U8: INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY & RELATIONS

(a) BASIC DETERMINANTS & NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT

(b) INDIA AS AN EMERGING POWER

(c) INDIA & USA

India-US bilateral relations have developed into a "global strategic partnership", based
on shared democratic values and increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional
and global issues.
Regular exchange of high-level political visits has provided sustained momentum to
bilateral cooperation, while the wide-ranging and ever-expanding dialogue architecture has
established a long-term framework for India-U.S. engagement. Today, the India-U.S. bilateral
cooperation is broad-based and multi-sectoral, covering trade and investment, defence and
security, education, science and technology, cyber security, high-technology, civil nuclear
energy, space technology and applications, clean energy, environment, agriculture and
health.

 POLITICAL RELATIONS
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US (26-30 September 2014)
Highlights of the visit: Held meetings with President Obama and his cabinet, members
of the US Congress and political leaders of various states, US Trade and Commerce
Industry and public interaction with the Indian-American community.

President Obama's visit to India (25-27 January 2015)

Highlights of the visit: Invited as the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day. Both sides
signed Delhi Declaration of Friendship and adopted a Joint Strategic Vision for Asia-
Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region.

Prime Minister Modi’s re-visit to the US (23-28 September 2015)

Highlights of the visit: Held bilateral meeting with President Obama. PM Modi
interacted with leaders of business, media, academia and the provincial leaders and
the Indian community.
 MAJOR EXCHANGES IN 2016 & 2017
There were a number of high-level delegations in both directions in 2016 and 2017.
Few of those are as follows:
2016:
Major Ministerial visits in 2016 included Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu in
January, Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in April and October, Minister for Urban
Development Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and
Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari in July, Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in August,
Minister for S&T and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan in September.
US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter twice in April and December, Secretary of State
John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in August and U.S. Trade
Representative Mike Froman in October.

2017:
The high-level exchanges continued in 2017. Few of those are as follows:
Minister of State(I/C) Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan met US
Energy Secretary Mr. Rick Perry. Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley attended the IMF-
WB meeting in April. National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary in March.

 CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION

India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Six AP 1000 reactors to be built by
Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.

 DEFENCE COOPERATION
‘New Framework for India-US Defense Relations’ was signed between the two
countries in 2005. The two countries now conduct more bilateral exercises with each
other than they do with any other country.
There has been defence trade, joint exercises, personnel exchanges, collaboration and
cooperation in maritime security and counter-piracy and exchanges etc.
India and the United States have launched a Defence Technology and Trade Initiative
(DTTI). The US recognized India as a "Major Defence Partner" in 2016.

 COUNTER-TERRORISM AND INTERNAL SECURITY

India-U.S. Counter-Terrorism Cooperation Initiative was signed in 2010. Since then
both sides have seen considerable progress with intelligence sharing, information
exchange, operational cooperation, counter-terrorism technology and equipment.
  TRADE AND ECONOMICS
India and the US have set up a bilateral Investment Initiative in 2014, with a special
focus on facilitating FDI, portfolio investment, capital market development and
financing of infrastructure.
In June 2016, PM Modi and President Obama pledged to support deeper integration
into global supply chains, thereby creating jobs and generating prosperity in both
economies. US is the fifth largest source of foreign direct investments into India.

 EDUCATION
Cooperation in education sector has been made an integral part of the strategic
partnership between the two countries. The Fulbright program was renewed in 2008,
with enhanced mandate and joint funding, to provide more student and scholar
exchange grants. More than 130,000 Indian students are pursuing advanced degrees
in the US. The two sides collaborated to establish Indian Institute of Technology in
Ahmedabad.

 SPACE
Cooperation can be seen in various projects. Few of those are as follows:
(i) exchange of scientists
(ii) Cooperation on Mars mission
(iii) international space station
(iv) space exploration cooperation
(v) space debris mediation
(vi) Earth Science Cooperation
NASA and ISRO are collaborating for India's Mars Orbiter Mission and for a dual-band
Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). In June 2016, ISRO successfully launched record 20
satellites onboard PSLV rocket, which included 13 satellites from the United States.

