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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to New Delhi with a gesture of personal diplomacy that underscored the strength of India-UAE ties. Marking the visiting leader’s third official trip to India since assuming office, the two-hour visit was characterised by high symbolism, strategic continuity, and growing cultural affinity. Image Source: PM NaMo Modi personally received the UAE President at the airport, a rare protocol reserved for a handful of India’s closest international partners.  Referring to Sheikh Mohamed as “my brother” on social media, the Prime Minister said the visit reflected the importance the UAE attaches to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India.  Images of the two leaders travelling together from the airport, exchanging greetings and sharing a private conversation, further underlined the close personal rapport between them. Following their arrival, Modi hosted Sheikh Mohamed and his...

India formally launched its BRICS 2026 Chairship in New Delhi on January 13, with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar unveiling the official logo, theme, and website.  Framed around the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” India’s tenure marks the 20th anniversary of the BRICS grouping and comes at a moment of expanding membership and heightened geopolitical complexity. EAM Jaishankar launched preparations for BRICS India 2026 The logo, which incorporates the national colors of all BRICS members and centers around the traditional "Namaste" gesture, was described as a symbol of unity, inclusivity and collaborative intent.  According to the External Affairs Minister, the design reflects India’s approach to blend tradition with modernity, while projecting BRICS as a forum of diverse but convergent interests. Unveiled alongside the logo, the BRICS 2026 website — brics2026.gov.in — will function as a central platform for information...

Sergio Gor formally assumed office as the United States Ambassador to India on Monday, pledging to deepen the strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi while strongly hinting at a potential visit by President Donald Trump in the near future. Speaking after taking charge, Gor struck a tone of personal diplomacy and strategic intent. He described Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump as “real friends,” noting that the bilateral relationship is rooted in mutual respect and sustained by direct ties at the highest political level.  Image Source: USAmbassadorIndia Gor’s remarks included repeated references to his proximity with Trump, whom he has accompanied across the world, and underlined the former president’s continued interest in India. “I spoke with President Trump just yesterday,” Gor said, “and I bring his warm wishes to all the people of India, especially his dear friend, the incredible Prime Minister Modi.”  He also suggested a visit by Trump could ...

India has once again stated its strategic autonomy in sourc ing energy and dismissed external pressure to align its oil purchases with geopolitical expectations, as the Ministry of External Affairs addressed a broad spectrum of international issues during its weekly media briefing.       MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal; Via: Nayanima Basu In a direct response to mounting commentary from Western leaders, including U.S. lawmakers and the Polish foreign minister, India made clear that its decisions are guided by affordability, availability, and national interest. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing a wide range of questions, noted that India’s approach to energy sourcing is shaped by "the evolving dynamics in the global market" and the "imperative to provide affordable energy to 1.4 billion people."  He added, "Whatever we do will be guided by these two imperatives," firmly resisting assertions that recent reductions in Russian oil imports were aimed at...

India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar’s ongoing visit to France and Luxembourg from January 4–9, 2026, comes at a time of significant global upheaval. US military action in Venezuela has intensified global debate over sovereignty, legality, and great power behavior.  Jaishankar’s engagements across Europe are positioned to firmly underline India’s commitment to a multipolar world order, strategic autonomy, and a rules-based international system rooted in the UN Charter. EAM Jaishankar with Prime Minister Luc Frieden of Luxembourg. Via: MEA In Paris, Jaishankar participated in the first-ever India–Weimar Triangle format—bringing together France, Germany, Poland, and India—marking a notable shift in European geopolitical outreach beyond the Atlantic alliance. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, emphasizing the urgency for “bridges between centers of stability,” made it clear that India's inclusion was deliberate and timely: France holds the G7 presidency, ...

New Delhi has joined a growing international chorus urging restraint and diplomacy following the dramatic U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas this weekend.  In official statements issued over two consecutive days, India expressed "deep concern" over the developments and reaffirmed its support for the safety and well-being of the Venezuelan people, while advising Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to the country. Foreign Minister Jaishankar's file photo via MFA Russia The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued an official travel advisory on January 3 , urging Indians already in Venezuela to exercise extreme caution, limit movements, and remain in close contact with the Indian Embassy in Caracas. Emergency contact details, including a WhatsApp-enabled phone line, were provided for consular assistance. A follow-up press release on January 4 further underlined India’s call for al...

India and Pakistan exchanged lists of civil prisoners, fishermen, and nuclear installations on January 1, 2026, in line with established bilateral agreements aimed at fostering transparency and humanitarian engagement between the two countries.  The twin exchanges, conducted simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad, come amid a largely adversarial bilateral relationship shaped by decades of historical and geopolitical tensions since the 1947 partition. Representational Image: Attari–Wagah Retreat Ceremony. Via: Krishna Rao K As part of the Agreement on Consular Access signed on May 21, 2008, India shared details of 391 civil prisoners and 33 fishermen believed to be Pakistani in its custody, while Pakistan handed over a list containing details of 58 civil prisoners and 199 fishermen believed to be Indian.  The agreement mandates such exchanges on January 1 and July 1 every year and ensures reciprocal consular access, early repatriation upon...

China on Monday launched a sharp diplomatic broadside against Japan, accusing Tokyo of dangerous military harassment and political manipulation following an airspace incident involving fighter jets over disputed waters. At the same time, Beijing adopted a markedly measured tone on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to India. The comments showed China’s complex efforts to manage rising strategic frictions with Tokyo while avoiding open divergence with Moscow and New Delhi. Image Source: Lin Jian on X The escalating airspace tension stems from Japan’s accusation that Chinese naval fighter jets had “intermittently illuminated” Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft with targeting radar during exercises over the East China Sea on December 6.  The Japan Defense Ministry claimed its aircraft did not obstruct China’s flight paths and denied any provocation. China, in contrast, described Japan’s account as a deliberate distortion, asserting that the Japanese aircraft had intrude...

