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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...

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar delivered a sharply focused address and called for urgent structural reforms in the SCO, firm action against terrorism, and deeper economic and cultural integration across the bloc. Jaishankar began by warning of an increasingly volatile global economy, where “supply-side risks have been aggravated by demand-side complexities,” demanding urgent “de-risking and diversification.”  Indian EAM Jaishankar Meets Russian Prez Putin, again! He emphasized that trade frameworks among SCO members must be “fair, transparent, and equitable,” directly tying this to India’s active pursuit of free trade agreements with multiple member states. On modernization of the SCO, Jaishankar issued a pointed reminder: “As the organization becomes more diverse, the SCO must be more flexible and adaptable.”  He urged the immediate adoption of English as an ...

Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Dhaka tribunal for crimes against humanity linked to a brutal state-led crackdown on student-led protests last year that grew into what is now referred to as the “July Revolution.”  The tribunal found Hasina guilty of incitement, ordering lethal force, and failing to prevent mass killings that left an estimated 1,400 people dead—the worst political violence in the country since its 1971 war of independence. File Photo: MEA India The judgment, handed down by a three-judge panel led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, named Hasina as the architect of the crackdown.  The court cited intercepted audio directives, field reports, and widely circulated video evidence, including footage of the close-range shooting of university student Abu Sayeed, whose death became a rallying cry for the movement that brought down Hasina’s 15-year government. Our statement regarding the recent verdict in Bang...

In a clear signal of continuity amid a turbulent global order, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday, and restated the India-Russia relationship as a “factor of stability in international relations.”  The talks, held ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled December visit to New Delhi, focused on advancing bilateral cooperation and aligning perspectives on key geopolitical flashpoints, including the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. India's EAM Jaishankar in Russia, again! Via: MEA/FM "This particular occasion, for me, is all the more important as we prepare for President Putin’s visit to India," Jaishankar said in his opening remarks.  He added that multiple bilateral agreements and initiatives across sectors were under active discussion and expected to be finalized soon.  These, he said, would "add more substance and texture to our Special and Privileged Strategic Pa...

In a move to deepen India's engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean, India's Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles, Pabitra Margherita, concluded a seven-day diplomatic tour across Ecuador, Bolivia and Cuba from November 4 to 10.  The visit marked a new phase in South-South cooperation, with the inauguration of Indian embassies in Ecuador and Bolivia, renewed strategic commitments with Cuba, and outreach across sectors ranging from health and digital to critical minerals and culture. MoS inaugurating the new Chancery building of the Embassy of India in La Paz, Bolivia In Ecuador, MoS Margherita called on President Daniel Noboa Azin and held bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Maria Gabriela Sommerfeld Rosero, announcing the formal opening of India’s Embassy in Quito.  The visit saw the signing of an MoU between the two nations' diplomatic training institutes and discussion on strengthening cooperation in agriculture, technology, and digital transform...

India and Bhutan have restated their time-tested friendship and strategic cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to the Himalayan kingdom from November 11 to 12.  The visit coincided with the 70th birth anniversary of Bhutan’s Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and featured high-level engagements, religious observances, and key bilateral milestones. Image Via: MEA India As guest of honour at the national celebration in Thimphu, Prime Minister Modi joined Bhutan’s royal family and citizens in commemorating the legacy of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo.  Speaking at the Changlimithang Stadium, Modi praised the monarch’s role in guiding Bhutan’s transformation into a democratic constitutional monarchy and his introduction of the globally noted concept of Gross National Happiness.  He thanked both the Fourth King and current King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck for their stewardship of India-Bhutan ties and conveyed warm wishes from the Indian people. PM ...