Besides the abovementioned sectors, there has been immense co-operation between
the two sides in other sectors like science and technology, dialogue architecture, health
sector, people to people ties, cultural co-operation, media, entertainment and sports etc.
(d) INDIA & RUSSIA
Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. Development of
India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India's foreign policy since the signing of
“Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000. Russia has
recognized India as its “Special and Privileged Strategic Partner” in 2010.

 POLITICAL RELATIONS
The Annual Summit meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the President
of the Russia is the highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism in the strategic
partnership between India and Russia. So far 19 Annual Summit meetings have taken
place alternatively in India and Russia. The 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit
was held in October 2018 in New Delhi. 8 MoUs were signed in the field of business
and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, space, transport etc.
On April 12 2019, Russia presented its highest state decoration (Award) - Order of St
Andrew the Apostle to PM Narendra Modi for his distinguished contribution to the
development of a privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India.

 BILATERAL INTERACTIONS
NSA Chief Shri Ajit Doval visited Moscow on August 21 to discuss regional and
international issues. Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal led a
delegation of Chief Ministers of Haryana, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh and Goa and about
140 Indian companies to Russia in August 2019 to expand trade, commerce and
investment.
Besides this there have been several frequent high level bilateral conferences
between the two on matters related to security, petroleum and natural gas, coal and
mining, agro-processing and tourism etc.

 DEFENCE & SECURITY COOPERATION

India has longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of
defence. Both countries have together held joint military practices, technical
cooperation, joint research, development and production of advanced defence
technologies and systems etc.
On December 13-16, bilateral
Both countries held Russian-Indian naval exercise Indra Navy-2018 in the Bay of
Bengal.
 TRADE & ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Intensifying the trade and economic relations has been identified as a priority area by
the leaders on both the sides as is clear by the revised targets of increasing bilateral
investment to US $ 50 billion and bilateral trade to US $ 30 billion by 2025.
In the aftermath of general economic slowdown and Russia’s ongoing over Ukraine
issue, Russia has emphasized on import substitution due to which there has been a
significant reduction in Russia’s external trade. India has also been affected by this
contraction in Russian exports and imports.

 NUCLEAR ENERGY
Russia is an important partner for India in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy.
It recognizes India as a country with advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable
non-proliferation record.
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India with Russian
cooperation.

 SPACE COOPERATION
India-Russia cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space dates back to
about four decades. Both sides cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space,
including satellite launches, GLONASS navigation system, remote sensing and other
societal applications of outer space.
A MoU between ISRO and ROSCOSMOS on Joint Activities in the field of Human
Spaceflight Programme was signed during the 19th Bilateral Summit.

 CULTURAL COOPERATION
There is a strong tradition of Indian studies in Russia. JNCC maintains close
cooperation with leading Russian institutions. About 20 Russian Institutions, including
leading universities and schools, regularly teach Hindi to about 1500 Russian students.
Apart from Hindi, languages such as Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Urdu, Sanskrit
and Pali are taught in Russian Institutions.
There is strong interest among Russian people in Indian dance, music, yoga and
Ayurveda. JNCC has been promoting yoga, classical dance forms and music.
Ministry of Culture annually provides around Rs. 118 Lakhs as grant to over 20
Friendship Societies in Russia for promotion of Indian culture.
(e) INDIA & CHINA
The border conflict in 1962 was a setback to ties between the two. However, Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s landmark visit in 1988 marked the beginning of improvement in
bilateral relations. India-China bilateral relations have expanded and become diversified in
the past decade.

 POLITICAL RELATIONS
India and China have established more than thirty dialogue mechanisms at various
levels, covering bilateral political, economic, consular matters as well as dialogues on
regional and global issues.
During the visit of President Xi Jinping to India in September 2014, the two sides signed
16 agreements in various sectors including, commerce & trade, railways, space-
cooperation, pharmaceuticals, establishment of industrial parks, and sister-city
arrangements.
In May 2015 PM Modi and his Chinese counterpart Jinping signed 24 agreements on
government-to-government side, 25 MoUs on business-to-business side and one
agreement on climate change.
The two leaders have also visited each other’s countries to attend various multilateral
summits. Prime Minister Modi visited China in September 2016 to participate in the
G20 Summit and in September 2017 to participate in the BRICS Summit. Similarly
President Xi visited India in October 2016 to participate in the BRICS Summit in Goa.