India on Monday issued a pointed advisory to its citizens transiting through Chinese airports, following a reported incident of arbitrary detention involving an Indian national at Shanghai.  Image Source: Raksha Samachar on X In a sharp response, Randhir Jaiswal , Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), urged Chinese authorities to uphold international norms and “ensure that Indian citizens are not selectively targeted or harassed.”  He further advised Indian nationals to exercise “due caution” when travelling to or through China.  The briefing, part of the MEA’s weekly public engagement, touched on a range of flashpoints across India’s diplomatic landscape, from border violence in Afghanistan and rising insecurity in Myanmar, to energy trade with Russia and counter-terror cooperation with the US. Responding to questions from reporters, Jaiswal welcomed recent action by the UK government against pro-Khalistan actors, including Gurpreet Singh Rih...

Even as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s presence at the state dinner for Russian President Vladimir Putin drew national headlines, it is his continued legislative activity in Parliament that continues largely unnoticed in the public discourse. Image Source: Bangalore Lit Fest on X On a day when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi were conspicuously excluded from the guest list at the President’s residence, Tharoor stood out as the sole Congress invitee to the diplomatic event.  His decision to attend drew internal criticism from party spokesperson Pawan Khera, who stated that “those who extended such an invitation raise questions, and those who accepted are also open to scrutiny.” But behind the scenes, Tharoor has been consistently active on key policy matters in Parliament. In recent weeks, he introduced several Private Members' Bills and raised detailed parliamentary questions across sectors ranging from urban development and compe...

India and the United States have called for expanded global sanctions against key Pakistan-based terror outfits and their proxies, marking a significant step forward in bilateral counterterrorism cooperation.  File Photo/Representational Image Source: Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff  At the 21st meeting of the India-US Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and the 7th Designations Dialogue held in New Delhi on December 3, both sides sharpened focus on operational coordination and designations of groups responsible for cross-border attacks. Led by Dr. Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Ms. Monica Jacobsen, Senior Bureau Official at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, the high-level engagements reinforced the counterterrorism pillar of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Against the backdrop of recent attacks in Pahalgam and near Delhi’s Red Fort, both delegati...

Meeting under the shadow of recent attacks in India, the Quad’s Counterterrorism Working Group (CTWG) convened for its third high-level session in New Delhi this week. The gathering signaled a sharpened joint resolve to confront evolving terrorist threats across the Indo-Pacific region.  Senior officials from India, Australia, Japan, and the United States gathered on December 4–5, 2025, to reinforce the framework of cooperation that has come to define the Quad’s expanding security agenda. Image Source: Gemma Huggins, Australia's Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism The talks, hosted by India as part of its rotation ahead of the next Quad summit, marked a substantial push to operationalize counterterrorism measures beyond political declarations.  Ambassador Sibi George, Secretary (West) at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, opened the meeting with a pointed call to strengthen the Quad’s collective capabilities.  “The time has come to forge a common resolve within the Q...

In a summit thick with strategic symbolism and sweeping bilateral action, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed 29 agreements and issued a joint declaration pledging to elevate their “time-tested progressive partnership” into a deeper geopolitical alignment rooted in sovereignty, stability, and multipolarity.  Indian PM NaMo with Russian Prez Putin At the center of the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit, held in New Delhi on December 5, was a key policy milestone: the formal adoption of the Program for the Development of Strategic Directions of Russian–Indian Economic Cooperation until 2030.  This is  a forward-looking document that defines new rules of engagement across trade, defence, energy, migration, and critical technologies amid shifting global power centres. The two leaders met at Hyderabad House for in-depth talks before witnessing the signing of wide-ranging intergovernmental and institutional agreements, including on labo...

India has lodged a strong diplomatic protest with Beijing after a UK-based Indian woman, originally from Arunachal Pradesh, was reportedly detained for nearly 18 hours at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport by Chinese immigration officials who refused to recognise her Indian passport.  The episode has escalated tensions between the two countries, with New Delhi asserting that Arunachal Pradesh remains an integral and inalienable part of India. Image Source: Romita Romi on X The traveller, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, was en route from London to Japan with a transit stop in Shanghai on November 21 when Chinese officials flagged her Indian passport as “invalid” due to her Arunachal Pradesh birthplace.  She described the ordeal as deeply distressing, noting that she was held without formal documentation and was unable to contact her embassy or family due to China’s ban on social media platforms and search engines. PTI: An Indian woman hailing from Arunachal Pradesh has said that sh...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a sweeping call for a reimagined development agenda at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg , setting out six major global initiatives and pressing for a “civilisational” rethink of growth models that leave people and the planet behind.  Image Source: PM NaMo Speaking at the summit’s opening session, Modi urged the world’s largest economies to act collectively to ensure inclusive, sustainable, and secure progress —anchored in equity, knowledge-sharing and resilience. In his address, Modi pitched for rethinking global development parameters, arguing that the current frameworks have left large sections of the world deprived and have led to the overexploitation of nature.  Drawing from India's philosophical ethos of Integral Humanism , he said development must harmonise individuals, societies and ecosystems, and cannot be dictated solely by economic metrics. Modi proposed six transformative initiatives. These include a Global T...