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday described the India-Japan partnership as a “strategic and stabilising force” in the Indo-Pacific. He warned that the region faces an increasingly complex challenge in maintaining openness and order. File Photo: EAM Jaishankar Speaking at the 8th India-Japan Indo-Pacific Forum, Jaishankar used blunt language to outline the stakes: the geopolitical churn, technological disruption, and weaponised interdependence shaping new alignments.  Against this backdrop, he said, the India-Japan compact has gained “greater value than ever before” -- both in anchoring regional security and driving global economic resilience. The forum, jointly hosted by the Delhi Policy Group and the Japan Institute of International Affairs, comes months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August visit to Tokyo, where both sides unveiled a ten-year roadmap with eight priority pillars and a targeted Japanese investment of 10 trillion yen.  Jaishank...

In a sharply worded address delivered in New Delhi,  India's Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar  openly challenged the credibility of the UN system, calling out its structural dysfunction, selective morality, and strategic irrelevance in the face of global crises. “All is not well with the United Nations,” Jaishankar said flatly. The statement, delivered in a room of diplomats, UN officials, and members of the press, cut through the ceremonial tone of the day and forced attention onto the UN’s internal contradictions.  File Photo Source: EAM Jaishankar At the core of his critique: a Security Council frozen in time, and a multilateral order that speaks the language of equality while practising exclusion. Jaishankar focused his most searing remarks on the UN’s inaction in the face of terrorism. “What does it do to the credibility of multilateralism,” he asked, “when a sitting Security Council member openly protects the very organisation that claims responsibility for a ba...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday addressed a press conference in New Delhi where both male and female journalists were present. This is a marked departure from the earlier controversy that erupted over the exclusion of women reporters from a similar event. Speaking at the presser, Muttaqi addressed the backlash over the earlier incident, saying the exclusion of women was not deliberate but rather a result of logistical constraints.  Women journalists at Taliban Presser. Image Via: Dr Pooja Tripathi “Regarding the press conference, it was due to the short notice. The participation list was prepared with specific journalists, and it was neither a technical issue nor any deliberate exclusion. It was not intended,” he said. The clarification came after significant condemnation from opposition leaders, press freedom bodies, and civil society.  The Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) had issued strong statem...

The newly appointed U.S. Ambassador-designate to India, Sergio Gor, began his diplomatic innings with a whirlwind tour of New Delhi’s power corridors, marking his arrival with high-profile meetings and a strong show of bilateral optimism.  His engagements included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and a closely watched sit-down with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.  External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with newly appointed U.S. Ambassador-designate to India. “We just finished an incredible meeting with Prime Minister Modi, where we discussed bilateral issues, including defence, trade, and technology,” Gor said. He underlined the alignment of strategic priorities between the world’s two largest democracies. His message, though carefully diplomatic, reflected the unmistakable imprimatur of the Trump administration.  “The U.S. values its relationship with India, and under the strong le...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman A press conference by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday is drawing sharp scrutiny for barring women journalists, who were not permitted to attend the event, held at the Afghan Embassy just hours after Muttaqi met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.  The media interaction was restricted to a select group of male reporters.  Image Source: Hafiz Zia Ahmed This has triggered political backlash and raised uncomfortable questions about India’s diplomatic posture toward the Taliban regime. The media interaction was restricted to a select group of male reporters, in apparent adherence to the Taliban’s gender-exclusionary norms. People familiar with the matter said the list of invitees was prepared by Taliban officials, and not by Indian authorities.  According to some sources, the Indian side had suggested that women reporters also be included, but the recommendation was not heeded. The exclusion has spa...

At a time when multiple regional flashpoints are converging -- from violent unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) to Taliban diplomacy, growing Indo-Russia economic ties, and security tensions with Canada--India has issued a clear, multi-front diplomatic stance, rooted in consistency and assertive strategic positioning. Limited information has so far reached the outside world about the full extent of the protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Image Via: Paul Antonopoulos In a comprehensive weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addressed sharp questions from the press corps on the most pressing geopolitical developments of the week , underscoring India's principled approach across all theatres--from the subcontinent to West Asia and beyond. PoK Unrest: Natural consequence of Pakistan’s oppression On the ongoing mass protests and internet shutdowns in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal pointedly described the si...