Busy foreign policy schedule for new NDA government
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is travelling to Italy for the G7 Summit this week and preparations are underway for a review of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with the US
The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is set to have a busy foreign policy agenda in the coming weeks, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling to Italy for the G7 Summit this week and preparations underway for a review of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with the US.
Modi is set to travel to Italy on July 13 to attend the outreach session of the annual G7 Summit at the resort of Fasano in Italy’s Apulia region the following day, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The visit, the first foreign trip by Modi in his third term, will bring him face to face with leaders such as US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is a special invitee.
Modi’s visit is yet to be formally announced and the people said preparations were underway for bilateral meetings with several leaders on the margins of the G7 Summit, including his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni. Modi, who will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that is likely to include foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, is expected to return home late on June 14, they said.
The summit, to be held during June 13-15, is set to be dominated by the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. While the summit will have six working sessions on the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, climate change, migrations, and the Indo-Pacific and economic security, the outreach session with invited nations and international organisations will focus on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean.
Besides India, Italy has invited leaders from 11 developing countries in Africa, South America and the Indo-Pacific to attend the outreach session.
However, Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar are expected to skip the Ukraine peace summit to be hosted by Switzerland at Bürgenstock during June 15-16, largely because of concerns related to the non-inclusion of Russia in the meeting, the people said. India is likely to be represented at this meet by a senior official, they said.
India and the US are also preparing for a much-delayed review of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which is set to be conducted when US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visits New Delhi in the third week of June, the people said.
Sullivan has called off a visit to India for a review of iCET with his Indian counterpart twice since the start of the year because of the US administration’s focus on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His visit to New Delhi, expected around June 18, will give an opportunity to the two sides to review the work already done on a range of initiatives, including collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and advanced wireless, and the joint development and production of jet engines and munition-related technologies.
Last August, the US Congress approved an agreement between GE Aerospace and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics to produce the advanced F414 jet engines for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Sullivan’s visit will also be an opportunity for the two sides to compare notes on the Ukraine war and the situation in West Asia, including the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the people said. The US side could also raise the so-called “murder for hire” plot to allegedly assassinate Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, they said.
The Indian government has set up a high-level inquiry committee to look into inputs provided by the US though its findings are yet to be made public.