Foreign Policy Profile of India
Ljubljana, 5. 11. 2007
UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI
FAKULTETA ZA DRUŽBENE VEDE
FOREIGN POLICY PROFILE OF INDIA
Political science – International relations
Primec, Urška, index number: 21040738
Menthor:
Šabič, Zlatko, Ph. D.
Subject:
International organizations
The Republic of India is becoming a country of more and more influence in the international arena, a country which is viewed by others as a major power and also a country with all the potentials to become a superpower. India was historically always open to collaborate with other countries and is now considered to be a leader of the developing world.[1]
India’s foreign relations reflect a traditional policy of nonalignment, the exigencies of domestic economic reform and development and the changing post-Cold War international environment. After the British colonial period (1757-1947), when India became independent, the country spread its ties around the world making it sure the rest of the world would consider it a significant player especially in its own region. On independence in 1947, few Indians had experience in making or conducting foreign policy. However, the country's oldest political party, the Indian National Congress, had established a small foreign department in 1925 to make overseas contacts and to publicize its freedom struggle.[2]
As already mentioned, during the Cold War India adopted a foreign policy which emphasized nonalignment with any major power bloc. Obviously the policy did not come right since the country developed relations with the Soviet Union and so consequently received significant military support from the latter. This strong military relationship with Russia continues to this date.[3]
The primary goal of India’s foreign policy is to ensure an external environment that is conducive to India's transformation and development.Broadly there are three sets of challenges: firstly, ensuring a peaceful periphery; secondly, relations with the major powers; and, thirdly, issues of the future, namely food security, water, energy and environment. Regarding the diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of the world, India wishes to strengthen them, especially with the United States, the People's Republic of China, European Union, Japan, Israel, Latin America, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Also, Indianourishes ties with the African Union, the Commonwealth states and the Arab World.[4]
India is very active in the international organizations from the very beginning of their establishment, namely it was one of the founding members of the United Nations. It is also active in other important international organizations, such as WTO, ADB, SAARC, G8+5, East Asia Summit and G20.
Bilateral and Regional Relations
Due to its growing economy, strategic location, friendly foreign policy and large and vibrant Diaspora,India is considered a country with more allies than enemies. Not only it continuously preserves relations with the countries in the region it also seeks to ensure close relationship with all of the major powers, even though it is not part of any major military powers.
Relations with Pakistan
With Pakistan, India has consistently pursued a policy seeking to improve relations under the framework of the Simla Agreement signed in 1972 which provided for the resolution of outstanding issues peacefully and bilaterally and for establishing durable peace in the Sub-continent. This dispute triggered wars between the two countries in 1947 and 1965 and a limited conflict in 1999. The state remains divided between the two countries by the Line of Control (LoC), which demarcates the ceasefire line agreed upon in the 1947 conflict. Pakistan refers to its part of the state as Azad Kashmir. India terms it Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).Bilateral discussions with Pakistan have resumed recently and India would continue efforts to have good neighborly relations with Pakistan.[5]
Relations with South Asia
An important achievement of India's foreign policy has been the strengthening of regional co-operation. India is an active member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which was launched in December 1985. Its members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics control and anti-terrorism. With India's full support, SAARC has recently taken significant steps in accelerating the pace of economic co-operation. The South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA) became operational in December 1995. At the 9th SAARC Summit in Male in May 1997, which was chaired by India, a historical decision has also been taken to strive for a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) latest by the year 2001 AD. The emergence of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) in March 1997, as a major instrument of cooperation in the larger region, has also had the active support of India.[6]
Relations with China
With China the aim of Indian foreign policy has been of developing a relationship of friendship, cooperation and good neighborliness, exploiting the potential for favorable growth wherever it exists, even as they seek to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the outstanding border issue. Towards this aim, a series of high level visits have been exchanged, bilateral trade and economic cooperation is growing, and an Agreement on Confidence Building Measures, as part of a wider dialogue on security, has been signed.[7]
Relations with Russia
Indian foreign policy received a major impact after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent states. Substantial trade with the former Soviet Union suffered considerably after the Soviet collapse and has yet to recover. Also, the supply of military goods was suspended due to questions over financing. However, it remains that Russia carries on to be India's largest supplier of military systems and spare parts. The relationship between two powers is not what is used to be, since they have not renewed the 1971 Indo-Soviet Peace and Friendship Treaty. As they describe it, a more pragmatic, less ideological relationship is being followed.[8]
Relations with the European Union (EU)
EU-India relations go back to the early 1960s, whenIndia was amongst the first countries to set up diplomatic relations with European Economic Community (EEC).The institutional basis for EU-India political dialogue is a Joint Political Statement signed simultaneously with the 3rd generation Co-operation Agreement. It fixed annual ministerial meetings, and opened the door to a broad political dialogue.
