The meeting of the Heads of Indian Missions abroad which began here on Friday has begun reviewing “the complex strategic environment” that the country faces today.
To begin with greater connectivity is being sought in the South Asian region to promote the movement of goods, services, investment and technology so that India’s economic growth process remain intact and provide the engine of progress in the immediate neighbourhood. Despite complexities the recent warming of relations with Pakistan, particularly in trade and commerce and people-to-people contact has given impetus for South Asian connectivity.
The Conference is being participated by the heads 120 Indian Missions abroad.
Inaugurating the Conference, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh said : “There are also challenges thrown up by globalization, which has led to entirely new paradigms and discourses on issues ranging from the environment and sustainable development to international terrorism, piracy and crime.”
He also cautioned that the imperatives of India’s foreign policy has, however, not changed. Security against external threats, economic prosperity and sharing in global public goods remain the central impulse. He urged the Heads of Indian Missions “to actively shape a favourable external environment for India.”
Stressing the need for the emerging economies to come together, he said : “Over the last two decades, our political and economic engagement with the major powers has increased manifold. While our interaction with major emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa in formats like the IBSA, and along with Russia and China in the BRICS, have grown in importance.”
He called for close partnership with Africa and to accelerate the development of this continent through India’s Development Partnership Administration and Fund and as well as through the India-Africa Forum Summit.
“For foreign policy to effectively serve domestic growth needs, it is imperative that efforts be equally geared toward finding economic opportunities in trade and financial flows and assisting the search for privileged access to critical or rare natural resources – these could be sources of energy or other minerals vital for modern industries, the Prime Minister said.
The Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna called for creation of an external enabling environment for country’s transformation through inclusive growth.
“Our engagement in the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) process has gained momentum. The asymmetrical and result oriented approach adopted by us has pushed forward the SAARC process,” he said.
He defined India-China relations as one of the important bilateral relationship in the 21st century.
“ The forthcoming commemorative 20th anniversary summit of our dialogue with ASEAN is a landmark event which would signify our extensive engagement with the region,” Krishna said.
The Indian External Affairs Minister also noted that India’s global profile has been steadily growing. Its credentials for becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council are gaining momentum. Engagement with like-minded countries in the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) process on issues of mutual interest in the international arena provided opportunities to deal with issues of global governance is needed.
He said that the well being of overseas Indias is one of the core responsibilities and concerns of Indian Mission.
He gave the 4 C Mantra for Indian diplomacy – Commerce, Connectivity, Consular and Community.
The Indian Foreign Secretary, Ranjan Mathai said : “The need to present holistic answers to issues relating to political dialogue, security, financial flows, trade, economic relations, cyber matters and priorities, information, culture, science has been accentuated.”
The Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde shared his thoughts on India’s security environment and challenges with the participants. He also interacted and responded to questions relating to visa issues.
In addition, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Deputy National Security Adviser, Finance Secretary, Secretary Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs also addressed the Heads of Missions (HoMs) and responded to a number of questions on a variety of issues.
The Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas S Jaipal Reddy, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natrajan are also slated address the HoMs on energy cooperation. The Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi will address the Conference of Head of Missions of GCC Countries and Jordan, Yemen, Libya, Malaysia & Maldives on Monday alongwith the Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur.
The External Affairs Minister SM Krishna earlier held six regional Heads of Mission Conferences as a run up to this main conference of HoMs. These are in Singapore for the ASEAN nations, in Cairo for North Africa and West Asian nations, in Abu Dhabi for the Gulf States, in Madrid for all European States, in Dushanbe for Central Asian countries and in Havana for Latin American countries.
A lot of issues that came up in these regional conferences will be discussed in the Conference of HoMs in Delhi. Issues like the Arab Spring and its implications, the challenge of the Eurozone crisis will be some of these issues. In addition, there will always be the perennials of Indian Foreign Policy, that is, India and its neighbours, issues related to India’s multilateral engagement, issues related to overseas Indians’ consular matters, passports etc. Also, new and emerging issues such as cyber security, public diplomacy, and aspects of cultural diplomacy are on the agenda.
The apex Indian industry bodies like CII and FICCI are also making arrangements for separate interactions with visiting Heads of Mission.