With the Modi Government completing five years in office, one of its significant success stories has been its Foreign Policy. Right from commencement, the Prime Minister had adopted a creative and bold approach towards foreign policy. He stressed on changing the face of Indian foreign policy by reducing the strain on conventional diplomacy and clichés.
In the initial years, the government’s foreign policy decisions were regarded as daring; but later they started proving themselves to be essentially pragmatic. Some instances are as follows:
- India-Israel partnership has bloomed like never before
- India has reached out to almost all major nations in the world to extend a gesture of friendly correlations
- India has established an image of an assertive yet friendly policy maker in the past years
- PM Modi has met almost all significant world leaders and developed a positive personal rapport
Moreover, we must notice that although there are some exceptions, still such personal equations have yielded optimistic results for the country. The main reason behind this is that, along with a quintessential representation of India as a massive market and a rapidly developing nation, Prime minister Modi has managed to present India as a keynote player and an innovative changemaker in world politics. This is why the global community has understood this reality and expressed its appreciation for the same.
Additionally, Narendra Modi, through his actions has gained a reputation of being a no-nonsense and rational leader and is also asserting his nation in the same manner. He has tried to drive the Indian interests in the international realm through every small and big step. Almost every bilateral or multilateral deal made by India has left something in our hands which is either materially significant or diplomatically important. This could be concerning strategic gains, economic returns, cultural ties, modern technology, upliftment of the needy, infrastructural development, cooperation on counter-terrorism measures and many more.
After four years down the line, we can now read the pattern of Modi government’s foreign policy. There are six major dimensions which we need to understand.
- To deepen the ties with old friends like Russia, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mauritius, and increase cooperation with neighboring countries and the ones in Indian Ocean Rim.
- To renew, develop and maintain stronger ties US, UK, Europe, and the Gulf nations.
- To have strong trade relations with robust economies, and making India a country worth investing in.
- To maintain a zero-tolerance stance against terrorism and establish international cooperation for counter-terrorism measures. Also, ensure national security; both internal and external.
- Resolving disputes and establishing cooperation on eminent matters like global peace, environment restoration, peaceful coexistence and so on.
- Taking an optimistically assertive stance in organisations like BRICS, SAARC, UN and making India a key player in the realm of world politics.
This pattern of the Modi Government’s foreign policy is entirely based on realism and is completely workable too. And now, when the government has entered its fifth year, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government have many incomplete foreign policy tasks, still PM Modi has gained much international goodwill. Also, his intent is optimistic, the world community has trusted India’s integrity, strength and Indian diplomacy has evolved beyond its conventional framework.
Hope that this brief analysis of India’s foreign policy for the last four years will help you understand India’s positive steps under the leadership of PM Modi.
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