Former national security adviser Shivshankar Menon on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had projected India’s foreign policy “more vigourously” than the previous UPA regime.
Referring to US President Barack Obama’s January visit to India, Menon said New Delhi and Washington had reached a new stage in their relationship and for the first time the two governments shared a common strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking to Karan Thapar on To the Point programme on Headlines Today, the former NSA said Modi’s handling of foreign policy was adept, successful and dynamic.
“It’s a very successful foreign policy because it’s India’s foreign policy. There’s a large element of continuity in foreign policy that successive governments had expanded on,” he said.
He referred to the PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir as an achievement, adding the formation of the government in the state reflected “creativity.”
“If you show the same pragmatism in dealing with your neighbours, there’s hope,” he said.
On the India-US civil nuclear deal, Menon said the “real test” would be whether Indian and American companies “are willing to do business.”
On India-China ties, he said it was a very complex relationship in which both sides were competing and cooperating.