Turkey Beats India, China Pips USA In Global Diplomacy Index But Modi’s Magic Gives Delhi Its Best Rankings......(Part1)
If diplomacy happens to be one of the most important levers of global influence, then by attending the just concluded 50th G-7 summit in Italy as a special invitee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have further strengthened the perceptions that India under his leadership is increasingly becoming an active global player.
Incidentally, this was Modi’s first overseas trip soon after renewing his electoral mandate for the third consecutive term in office. In fact, it was Modi’s fifth consecutive participation at the G7 Summit.
If anything, a special invitation to the Indian Prime Minister by hosts of the G-7 summits in recent years reflects the recognition of India’s increasing importance by the seven leading nations of the developed world.
According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, India’s regular participation at the G7 Summit clearly points to increasing recognition and contribution of the efforts that New Delhi has been consistently making to resolve global challenges, including those of peace, security, development, and environment preservation.
“India’s participation at this G7 Summit acquires particular salience in the context of India’s recently held, not so recent, presidency of the G20, where India took a leading role in building global consensus on a number of contentious issues. As you are also aware, India has so far organized two sessions of the Voice of the Global South Summit, which have been aimed at bringing the interests, priorities, and concerns of the Global South on the global stage. At G7 also, we have always brought the issues of Global South to the forefront”, Kwatra points out.
Undeniably, the pace and scale of Indian diplomatic activity has picked up consistently over the last 10 years under Modi. So much so that “the 2024 Global Diplomacy Index” released by the Australia-based Lowy Institute has brought out that India, which “historically underinvested in the size of its diplomatic network relative to its demographic and economic weight,” has evolved to now become among the fastest growing diplomatic networks in the world.
With a total of 194 diplomatic posts, India has jumped to the 11th rank in the Index — ahead of Canada, Spain, and South Korea. It has opened as many as 11 new posts since just 2021, most of them in Africa.
At a time when India has been trying to position itself as the voice of the Global South, the report says that over 75% of new diplomatic posts opened by India since 2021 were in Africa. In addition, Indian missions in Lithuania and Cabo Verde are in the process of being set up, and the country is also preparing to open a mission in the strategically located island country of Timor-Leste, positioned between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Incidentally, this year’s key findings of the Global Diplomacy Index include:
1. Superpowers neck and neck: China is ahead in Africa, East Asia, and the Pacific, while the United States has the edge in the Americas, Europe, and South Asia. But overall, China holds the number 1 rank, followed by the U.S. at number 2.
2. Middle powers rising: Türkiye and India have rapidly expanded their diplomatic networks in a more multipolar world. And here Türkiye is well ahead of India. In fact, Türkiye’s rank is at 3, overtaking traditional diplomatic heavyweights Japan and France. Operating 252 posts, it has steadily expanded its network in the Middle East and Africa.
3. India ranks 11th globally, though it has done very well in recent years to overtake many established global powers. India’s diplomatic footprint is most pronounced in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and it is represented in every country in Asia, Eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean Region.
4. Asia in focus: Japan, with the 4th rank, is a global diplomatic heavyweight, while Indonesia leads its diplomatic network among Southeast Asian countries.
5. The price of war: Russia’s war in Ukraine has come at a heavy cost to its global diplomatic reach; its present rank has come down to 6th.
6. Hosts with the most: European cities top the list of the busiest diplomatic capitals (France at number 5, Italy, the U.K., Germany, and Italy with 7th, 8th, and 9th positions, respectively.
Indian Clout Grows Under Modi
Be that as it may, coming back to India once could point out significant progress in the field of Indian diplomacy under Modi. This has been particularly visible in four areas, areas that continue to hold opportunities but with some challenges now for the Indian Prime Minister.
First, ever since he assumed office as the Prime Minister in 2014, Modi’s proactive outreach with the Indian Diaspora, estimated by a recent study by the United Nations to be the world’s largest at 18 million, has reached great heights, if his massive rallies in places raging from Madison Square to Sydney, Suva to Dubai, and London to Houston were any indication. For Modi, the color of the passports does not matter as long as a person has blood links with India.
He brought the Diaspora closer to India by merging Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, making the cardholder equal with Indian citizens in every respect, and saving the right to vote and contest elections.
This is in sharp contrast to the situation under India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was of the view that the Diaspora must not expect anything from India, that they should be good citizens of the countries of their adoption, and that they must fully identify themselves with these countries.
