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By:

Akhilesh Sinha

25 June 2025 at 2:53:54 pm

India's multi-align diplomacy triumphs

New Delhi: West Asia has transformed into a battlefield rained by fireballs. Seas or land, everywhere echoes the roar of cataclysmic explosions, flickering flames, and swirling smoke clouds. et amid such adversity, Indian ships boldly waving the Tricolour navigate the strait undeterred, entering the Arabian Sea. More remarkably, Iran has sealed its airspace to global flights but opened it for the safe evacuation of Indians.   This scene evokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's memorable 2014...

India's multi-align diplomacy triumphs

New Delhi: West Asia has transformed into a battlefield rained by fireballs. Seas or land, everywhere echoes the roar of cataclysmic explosions, flickering flames, and swirling smoke clouds. et amid such adversity, Indian ships boldly waving the Tricolour navigate the strait undeterred, entering the Arabian Sea. More remarkably, Iran has sealed its airspace to global flights but opened it for the safe evacuation of Indians.   This scene evokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's memorable 2014 interview. He stated that "there was a time when we counted waves from the shore; now the time has come to take the helm and plunge into the ocean ourselves."   In a world racing toward conflict, Modi has proven India's foreign policy ranks among the world's finest. Guided by 'Nation First' and prioritising Indian safety and interests, it steadfastly embodies  'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' , the world as one family.   Policy Shines Modi's foreign policy shines with such clarity and patience that even as war flames engulf West Asian nations, Indians studying and working there return home safe. In just 13 days, nearly 100,000 were evacuated from Gulf war zones, mostly by air, some via Armenia by road. PM Modi talked with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian to secure Iran's airspace for the safe evacuation of Indians, a privilege denied to any other nation. Additionally, clearance was granted for Indian ships carrying crude oil and LPG to pass safely through the Hormuz Strait. No other country's vessels are navigating these waters, except for those of Iran's ally, China. The same strategy worked in the Ukraine-Russia war: talks with both presidents ensured safe corridors, repatriating over 23,000 students and businessmen. Iran, Israel, or America, all know India deems terrorism or war unjustifiable at any cost. PM Modi amplified anti-terror campaigns from UN to global platforms, earning open support from many nations.   Global Powerhouse Bolstered by robust foreign policy and economic foresight, India emerges as a global powerhouse, undeterred by tariff hurdles. Modi's adept diplomacy yields notable successes. Contrast this with Nehru's era: wedded to Non-Aligned Movement, he watched NAM member China seize vast Ladakh territory in war. Today, Modi's government signals clearly, India honors friends, spares no foes. Abandoning non-alignment, it embraces multi-alignment: respecting sovereignties while prioritizing human welfare and progress. The world shifts from unipolar or bipolar to multipolar dynamics.   Modi's policy hallmark is that India seal defense deals like the S-400 and others with Russia yet sustains US friendship. America bestows Legion of Merit; Russia, its highest civilian honor, Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. India nurtures ties with Israel, Palestine, Iran via bilateral talks. Saudi Arabia stands shoulder-to-shoulder across fronts; UAE trade exceeds $80 billion. UN's top environment award, UNEP Champions of the Earth, graces India, unlike past when foreign nations campaigned against us on ecological pretexts.   This policy's triumph roots in economic empowerment. India now ranks the world's fourth-largest economy, poised for third in 1-2 years. The 2000s dubbed it 'fragile'; then-PM economist Dr. Manmohan Singh led. Yet  'Modinomics'  prevailed. As COVID crippled supply chains, recession loomed, inflation soared and growth plunged in developed countries,  Modinomics  made India the 'bright star.' Inflation stayed controlled, growth above 6.2 per cent. IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas praised it, advising the world to learn from India.

Strategic Asymmetry

Emmanuel Macron’s India visit signals a quiet reordering of power between Europe and the emerging world. France today is politically brittle, fiscally strained and strategically boxed in. Domestic instability has eroded Macron’s authority well before his presidency ends in 2027. Europe is struggling to convert economic heft into geopolitical agency, caught between American security guarantees and Chinese industrial dominance. In that narrowing corridor, India appears not merely attractive but indispensable with a large market and a technology ecosystem open to partnership.


India’s engagement with France is not born of urgency but of choice. New Delhi values Paris because unlike other Western powers, the latter offers advanced technology without overt political conditionality and a European connection unencumbered by Brussels’s regulatory zeal. The elevation of ties to a ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’ reflects this calculation.


Defence remains the spine of the relationship between the two countries, but it is being re-engineered as the shift from arms purchases to joint production and technology sharing marks a structural change in India’s external strategy. The helicopter assembly line inaugurated during the visit is emblematic of this shift. India no longer wants equipment alone; it wants design capability, manufacturing depth and export potential. France, under pressure from American defence giants and shrinking European procurement, is unusually willing to oblige.


This convergence is anchored in a shared attachment to strategic autonomy. For India, autonomy is a hedge against great-power volatility. For France, it has become economic realism.


Technology cooperation sharpens the asymmetry further. France’s insistence that the question is no longer whether India will innovate, but who will innovate with India, is revealing. Europe has lost ground in successive technology waves, from digital platforms to frontier AI. India, by contrast, combines talent, scale and a growing startup ecosystem, even if it still lacks deep capital and cutting-edge hardware. For France, embedding itself early in India’s innovation architecture through joint research centres, startup networks and student exchanges is a bid to remain relevant in a world where technological leadership increasingly defines geopolitical weight.


The announcement of an India–France Year of Innovation in 2026 fits neatly into this strategy. By institutionalising collaboration ahead of time, Paris hopes to lock in influence before India’s choices narrow or tilt decisively towards American or East Asian ecosystems. The proposal to showcase Franco-Indian initiatives ahead of a G7 summit similarly signals France’s ambition to act as India’s principal European interlocutor, thus bypassing slower continental mechanisms.


The broader implications extend beyond bilateral ties. As uncertainty clouds America’s future role and Europe’s coherence frays, India is emerging as a stabilising pole in an increasingly multipolar order. The partnership also carries an unspoken China dimension, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where France’s residual presence gives it interests that align more naturally with India’s than those of most European states.


All said, Paris is competing for relevance in India’s crowded diplomatic marketplace. That competition, politely disguised as partnership, is the defining feature of Macron’s visit.

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