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From G20 summit to Middle East Corridor, India's 5 geopolitical wins in 2023
India could champion the voice of the South that was first hit by Covid-19 and then the successive wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
India emerged as the leader of the global South in the year 2023. From holding the G20 summit in New Delhi to refusing to bow to Western pressure on sanctions against Russia, the world took note of India as the rising power.
India also made significant progress in curbing the China threat and sealed several key defence deals with several nations, including the U.S. and France.
As the year 2023 comes to an end, here are India's top five geopolitical victories.
G20 summit
It was India's biggest geopolitical win of 2023. Not only successfully hosting the summit, India got all the leaders with disparate views on a single platform to issue a statement. India became the voice of the global South. It also became the voice for the African nations because for the first time, the African Union was made a permanent member of the G20.
ALSO READ: PM Modi, President Biden express trust in each other, deepen ties
India could champion the voice of the South that was first hit by Covid-19 and then the successive wars in Ukraine and Gaza. India brought a developmental agenda, green agenda and emphasised on the way to take the entire community forward by saying it was ‘Vasudhev Kutumbukam’, a family where everyone seeks a better future and prosperity.
ALSO READ: PM Modi writes: Dawn of a new multilateralism
India Middle East Economic Corridor
It is the second biggest geopolitical victory by India in this year. The war in Gaza sparked by the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel has drawn curtains on the Midle East Economic Corridor. But that is not the case. The Middle East Corridor is still in reckoning. Each country responsible to build the infrastructure continues to do so.
ALSO READ: Middle-East Corridor is new Indian spice route to rival the Chinese silk road
China agreed to allow Indian patrolling at LAC
China's People's Liberation Army had transgressed in Eastern Ladakh on May 5, 2020. There was a full blow out in Galwan on June 15, 2020 where both India and China lost troops. There have been 20 dialogues between the two sides on working out a solution. We have created buffer zones all along the LAC where neither side can patrol.
It includes, Galwan, Pangong Tso and Gogra Hot Springs. India said there can be no normalcy until the Indian side is allowed to patrol. Till the 17-18th round of commanders level meeting, Chinese were not willing to listen. But during the 20th dialogue that took place on October 11, China has agreed to allow patrolling by Indian troops. With this, you can restore the status quo ante that was before May 5, 2020.
India-US initiatives on critical emerging technologies
The biggest achievement of the India-US relations is the initiative on critical emerging technologies. It was drawn up by national security advisor Ajit Doval with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on January 31, 2023. It is a long document that talks on India-US partnership on quantum computing, space, 6G etc. But the most important highlight was the 100 per cent transfer of technology of the GE 414 to India. It essentially means that US's General Electric will transfer technology that will help India to make GE 414 engines to power the LCA, Mark II.
Indo-French defence deals
On July 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Bastille Day parade in Paris on the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron. The French president will be the chief guest at Republic Day parade in 2024. During his visit, two MoUs were signed. One was between the French Naval Group and the GRSE, Kolkata.
The second MoU was signed between the French Naval Group and the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL). The MoUs allowed the two sides to develop, manufacture and design surface combatants as far as GRSE was concerned, and submarines at MDL. Tomorrow if Indonesia decides to buy Scorpene submarines, they will be manufactured at MDL.
