list of partners that "can truly help move forward a global agenda."

India as a key player in the Russia-Ukraine war

Indian Prime Minister is seen as a strong negotiator, incredibly where India maintained relations and business with Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and the West countries on the other hand.

Earlier in a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Putin, Narendra Modi said, 
"Today's era is not of war”, …but diplomacy and negotiations." The Indian statement was perhaps echoed by every top leader of the US and other western countries and included in the G20 concluding meeting at Bali, Indonesia.

In the early days of the War, India's neutral stance in the Russian-Ukraine war had raised concerns in the US and the West, who wanted India to boycott trade and relations with Russia.

India stood by its stand, vision and strength and continued business as well as the relationship with Russia. It made the US and West countries understand India's position and the old relationship between the two countries.

India even successfully evacuated its citizens/students from Ukraine and brought some desperate students of the neighbouring countries back to their respective safe places.

This week, CIA chief Bill Burns told American public broadcaster, "I think it's also been very useful that Xi Jinping and prime minister Modi in India have also raised their concerns about the use of nuclear weapons. I think that's also having an impact on the Russians" and could well have averted a global disaster.

To maintain a continuing relationship with Russia, India abstained 11 times from the sanctions the West and United Nations imposed against Russia while India condemned the war where needed. India was a signatory to the declaration paper at G 20 that, in solid words, criticised Russian in the war.

It concludes that India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine war has brought India out as a global leader who could emerge as a peace negotiator.

One area where India fell short was mending its relationship with China. When one expected that shake hands between re-elected Chinese Premium Xi Jinping and Narender Modi at G 20 meeting in Indonesia in October after their estranged relationship and marinating distance at the SCO meeting in Uzbekistan might improve. But recent faceoff between the Indian and the Chinese soldiers have once again slipped the hope.  

With Pakistan, India maintained a distance as the trust deficit continues. India, in 2022, never wanted to talk about peace or dialogue with the weak leadership of Pakistan. Politically and economically, Pakistan continues to remain unstable. How new military leadership will emerge after their much-hyped and public criticism for indulging in politics is yet to be seen. The biggest worry with India and the rest of the world is that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan should remain safe and never go into the hands of the rogue element.

India chairs the high table of multilateral platforms

In the last month of December 2022, India dominated the global news when it took over not only the affairs of the G20 but also the chair of the United Nations Security Council. It was the second time that India was chairing the UNSC in 2022.

The special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on "Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes" was held in India on 28-29 October 2022. It in itself is a unique achievement.

The theme focuses on three areas where emerging technologies are experiencing rapid development and the increasing threat of abuse for terrorist purposes: terrorism financing, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and the Internet and social media for the first time. An unbinding "Delhi declaration" was passed unanimously in the meeting.

Indian diplomacy and travel continue to expand in 2022

2022 also saw more than fifty countries' heads, deputies or top ministries visiting India on official business.

While India received the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and Maldives, the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, the Prime Minister of Nepal and the Prime Minister of Japan.

The Indian Prime Minister visited Indonesia to attend the G20 Summit, a great success for the Indian Prime Minister to have one-on-one meetings with top country leaders.

Prime Minister also visited Japan, Uzbekistan, Germany, UAE, Nepal, and France and met their country's Heads of State to build long-lasting partnerships in trade and culture and strengthen the geo-strategic positing of India across the globe.

There have been an equal number of visits of the Indian President and Vice President and not to talk of the battery of the Four senior and Junior Foreign Ministers across the globe.

The Indian government, in 2022, also officially received more than 100 foreign delegations, including senior ministers and trade leaders. Equally, 2022 also witnessed scores of virtual high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings.

Other multilateral platforms

India also has been playing an extraordinary role in the multilateral platforms in Indo-Pacific, Bricks, SCO and Quad. India's recognition and active participation with well-researched teams brought phenomenal results back home.

India's growing stature to a more assertive foreign policy is seen as a combination of Narender Modi taking bold decisions plus the experience of S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs.

Two quotes from the Minister became a landmark in 2022 when Jaishankar, in his speech on the evolution of Indian foreign policy, said, "In India's case, nationalism has led to greater internationalism."

And in another interview, while responding to a question on the situation at the Indo-China border escalated, Jaishankar said, "somewhere Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world's problem, but the world's problems are not Europe's problems."

It won't be wrong to conclude that India in 2022 passed out with flying colours in their foreign policy and attempted to align with every important country according to their requirement rather than a kneejerk reaction.