India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
The party, in a resolution adopted at its 84th plenary session, accused the National Democratic Alliance government of pursuing a foreign policy "bereft of focus and direction".
Speculation over his role was sparked off when senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted earlier in the day, Modi should take Cinema star Sharuk Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene , and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers.
Speaking at a joint press event with Macron, Modi, who is in Paris on a two-day official visit, said a roadmap to strengthen India-France strategic ties over the next 25 years was being prepared with bold and ambitious goals on the anvil.
India has been in touch with all parties concerned as part of overall global efforts to bring down the tensions.
Friday's incident at Herat has dampened somewhat the spirit behind the invitation. It reminds Modi much before he officially becomes prime minister, of the challenge that awaits his government, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
It took India and the Indian Army to show to the world that enough is enough and to challenge the neighbourhood bully, he said.
India is 'deeply concerned' at the deteriorating security situation and astounding loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict.
The high-level talks took place in the backdrop of indications that India could buy greater volumes of discounted Russian oil and both sides were keen on having a rouble-rupee arrangement for bilateral trade.
Earlier, Putin had lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him a patriot of the country.
Ties with Pakistan and China which were on the centre stage of Indian diplomacy saw a "deterioration" in the year gone by, according to foreign policy experts who feel that the relationships are unlikely to see any forward movement in the new year.
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
Clearly, it is pressure from various parties in Tamil Nadu which appears to have forced the hand of New Delhi. The guess in political circles of Sri Lanka is that India chose the NSA as he represented the prime minister directly and wanted to give an impression to various constituencies in Tamil Nadu that it was getting tough with Colombo.
'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 did not vote against America, or for Russia.' 'If we had voted for the American motion, it would have spoilt our relationship with Russia without any change in Russia's behaviour.'
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday evening on a draft resolution on Russia's military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.
Singh, in his address to the Indian-American community in San Francisco, also sent a subtle message to the United States that New Delhi does not believe in a diplomacy of 'zero-sum game' and its relationship with one country cannot be at the expense of the other.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law by its invasion of Ukraine and requiring Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv for damages, loss and injury resulting from the war.
'I don't know who is deciding Indian foreign policy today. I don't know who is deciding how India deals with Pakistan,' former Union minister Ram Jethmalani takes on the Modi government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on stepping up bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas with a special emphasis on ramping up trade and investment when global slowdown is emerging as a major concern.
Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
India is keen to strengthen its partnership with Russia on Arctic subjects and there is immense scope for cooperation in the field of energy as well, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
The perfunctory management of external affairs has left India's foreign policy establishment largely unprepared to manage the consequences of dramatic international developments, says Nitin Pai.
Singh emphasised that the Indo-Pacific is no more a maritime construct, but a full-fledged geo-strategic issue, and that the region is facing "a complex web" of security challenges, including boundary disputes and piracy.
A closure of the Indian mission in Kabul will be a Himalayan blunder at this historic juncture when the wheels of diplomacy and politics are set to accelerate in Afghanistan, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
'China doesn't want to settle the boundary dispute because that gives them a reason to pick a fight with India.'
'In the long run, I don't foresee major ramifications [about Trudeau's allegations].' 'There's just enough hypocrisy among Western nations for India to douse the outrage.'
The talks between the two leaders covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as key regional and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
Hitting out at the government, the ruling alliance partner said, 'The prime minister was in Lahore only last week as a guest of his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. At that time, we had warned him not to trust Pakistan.' "See how we have been betrayed today. If Pakistan wants to improve relations with India, they should immediately hand over Jaish-e-Mohammed's Maulana Masood Azhar to India," it said in the Saamna.
The chief of the army staff said that with one-third of the world in the Gulf region and elsewhere involved in some sort of conflict and war, "it is important that we keep the flames of fire away from our region."
India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
'A narrative is needed that captures the reality in Pakistan objectively and more fully'
Energy-hungry India, which is 70 per cent import dependant to meet its crude oil requirement, is mounting diplomatic initiatives to secure oil and gas from Gulf, Russia and Africa, Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh said in New Delhi on Wednesday.
President Mohamed Muizzu on Wednesday said by bolstering the defence capabilities of the Maldives, the country will soon reach a point where there is no 'foreign' military presence, weeks after he sought the withdrawal of Indian defence personnel from the archipelago nation.
'but the terrorism issue should be fair, square at the centre of the conversation. It is the major issue ... I am not saying there are no other issues. But I am not going to duck that issue for the sake of talking'
Tirumurti said India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's party secured a 'supermajority' in Parliament by winning over 60 seats in Sunday's crucial parliamentary election, seen as a litmus test for the pro-Beijing politician whose policies are being closely watched by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics.
