In the contemporary geopolitically fractious world, PM Modi has managed to elicit extraordinary support from the major global power players while deftly courting India’s biggest adversaries. PM Modi has transformed India’s image globally in myriads ways. Though foreign policy has rarely been a part of India’s electoral discourse, PM Modi, during campaign for the recent parliamentary elections, promised to position India as a world leader.
In spite of the multifarious challenges on the domestic and international fronts, PM Modi has emerged as a leader of global stature with the potential to address serious global issues, especially conflicts, and has worked tirelessly to ameliorate the condition of the marginalized by virtue of visionary, bold, and unabated leadership. In fact, PM Modi has raised the profile of India as a companion of preference, a voice of reason and a global consensus builder. Undoubtedly, he is abundantly endowed with the Kautilya’s six attributes of a ruler for perfection of diplomacy, namely, superior intelligence, sharp memory, refinement of speech, knowledge of politics, morality and readiness to provide resources.
When PM Modi took over the reins of India in 2014, it was presumed that foreign policy would be his weakest suit in governance. Contrarily, last decade has witnessed confidence building with the prominent global powers. PM Modi has shown great diplomacy in dealing with all three US Presidents of his time resulting into improved appreciation of each other’s worldviews. This relationship has led to consequential steps for promoting global relationship for India in strategic, economic, commercial and technological spheres. India and US have mutually engaged on sixty dialogues, including ultramodern emergent technologies, education, health, agriculture, green hydrogen, defense, and software & hardware development. On invitation from US President Joe Biden in June 2023, PM Modi got the rare opportunity to address the Joint Session of the US Congress for the second time.
PM Modi’s biggest strengths are his diplomatic skills and perseverance to overcome emerging global challenges such as Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to successfully tackling the pandemic on the domestic front, India developed and distributed over 300 million Covid-19 vaccines to approximately 100 countries on gratis basis. This made the world realize that India’s progress is good both for her own people and the whole world, especially the developing countries.
Before the world could come out of the grips of the pandemic, it was struck by two unanticipated conflicts: the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas confrontation. Some other unsettling developments during this period included the increasingly aggressive conduct of China in the East China Sea against Japan and Taiwan, in the South China Sea against several ASEAN countries, and against India and Bhutan on the undecided and disputed land boundary. To tackle these problems and counter aggressive China, various initiatives were taken. The first one of these was effective promulgation of the activities of the Neighbourhood First Policy and BIMSTEC and the launch of the ‘SAGAR’ vision. Success of these is evident from the fact that India’s ties with its neighbours are deeper today than these were in 2014.
Modi’s first visit as the PM to Nepal in August 2014, the first by an Indian PM in 17 years, focused on 4 Cs — cooperation, connectivity, culture and constitution. PM Modi has since traveled to Nepal four more times. The Joint Economic Commission between the two countries met in September 2014 after a 23-year hiatus. The dialogues with Nepalese leaders have significantly enhanced understanding and cooperation between the two countries. Another significant development in foreign affairs is the ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, long-pending since 1975. This agreement gave a strong message that India is keen to strengthen its bilateral relations with Bangladesh, its important eastern neighbour. India-Bangladesh ties today have improved significantly and emerged as a model for friendly relations. PM Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in March, 2015 was the first visit by an Indian PM after a long gap of 32 years.
India’s decisive political and economic support to Sri Lanka during the 2022 crisis, amounting to $4.50 billion in cash and kind, significantly enhanced confidence building between the two nations. Relations between India and Bhutan have always been cordial. Recent visits by the Bhutanese PM to India in March 2024 and by PM Modi to Bhutan have further strengthened the already robust bilateral ties. The Bhutanese PM’s first visit to India after winning the 2024 elections was particularly significant against the backdrop of Bhutan’s economic challenges and its complex relationship with China.
One of the most significant achievements of PM Modi’s foreign policy is the deepening of India’s ties with the Middle East countries. Earlier these countries used to look at India through the religious prism of Islam prompted by Pakistan. It is no longer the reality today. India has emerged as a strategic and economic partner of the Middle East countries. This is visible from the fact that several of these countries including UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have decorated PM Modi with their highest national awards. UAE invited the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the foreign ministers of Organization of Islamic Countries in 2019, ignoring the objections raised by Pakistan. Likewise, in January 2024, Minister for Minority Affairs Smriti Irani attended the third Haj and Umrah Conference in Jeddah. These would have been nearly impossible a decade ago. Moreover, due to cordial relations no Middle East country took a stand against abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. Oppositely, UAE declared to invest a sum of Rs 500 crore for mega projects like a mega-mall, and IT towers in Jammu and Srinagar. The success of PM Modi’s foreign policy in the Middle East can be assessed from the fact that India was able to get back her eight retired naval officials who had been awarded death sentences. The Emir of Qatar set them free to return to India in February 2024.
India’s Act East Policy has been remarkably successful in expanding and diversifying relations in economic, political, strategic, cultural, and connectivity spheres with ASEAN countries as well as Japan, Australia, The Republic of Korea, Pacific Island Nations and others. PM Modi has also been an active participant in the revival of the Quad in November 2017 and its upgradation to summit level over the last three years.
India has firmly displayed its sovereignty and strategic autonomy by not criticizing Russia for its attack on Ukraine, despite significant pressure from the West. Further, in these critical times, India has managed to import large quantities of oil and gas from Russia at concessional rates for ensuring affordable energy supply.
The successful conduct of the G20 Presidency is certainly the pinnacle of PM Modi’s achievements in the foreign policy arena. The political scientists could not anticipate that India would succeed in crafting a consensus ’Leaders Declaration, especially in the widely divergent positions on the conflict in Ukraine, with the West on one side and Russia and China on the other. However, India was able to achieve the unthinkable. Much of this success can be attributed to the leadership of PM Modi and the mutual respect and trust he has fostered with most world leaders. The world came together to ensure a successful G20 Presidency of India. Under PM Modi, India emerged as a Voice of the Global South and ‘Vishwamitra’ (Friend of the World) by virtue of the remarkable success of its G20 Presidency.
On the 9th of July, 2024, PM Modi was formally presented with the ‘Order of St. Andrew the Apostle’ by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s highest civilian honour is the recognition of PM Modi’s exceptional efforts in promoting the privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India.
A few months back Pew Research Centre, the prestigious nonpartisan think tank of the US, gave a factual report based on rigorous research. This report holds Narendra Modi as India’s most popular political figure. The confidence and trust level of Indians in Modi is much stronger than that enjoyed by other politicians of India. Modi’s popularity shows his potential to deliver globally, for a progressive and peaceful world. John C. Maxwell says “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” Narendra Modi is certainly a leader of global acclaim who has earned great respect by empowering others.
Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, Vice Chancellor Central University of Punjab, Bathinda