 COMMERCIAL & ECONOMIC RELATIONS

The trade and economic relationship between India and China has seen a rapid growth
in the last few years. Trade volume between the two countries in the beginning of the
century, year 2000, stood at US$ 3 billion. In 2008, bilateral trade reached US$ 51.8
billion with China replacing the United States as India’s largest trading partner. In 2018
bilateral trade reached an all-time high of US$ 95.54 billion.
India’s major export items include cotton, copper and diamonds/ natural gems, raw
materials, coal, onions etc. Major Chinese exports include machinery, telecom and
power-related equipment, organic chemicals, and fertilizers etc.

 INVESTMENT
Chinese investment in Indian start-ups has grown over the years. Cumulative Indian
investment in China till September 2017 was US$ 851.91 million.
China has encouraged establishment of many Indian companies in China. Dr Reddy’s
Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Matrix Pharma, Infosys, TCS, APTECH, Wipro,
Mahindra Satyam, Essel Packaging, Suzlon Energy, Reliance Industries, Sundaram
 Fasteners, Mahindra & Mahindra, TATA Sons, Binani Cements, etc. are some to name
a few.
More than 100 Chinese companies have established offices/operations in India.

 EDUCATION RELATIONS
India and China signed Education Exchange Programme (EEP) in 2006, which is an
umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between the two countries.
PM Modi during his visit to China signed a fresh Education Exchange Programme (EEP)
in May 2015, under which Chinese government provides 100 scholarships annually for
Indian students to study in China.
At present, there are more than 23,000 Indian students studying in various universities
in China in various disciplines.

(f) INDIA & ITS NEIGHBOURS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PAKISTAN

 PAKISTAN
India has followed a consistent and principled policy towards Pakistan i.e. in keeping with
its “Neighbourhood First Policy”. India is committed to address issues, if any, bilaterally and
peacefully in keeping with the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.
India in its foreign policy with Pakistan has stated that “India will not compromise on
issues related to its national security and take firm and decisive measures to deal with all
attempts to undermine India’s security and territorial integrity”.

 ATTEMPTS FOR ENGAGEMENT

India has made a number of attempts to build neighbourly relations with Pakistan.
The Foreign Minister of Pakistan also wrote to the External Affairs Ministry in
September 2018 a proposal of bringing a positive change and mutual desire for peace,
and also Pakistan’s readiness to discuss terrorism. However within few hours after
India’s acceptance Pakistan initiated cross-border firing. Under such circumstances, it
was assessed that any conversation with Pakistan would be meaningless and
therefore the meeting was called off.
In May 2019, PM Modi stressed on fighting poverty jointly and creating trust and an
environment free of violence for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and
prosperity in the region. However Pakistan did not respond.

 CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM
 Terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan's control remains a core concern
in bilateral relations.
India has consistently stressed the need for Pakistan to take action to end cross border
terrorism against India and fulfill its assurances given to India at the highest level in
January 2004.

India has emphasized that India will continue to take firm and decisive steps to protect
its national security. For example:
(i) Following cross-border attacks on an army camp in Uri, J&K in September 2016,
India conducted surgical strikes at various terrorist launch pads across the Line of
Control.
(ii) Pulwama cross-border terror attack: On 14 February 2019, 40 security personnel
were martyred in a cross border terror attack in Pulwama, J&K. This terrorist act was
perpetrated by Jaish- e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based and supported terrorist
organization. In response 26 February 2019, India carried out an anti-terror air strike
against a training camp of JeM in Balakot, Pakistan.