The European Community (EC) has developed a cooperation strategy which seeks to help India to build its "human capital" by dedicating its resources to making elementary education universal,improving health services in favor of the hitherto deprived population groups and restoring and safeguarding a healthy environment. Due to the historical conditions there is a special relation between the United Kingdom (UK) and India and these two still have many enduring links, like substantially large Indian Diaspora living in UK and the fact that the English language is widely understood and spoken in India. Also, the economic relationship between them is strong, namelyIndia is the second largest investor in Britain after the United States of America (US) and Britain is one of the largest investors in India.[9]
Relations with the United States of America (US)
India and the US represent two of the largest democracies. After India became independent and as India dominated the Non-Alignment Movement, the relations between them became somewhat cold. The US clearly did not like the attempt by India to pursue even-handed economic and military relations with the Soviet Union. For most of the Cold War, the US tended to have warmer relations with Pakistan, primarily as a way to contain Soviet-friendly India and to use Pakistan to back the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. An Indo-Soviet twenty year friendship treaty also positioned India against the US. Relations between India and the US deteriorated during the early 1970s, because the latter showed no effort to discourage the Pakistan President and the Pakistan Army from committing atrocities allegedly being perpetrated in East Pakistan by Pakistani forces. However, the end of the Cold War brought fresh air into their weak relations. The reason for this shift lies in the increasing recognition, in both India and the US, of each country's strategic and economic importance to the other.[10]
International disputes
One of the important issues that compose India's foreign policy are territorial disputes with neighboring Pakistan and People's Republic of China which have played a crucial role in its foreign policy. India is also involved in minor territorial disputes with neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives. India currently maintains two manned stations in Antarctica but has not made any official territorial claims.[11]
Trade and liberalization
The Indian economy comprises a wide spectrum of activity, ranging from high technology to subsistence agriculture. After decades of failing to realize its full economic potential, India was one of the world's fastest growing large economies between 1994 and 2006. Indian economic engagement with the rest of the world has increased, particularly in the services sector.Despite recent progress, significant challenges remain, including addressing the fiscal deficit and government debt and improving infrastructure. Another challenge is to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are experienced more widely. Despite the emergence of tens of millions from poverty during the 1990s, average incomes and literacy levels remain low and India is one of the largest recipients of World Bank lending. India's score in the United Nations Human Development Index has increased marginally over recent decades, but it is still very low, at 126th in 2006.While selective economic reform was attempted from as early as 1960, the reform process began in earnest in 1991 due to a balance of payments and foreign currency reserve crisis. This reform process has focused on liberalizing the economy through increased openness to financial and technology transfers, reform of the financial sector, trade liberalization and reduced government administrative controls. GDP growth has been strong, with an annual average growth of 5.8 per cent from 1994-2004 and growth of 9.4 per cent in 2006-07. Capital inflows have increased, contributing to a significant rise in foreign exchange reserves, making India better placed to withstand external shocks.The structure of the economy has changed over the past decade, with services playing an increasingly important role. This dominance of services is unusual for a low-income country such as India. It demonstrates the difference between India's services-led economic growth and the manufacturing-led development model followed in much of east Asia, including China. However, this reliance on services may be difficult to sustain and some economists argue that India will have to generate stronger manufacturing growth to continue current levels of economic performance.[12]
Human Rights
Due to the facts that India is large in size and so holdstremendous diversity, has status as a developing country and has a history as a former colonial territory, the situation of human rights is multilayered. Caste system in India still exist and it is often argued, especially by the Indian human rights groups and activists, that the members of Untouchable caste have suffered and continue to suffer substantial discrimination. Although human rights problems do exist in India, the country is generally not regarded as a human rights concern, unlike other countries in South Asia. India also has an influential, independent and vibrant media which has played a crucial role in upholding human rights in India.[13]
