Europe pivot secures strategic ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-day tour of Europe with visits to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy underscores India’s shifting foreign policy objectives.

India has been pushing for new partnerships in response to geopolitical disruptions caused by the policies of United States President Donald Trump.

With Europe, India’s traditional focus has been on diplomatic, cultural, and people-to-people ties. Now, the thrust is on deeper bilateral relations, as reflected in recent visits to India by leaders of the United Kingdom and Germany.

India has also signed Free Trade Agreements with the UK and the European Union, which will be complemented by new collaborations forged during the PM’s tour.

India’s engagement with each of the countries entails unique focus areas. Collectively, these collaborations are expected to contribute to trade, industry, and defence. Seventeen agreements were signed with the Netherlands, elevating the bilateral relationship to a strategic level covering key areas such as semiconductors and critical minerals.

Among the high points of the visit was an agreement between Dutch technology leader ASML and Tata Electronics on semiconductor fabrication. Advanced manufacturing, digital and space technologies, and industrial modernisation were at the centre of the talks in Sweden. The Norway leg of the tour held special significance.

Apart from bilateral talks with that country, it included the third India-Nordic Summit involving leaders from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The key takeaway was the elevation of the India-Nordic relationship to a green technology and innovation strategic partnership.

In Italy, too, bilateral relations were upgraded to a special strategic partnership. Efforts to chart a defence-industrial roadmap were formalised during the visit, which also gave fresh impetus to the existing bilateral trade and economic relationship.

The Prime Minister’s tour also drew attention for non-diplomatic reasons. A Norwegian journalist’s question to Modi went unanswered, triggering intense discussions back home, some pegged to freedom of the press in India. That the Indian establishment handled the fallout inefficiently did not help matters.

The Indian embassy in Oslo invited the journalist for a media briefing later. However, the official in the Ministry of External Affairs did not provide direct answers to a question on the alleged human rights violations in India. It was a weak rebuttal that did no good to the Ministry’s cause.

There is a lesson in all this: Open, honest responses to the media are important tools for effective engagement with the world. The rule also applies to prime ministers and teams that stand in their defence.