The BRICS nations have expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of 'indiscriminate rising' of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of 'coercion', cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
Former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has criticised India for continuing to procure Russian oil, alleging profiteering and contributing to the Russia-Ukraine war. India defends its energy procurement as driven by national interest and market dynamics.
What appeared to be a generous act of friendship was, in truth, a manoeuvre within a much larger strategic game. The United States used the 1962 war not just to aid India but to test how far it could be pulled into the Western fold, points out Dr Kumar.
Dar recalled that when he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July and asked about dialogue with India, the top US diplomat clarified that India has maintained it is a "bilateral issue."
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
A new book reveals that India and Pakistan discussed a communal division of Jammu & Kashmir along the Chenab river before the Kargil war in 1999.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
Asked about the expectations from the US, Azar said Washington and Israel are "completely in sync". He said he felt that the US would "support" Israel's action.
'The digital age has forced diplomats to be less formal and more accessible, reaching out to ordinary people both within and outside their countries, combining statecraft with streetcraft,' says former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
The phone conversation came days after it emerged that Modi will not be travelling to Russia for the annual India-Russia summit this year.
The theme for this year is "Yoga for One Earth, One Health" echoes India's vision of global wellness.
The opposition party's attack came after Shashi Tharoor, not part of the four leaders nominated by the Congress, was named as the head of a delegation to key partner countries to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.
'China could intentionally release excess water.' 'The North East is already flood-prone during the monsoon, and even a controlled release from Chinese dams (during the monsoon) could worsen flooding.'
It said a resolution to the conflict requires a "sincere and practical engagement" between the two parties, clearly referring to Russia and Ukraine.
Modi in a post on X said the two leaders also discussed measures to further strengthen Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Young IFS officers today would take it for granted that they represent a major country with strengths and capabilities.' 'They will be aware that India is seen as one of the 10 significant countries in the world and therefore their voice will be heard whether on climate change or regime change,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
India and Indians can ignore Pakistan, but that cannot be said of other nations in the neighbourhood, where New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy constantly reverberates. Four of the eight SAARC member-nations are Muslim -- Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rulers decide the nation's India or anti-India policy in the first two, and street-opinion contributes to the same in the latter two, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution that demanded Israel end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within 12 months, with Delhi underlining that it is a strong advocate of 'dialogue and diplomacy' and efforts should be made towards 'building bridges', 'not furthering divides'.
Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them, India said on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv under the shadow of the raging war.
Times have changed, situations have changed, but the basic nature of superpower geo-politics remains the same and so also India's diplomacy -- call it non-alignment, strategic autonomy or neutrality; it all depends on the time scale, notes Rup Narayan Das.
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Opportunity for India to take leadership in economic diplomacy.
Hometown diplomacy mixed with a Silk Road touch is expected be part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's reciprocal gesture when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China before end of May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council that 'we have to prepare' the second peace summit to end the Russia-Ukraine war 'altogether' and he has invited India and other countries to join the peace process.
Making it easier to do business is a key element of our strategy, says Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
'In today's world, it is difficult for public pressure to work against a country like India.'
'The fact that India is multilingual and the kids grow up already bilingual or trilingual so learning another language or learning other spelling patterns is not really that hard.'
'It is commendable that India is able to persuade all sides.' 'It shows that India counts and finally, we are reaching a position where we can find a place in the sun at the global level.'
The leaders said they stand for adherence to international law, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
Singh's comments that the nuclear option should not be resorted to is a message to Russia as well as Western powers backing Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said. Ukraine does not have any nuclear arsenal.
Modi emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy in dealing with the Ukraine crisis.
PM Modi seems to be gradually ending India's strategic ambiguity
He may have spent his entire adult life in diplomacy, but doctorate in nuclear physics Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's face betrays both fusion and fission of his moods.
Speaking at a joint press appearance with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington, DC, Blinken said that the US tried everything possible to avert the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy.
We should reassess what India's role in the world is and whether we are doing the right thing for ourselves, notes Aakar Patel.
'You broke the boundary of what it meant to be an Indian woman and the wife of a diplomat. 'You did not serve tea or sit idly by as men spoke about business matters -- a trope I have seen much too often in Indian and Indian-American households. 'You followed your dreams.'
