The first few months of Prime Minister Modi’s third term have witnessed a renewed focus on Europe
The last half-a-dozen weeks have witnessed India's hectic political and diplomatic discussions with important global powers in Europe. On the one hand, these endeavours on India’s part signify a set of astute foreign policy initiatives to nurture its national interests and establish peace and stability in the world, which at present is ridden with chaos, crises and conflicts, even wars, on the other. It is important to note that these have reverberated in the regions starting from the Indo-Pacific to Eurasia and then from South to West Asia. One can argue that even during such a critical juncture, India has neither been niggardly nor has failed to play its part as a peacemaker, peacekeeper and peace builder besides upkeeping her national interests.
 
With the beginning of his third term as India’s Prime Minister, Modi has given prime importance to Europe, which has become India’s key partner on many fronts, be it trade, security or climate change. In the last couple of months, PM Modi has visited five European countries (Italy, Russia, Austria, Poland and Ukraine), with many firsts to his credit. While he is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Poland after 1979, his visit to Ukraine is the first one by any Indian Prime Minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. Ukraine became an independent republic following the end of the Cold War and subsequent disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
 
The visit to Russia and Ukraine within a span of just six weeks assumes great significance as both countries have been at war with each other for over two-and-a-half years since February 2022. These visits to Europe encapsulate India’s trade and economic partnership (with Russia), defence ties (with Russia and Poland) and India’s stature as a peacemaker (with the West and Ukraine), a leading light of the Global South (all underdeveloped nations), and cultural ties one and all.
 
While Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Moscow in July this year (2024) may have annoyed the West, especially the USA, and to a certain extent Ukraine, for India, the importance of this visit stems from her decades-long trade and defence partnership with Russia since independence, which has now been catapulted to “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.” The Western nations may not have liked and criticized India for importing a substantial amount of crude oil from Russia in the last couple of years (particularly since the Russia-Ukraine war began), which is under Western sanctions. Still, from India’s point of view, it has sufficed for the petroleum requirement of an energy-deficient country like India. It has also earned abundant revenue for India through the sale of processed crude oil to European nations. Despite the criticism, it is more of an Indian "oil strategy to buy oil" and a "marketing strategy" to further India's economic and energy needs, as rightly pointed out by India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar.
 
PM Modi’s Visits to Poland & Ukraine
 Last week, Prime Minister Modi visited Poland, a member of NATO since 1999, where New Delhi and Warsaw played on the bugle for ending the war, be it in Eurasia or the Middle East, through "dialogue and diplomacy", much to the appreciation of countries across the world. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Warsaw has bolstered the seven-decade long India-Poland diplomatic relations and elevated it to the level of “Strategic Partnership”.
 
Amidst Poland’s fear of a military onslaught, apparently from the mighty Russia following the Russia-Ukraine-West logjam, and its bid to diversify its defence dependence on Russia, India’s rise as an exporter of arms and other defence equipment in recent times under its signature initiative of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” could play an important role that will ultimately usher in a strong defence bonding between the two. The good part about this is that neither Russia nor the West may have any misgivings. Furthermore, it will provide ample opportunity to maximize India's more significant interests.
 
The visit to Ukraine on the eve of its Independence Day has invited international attention because of the ongoing situation there. While it has raised eyebrows in some quarters, the visit has many positive takeaways. For example, for the Ukrainian leadership and its people, who have made emotional appeals to India to play their part in persuading Russia to end the war, this visit may be "historic", "symbolic", “landmark”, and a “show of support.” For India, it signifies her untiring efforts to end the long war that has taken a toll on both the parties and the world, especially in economic terms.
 
The visit at a critical juncture when the West-induced Ukrainian offensive in Russian territory is going on is part of India's consistent thrust on ending the war through dialogue. As has been done now, India has always maintained a neutral position in the past 75 years of its creation as an independent nation-state, especially in a war or a war-like situation. India has been consistently pursuing an independent foreign policy without falling into the trap of any world power. It has a high sense of pragmatism and adaptability, considering the time, situation, and, most importantly, its national interest.
 
The visit to Kyiv also showcases India's exemplary leadership of the Global South for decades. Less than a week ago, at the third summit of the Voice of Global South, India led from the front to provide high hopes to the underdeveloped and underrated nations across the globe who have been reeling under economic crises, war and conflict and several other challenges for quite a long time. India called for a comprehensive "Global Development Compact" in the more outstanding interests of the Global South.
 
The first few months of all three terms of Narendra Modi as India's Prime Minister have been eventful, particularly in furthering India's astute and aggressive foreign policy. For instance, at the beginning of his first term in 2014, India pursued the “Neighbourhood First" policy as the trademark of its new-age foreign policy, during which he prioritized our immediate neighbours (Bhutan, Nepal, etc.).
 
This continued unabatedly at the beginning of his second term as Prime Minister (2019-2024), when Modi visited countries like Sri Lanka and Maldives in our immediate neighbourhood and the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan in our extended neighbourhood. Now, the first two months of Modi 3.0 have witnessed the country's “Europe First” policy in full gear after the successful visit to aforesaid European countries, which are crucial to India's foreign policy in the coming times and India's efforts to balance its relationship between USA and Russia.
   
*** Dr Mahesh Ranjan Debata teaches at the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; views expressed are personal.