The Hindu (Delhi)

Jaishankar signals ‘business as usual’ for foreign policy

Minister indicates little change in how the new government will deal with China and Pakistan; striking a balance between the U.S. and Russia and UN Security Council reforms top of agenda

External Affiairs Minister S. Jaishankar hit the fioor running on Tuesday, sending out a message of continuity and “business as usual” for Indian foreign policy in the new government as he assumed charge at South Block for a second term, indicating there would be little change in how the new government would deal with China, Pakistan, UN Security Council reforms, and other pending issues.

On Monday, several hours before his portfolio was even announced, Mr. Jaishankar had called on all seven leaders from the neighbourh­ood who had been invited to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in.

By including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, whose government had been at loggerhead­s with New Delhi until India accepted his demand to withdraw Indian troops from the southern atolls, Mr. Modi has attempted to get ahead of the rst of many foreign policy challenges he will face in the neighbourh­ood during his third term.

While Mr. Jaishankar has served at South Block for much of the past decade, as Foreign Secretary and External Affiairs Minister, he will have a new team to work with. None of the three Ministers of State for External Affiairs have been retained. The new Ministers of State are Kirtivardh­an Singh and Pabitra Margherita. In addition, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra’s extended term ends in October, with Deputy National Security Adviser Vikram Misri widely believed to be the next in line for the post.

Former Foreign Secretary and Chairperso­n of the National Security Advisory Board Shyam Saran said he did not anticipate “any signicant departures in policy”, with Mr. Jaishankar remaining at the helm of External Affiairs. “What I would hope to see is re-engagement with Pakistan and an effiort to seek a new equilibriu­m with China. The neighbourh­ood has suffiered relative neglect with the pursuit of a high global prole. I would hope there is a refocus on the neighbourh­ood which remains the most critical factor for Indian interests,” Mr. Saran told The Hindu when asked about the foreign policy agenda ahead.

While re-engagement with Pakistan seems di‘cult at present, “lowerhangi­ng fruit” such as restoring High Commission­ers and restarting some of the cross-border trade for agricultur­al goods may be possible, especially if Mr. Modi decides to meet his Pakistan counterpar­t, Shehbaz Sharif, next month on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

All eyes on the meet

All eyes will be on whether Mr. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet there in an effiort to resolve the four-year-old stand-offi at the Line of Actual Control. In an interview to the Newsweek magazine in April, Mr. Modi called India-China ties “important and signicant”, and said the stand-offi must be “urgently addressed” through talks, refraining from any criticism of China’s actions.

The next big item on the agenda for the government will be to keep the balance between the U.S. and Russia. In his second term, Mr. Modi had won accolades for navigating India to a “sweet spot” over issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, where both sides have been keen to court India’s favour. In the next few weeks, more of the balancing act will be on display as Mr. Modi visits Italy on June 13-14 to attend the G-7 outreach with Western countries and is due in Astana on July 3-4, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to be present, and will travel to Russia in October for the BRICS summit.

While Mr. Modi is not expected to attend the Swiss Peace Conference on Ukraine this weekend, India’s decision to participat­e at an o‘cial level indicates that it is keeping the door open for an evolving role in resolving the confiict. A balancing posture will also give New Delhi space to wait out the next few months until the U.S. elections — as the possibilit­y of a Trump Presidency and a change in Washington would “upend what is still left of the internatio­nal order”, Mr. Saran said.