India and the United Nations (UN)
As a founder member of the United Nations, India has been firmly committed to the purposes and principles of the United Nations and has made significant contributions to its various activities, including peace-keeping operations. India has been a participant in all its peace-keeping operations including those in Korea, Egypt and Congo in earlier years and in Somalia, Angola and Rwanda in recent years. India has also played an active role in the deliberations of the United Nations on the creation of a more equitable international economic order. It has been an active member of the Group of 77, and later the core group of the G-15 nations. Other issues, such as environmentally sustainable development and the promotion and protection of human rights, have also been an important focus of India's foreign policy in international forums.India has been pushing for reforms in the UN and WTO with mixed results. India's candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council is currently backed by several countries including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil and African Union nations.[14]
Proliferation
India has yet to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), claiming the discriminatory nature of the treaty that allows the 5 declared nuclear countries of the world to keep their nuclear arsenal and develop it using computer simulation testing. Prior to its nuclear testing, India had pressed for a comprehensive destruction of nuclear weapons by all countries of the world in a time-bound frame. This was not acceptable to the US and other countries. Presently, India has declared its policy of "no-first use of nuclear weapons" and the maintenance of a "credible nuclear deterrence". In 2005, the United States signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with India even though the latter is not a part of the NPT. The US argued that India's strong nuclear non-proliferation record made it an exception and persuaded other Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) members to sign similar deals with India.[15]
Globalization
The implications of globalization for a national economy are many. Globalization has intensified interdependence and competition between economies in the world market. Although there is a preposition amongst many critiques that globalization leads to the disintegration of the economy and destabilization of the economy, it can still be argued that globalization has helped the Indian economy. The liberalization of the domestic economy and the increasing integration of India with the global economy have helped step up GDP growth rates.Even though poverty declined, India still badly suffers from it.
However, while India's money-spinning industry of taking service jobs from overseas is turning out to be a source of discomfort for U.S. and European politicians, the subcontinent is fast realizing that its now-famed success in so-called Business Process Outsourcing may have come at the cost of a generation's mental well-being.[16]
List of References:
Embassy of India, Washington D.C (2007) India's Foreign Policy - 50 Years of Achievement, available on:
(4.11.2007)
Indian Ministry of external affairs (2007) India profile, available on:
(3.11.2007)
National Human Rights Commission New Delhi, India, available on:
(5.11.2007)
Ministry of external affairs (2007) India in business, available on:
(5.11.2007)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (2007), available on:
(3.11.2007)
The EU's relations with India (2007), available on:
(4.11.2007)
The World Factbook, CIA India (2007), available on:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html (.5.11.2007)
United Nations (2007) India and United Nations, available on:
(5.11.2007)
U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
1
[1] U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[2] Ministry of external affairs (2007) India profile, available on: (3.11.2007)
[3] U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[4] Ministry of external affairs (2007) India profile, available on: (3.11.2007)
[5]U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[6]South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (2007), available on: (3.11.2007)
[7]U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[8]U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[9] The EU's relations with India (2007), available on: (4.11.2007)
[10] Embassy of India, Washington D.C (2007)India's Foreign Policy - 50 Years of Achievement, available on (4.11.2007)
[11]The World Factbook, CIA India (2007), available on: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html(.5.11.2007)
[12] Ministry of external affairs (2007) India in business, available on: (5.11.2007)
[13] National Human Rights Commission New Delhi, India, available on: (5.11.2007)
[14] United Nations (2007) India and United Nations, available on: (5.11.2007)
[15]U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)
[16]U.S. Department of state (2007) Background note: India, available on: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm (3.11.2007)