T hrough the stoicism he paradoxically wore on his mildly smiling face, the inner emotion of Azali Assoumani, Honorary President of the African Union, could be sensed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugged him and ushered the entry of the African segment of the Global South -- on September 9, 2023 in New Delhi -- into the prestigious and critically important G20 grouping of which India was President last year. Narendra Modi’s eyes, too, betrayed a little wetness as he led the President of the African Union to his seat at the round-table arrangement accompanied by thunderous applause from other members including United States President Joe Biden. That culminating event of India’s G20 presidency was also marked by the great diplomatic success India achieved in securing a unanimous resolution on the ongoing Ukraine conflict -- a feat that nobody thought was possible until the last minute. But, thanks to Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and India’s diplomatic resoluteness and astuteness, leaders of all G20 member-nations agreed upon the way the Ukraine conflict had to be mentioned. The world will never forget those moments that brought to fore India’s leadership capability in the complex and slippery domain of diplomacy -- the New Delhi moment (as one may say).

 

That moment, however, was only a very small tip of the ice-berg of India’s global outreach whose influence has grown manifolds in the last one decade all the more pronouncedly. The story of India’s global outreach defies all the stereotypes that defined India previously. No matter the tall talk Indian leadership indulged in about the country’s greatness, the international realpolitik and its multiple and complex facets and nuances had only a scant respect for India as an entity of substance. The stereotype, thus, was of a country that was diffident and loved to describe itself as a peaceloving nation that has refused to ‘lean in’, if one were to use a modern expression. A few flashes of earlier New Delhi initiatives into global affairs notwithstanding, India mattered in world affairs only on a very few occasions -- such as the war for the liberation of Bangladesh. But the Indian story started changing its narrative with the ascendency of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister in the summer of 2014. Since that moment in history, India has expanded its international footprint beyond anybody’s imagination -- shattering all the stereotype impressions the world harboured. Until 2014, India was known as a meek seeker of assistance from every possible source including the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank and other institutions -- so much so that every common Indian felt that seeking help from the world was India’s indelible destiny.

 

Today, in sharp contrast of that experience of decades, India’s Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank) has given as many as 300 Lines of Credit (LoCs) to over 600 developmental projects in as many as 68 countries including Russia. And the total value of India’s LoCs is a whopping 32 billion USDs. The LoC is not a grant, but a soft loan or concessional assistance. For a country that was statedly poor just until a few years ago, such indulgence in what is described as economic diplomacy is an exponential leap forward -- marking its confidence, its capacity of generating economic surplus, and its intent of making its presence felt increasingly in global affairs. Standing at the speaker’s podium at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostock in Russia’s deep, snow-clad far east, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised the seriousness in President Vladimir Putin’s developmental initiative in that region clouded in possibly the roughest weather conditions in the world and said, in effect, that India would be too happy to act as a volunteering partner. And then he offered a hefty Line of Credit to Russia. The importance of that moment can never be overstated.

 

For, it marked one giant step in India’s economic diplomacy whose value and virtue the world has come to recognise wholeheartedly over the past decade. For, what India offers is completely different in form and content and intent from what another Asian power -- China -- does. While the Chinese assistance to different countries has umpteen facets of coercion, India describes its hand of economic friendship as “non-reciprocal assistance”, to use the words of Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar. But let us pause to consider what India is actually doing and aiming for by extending such assistance for developmental initiates all over the world. The most numerous recipients of India’s Lines of Credit belong to Global South. This one fact is good enough to mark the perimeter of India’s goodwill. Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, India is not throwing its money around only to claim a few brownie points in diplomacy, but is investing its goodwill in genuine international initiatives in favour of development -- with no strings attached! That is why every country in the vast Global South looks to India as an international elder whose voice for its rights and honour has gained a tremendous importance. The world has not missed the touch of altruism in India’s ever-expanding Lines of Credit to poor countries. India believes in a just and equitable world order and acts in that direction -- which was evident during its G20 presidency as well. Frankly. there is no other country in the world with such a view-point and action-orientation.

 

The generation of the sentiment of harmony among nations through such assistance, therefore, is being noticed by the world powers as well. It is not without reason that most world powers have begun recognising India as a major player on the global stage. Hence those hopeful looks in the world’s eyes when Prime Minister Modi moves from one world capital to another promoting and spreading peace-diplomacy -- unmindful of the groupings and bloc-dynamics, oblivious to the world’s perception of what is politically right and wrong. If every nation works in favour of its own interests -- perceived or real -- then India, too, has a similar right to follow that dictum -- is in essence the argument of Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar generally as he responds to queries from diplomats and scribes the world over. His forthrightness has won him plaudits -- like what he recently got in Europe -- “You are a superstar”, by a national leader. Superstar is India! -- if not statedly a global superpower. Never mind that, India does display almost all traits of one -- such as willing engagement in global affairs, willingness to take sides on critical issues, courage to stay unaligned in self-interest in an unabashed manner, willingness to extend cooperation to every country around the globe far beyond the immediate geopolitical contours, willing to leverage not just the power of the economy but also of defence merchandise production to establish strategic partnerships with multiple nations, offering idea-leadership to different international initiatives such as Solar Alliance, entering collaborations in areas such as space and atomic energy on an equal basis ...! All these traits are proving to be pronouncedly useful tools for New Delhi in the Asian region -- Indo-Pacific -- where every world power looks at India as a counter-balance to the cantankerous China whose approach to world affairs nobody has been able to define precisely. Let alone that, even China has shown ample signs of respect for India, its constantly nudging of India on the border issue notwithstanding. The latest evidence of this alteration in the Chinese approach became visible when China agreed for a near-complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh.

 

That the stepping back by the Chinese was certainly a recognition of India’s increased military prowess, was the reality. But the greater reality is Beijing’s recognition of the tough stance the Indian leadership is capable of taking -- thanks to India’s willingness to utilise its weight in its own favour and also spreading its circle of influence all over the world. The rich range of sumptuous financial arrangements that India enters has beneficiaries that include even the United States of America and Russia, in addition to other statedly rich countries around the world. Though that massive engagement may be classified as economic diplomacy by some, for India, the continuous exercise of its goodwill across international arena is a measure of its aspiration to become a player whose presence -- or absence -- will matter to the world -- beyond the stereotype. There are countless other facets of India’s growing engagement with the world in general. All those underline the reality of India’s growing outreach as a country with global ambition and ever-expanding global footprint. And each of those facets busts the old stereotypes by which the world recognised India until lately. (Pics - from top to bottom )

 

● PM Narendra Modi greets President of the Union of the Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Azali Assoumani after the Union became permanent member of the G20 in New Delhi

 ● PM’s speech in Plenary Session of 5th Eastern Economic Forum at Vladivostok

● Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Guyana President Irfaan Ali