If diplomacy happens to be one of the most important levers of global influence, then by attending the just concluded 50th G-7 summit in Italy as a special invitee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have further strengthened the perceptions that India under his leadership is increasingly becoming an active global player.
Incidentally, this was Modi’s first overseas trip soon after renewing his electoral mandate for the third consecutive term in office. In fact, it was Modi’s fifth consecutive participation at the G7 Summit.
If anything, a special invitation to the Indian Prime Minister by hosts of the G-7 summits in recent years reflects the recognition of India’s increasing importance by the seven leading nations of the developed world.
According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, India’s regular participation at the G7 Summit clearly points to increasing recognition and contribution of the efforts that New Delhi has been consistently making to resolve global challenges, including those of peace, security, development, and environment preservation.
“India’s participation at this G7 Summit acquires particular salience in the context of India’s recently held, not so recent, presidency of the G20, where India took a leading role in building global consensus on a number of contentious issues. As you are also aware, India has so far organized two sessions of the Voice of the Global South Summit, which have been aimed at bringing the interests, priorities, and concerns of the Global South on the global stage. At G7 also, we have always brought the issues of Global South to the forefront”, Kwatra points out.
Undeniably, the pace and scale of Indian diplomatic activity has picked up consistently over the last 10 years under Modi. So much so that “the 2024 Global Diplomacy Index” released by the Australia-based Lowy Institute has brought out that India, which “historically underinvested in the size of its diplomatic network relative to its demographic and economic weight,” has evolved to now become among the fastest growing diplomatic networks in the world.
With a total of 194 diplomatic posts, India has jumped to the 11th rank in the Index — ahead of Canada, Spain, and South Korea. It has opened as many as 11 new posts since just 2021, most of them in Africa.
At a time when India has been trying to position itself as the voice of the Global South, the report says that over 75% of new diplomatic posts opened by India since 2021 were in Africa. In addition, Indian missions in Lithuania and Cabo Verde are in the process of being set up, and the country is also preparing to open a mission in the strategically located island country of Timor-Leste, positioned between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Incidentally, this year’s key findings of the Global Diplomacy Index include:
1. Superpowers neck and neck: China is ahead in Africa, East Asia, and the Pacific, while the United States has the edge in the Americas, Europe, and South Asia. But overall, China holds the number 1 rank, followed by the U.S. at number 2.
2. Middle powers rising: Türkiye and India have rapidly expanded their diplomatic networks in a more multipolar world. And here Türkiye is well ahead of India. In fact, Türkiye’s rank is at 3, overtaking traditional diplomatic heavyweights Japan and France. Operating 252 posts, it has steadily expanded its network in the Middle East and Africa.
3. India ranks 11th globally, though it has done very well in recent years to overtake many established global powers. India’s diplomatic footprint is most pronounced in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and it is represented in every country in Asia, Eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean Region.
4. Asia in focus: Japan, with the 4th rank, is a global diplomatic heavyweight, while Indonesia leads its diplomatic network among Southeast Asian countries.
5. The price of war: Russia’s war in Ukraine has come at a heavy cost to its global diplomatic reach; its present rank has come down to 6th.
6. Hosts with the most: European cities top the list of the busiest diplomatic capitals (France at number 5, Italy, the U.K., Germany, and Italy with 7th, 8th, and 9th positions, respectively.
Indian Clout Grows Under Modi
Be that as it may, coming back to India once could point out significant progress in the field of Indian diplomacy under Modi. This has been particularly visible in four areas, areas that continue to hold opportunities but with some challenges now for the Indian Prime Minister.
First, ever since he assumed office as the Prime Minister in 2014, Modi’s proactive outreach with the Indian Diaspora, estimated by a recent study by the United Nations to be the world’s largest at 18 million, has reached great heights, if his massive rallies in places raging from Madison Square to Sydney, Suva to Dubai, and London to Houston were any indication. For Modi, the color of the passports does not matter as long as a person has blood links with India.
He brought the Diaspora closer to India by merging Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, making the cardholder equal with Indian citizens in every respect, and saving the right to vote and contest elections.
This is in sharp contrast to the situation under India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was of the view that the Diaspora must not expect anything from India, that they should be good citizens of the countries of their adoption, and that they must fully identify themselves with these countries.
1 yr. ago