 TRADE & COMMERCE

India accorded Pakistan the status of ‘Most Favourable Nation’ (MFN) in 1996. In the
aftermath of rising tensions between the two, India withdrew the status of MFN from
Pakistan in February 2019.
India also hiked customs duty on exports from Pakistan to 200% in February 2019.
Subsequently, as part of its unilateral measures, Pakistan suspended bilateral trade
with India in August 2019.

 INDUS WATERS TREATY

The 115th meeting of Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) was held at Lahore in August
2018.

 PEOPLE TO PEOPLE RELATIONS

As of 01 July, 2019, 209 fishermen and 52 other civil prisoners who are believed to be
Indian nationals were in the custody of Pakistani authorities. Due to India’s efforts 30
civilian prisoners and 2080 fishermen have been recovered over the last five years.
The visit to religious shrines between India and Pakistan is governed by the Bilateral
Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines signed between India and Pakistan in 1974. The
protocol provides for 3 Hindu pilgrimage and four 4 Sikh pilgrimage every year to visit
15 shrines in Pakistan while 5 Pakistan pilgrimage visit 7 shrines in India.

 AFGHANISTAN
 The Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) signed in 2011 between the two
sides provides for India’s assistance to help rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure and
institutions, education and technical assistance to rebuild indigenous Afghan capacity
in different areas, encouraging investment in Afghanistan's natural resources,
providing duty free access to the Indian market for Afghanistan's exports etc.
The second Strategic Partnership Council meeting was held in New Delhi in
September 2017. India agreed to implement some important new projects such as the
Shahtoot Dam, water irrigation project, drinking water project for Kabul, road
connectivity, promotion of tourism and low-cost housing. India also committed to take
up 116 projects in 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the areas of education, health,
agriculture, irrigation, drinking water, renewable energy, flood control, micro-hydro
power, sports and administrative infrastructure.
India and Afghanistan share centuries old cultural heritage with deep-rooted
linkages in the field of music, arts, architecture, language and cuisine. Indian films,
songs and TV serials are popular with the masses, contributing significantly to the
popularization of Hindi and familiarization of the populace with Indian socio -cultural
value system.

 NEPAL
As close neighbours, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and
cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people
contacts of kinship and culture. There has been a long tradition of free movement of
people across the border. Nepal shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian
states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of
the special relations that exist between India and Nepal. Nepalese citizens avail
facilities and opportunities on par with Indian citizens in accordance with the
provisions of the Treaty. Nearly 6 million Nepalese citizens live and work in India.

 MYANMAR
India shares religious, linguistic and ethnic ties with Myanmar.
PM Modi in his visit to Myanmar in September 2017, signed 12 MoUs in various
sectors on strengthening bilateral cooperation.
India under the MoU on Rakhine State Development Program has committed
to giving $25 million of assistance to Myanmar over a period of 5 years.
Defence cooperation between the two countries continues to strengthen.
High-level visits, enhanced training, capacity building and support in provision of
 specific equipment and technologies have led to a more wholesome relationship and
better understanding of mutual security concerns.

 BANGLADESH
PM Narendra Modi paid a State visit to Bangladesh in April 2017. During the visit, he
signed 36 bilateral documents.
There are more than 60 bilateral institutional mechanisms between India and
Bangladesh in the areas of security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport &
connectivity, science and technology, defence, rivers & maritime affairs etc.
Various Joint exercises of Army (Exercise Sampriti) and Navy (Exercise Milan) take
place between two countries.
Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia.

 BHUTAN
The basic framework of India- Bhutan bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries and revised in February 2007.
Government of India has consistently supported the socio-economic development of
Bhutan. Hydro-power cooperation between the two countries is an example of win-win
cooperation.
Government of India has consistently supported the socio-economic development of
Bhutan. Hydro-power cooperation between the two countries is an example of win-win
cooperation.
India is Bhutan's largest trading partner.
Govt. of India provides to scholarship to Bhutanese students to study in India.
Currently there are more than 4000 Bhutanese students are enrolled in Indian
Universities.

 SRI LANKA
Three-decade long armed conflict between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE came to an
end in May 2009.
India has promised to invest and promote Sri Lankan tourism.
Both countries have held joint navy exercises in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian
Ocean.