Shashank Mattoo
Shashank Mattoo

@MattooShashank

12 Tweets 5 reads Jan 15, 2023
Its been an exciting week for Indian foreign policy
- Army Chief statements about ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ in his annual presser
- Major developments in ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ-๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต ties
- Troubling news on the ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ trade front
๐Ÿงตon the top 5 foreign affairs stories from ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ this week๐Ÿ‘‡(1/11)
(2/11)
1. Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande held annual press briefing
He said:
- LAC situation w. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ remains "unpredictable"
- LoC ceasefire w. ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ remains in place
- ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ looking for alternative sources of defence parts for ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ weapons
- ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ & Africa military exercise planned for March
(3/11)
Why this matters
-Mil.standoff w. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ continues; talks ongoing but no breakthroughs
-๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's mil. diplomacy continues to๐Ÿ“ˆ; Gen. Pande pointed out that ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ has exercises w. 40+ ctries
-Chief says need for alternative sources of def. supplies is chance for ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ defence industry
(4/11)
2. Voices of the Global South Summit
- 125 countries participated in 2-day summit
- Developing world & ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ discussed finance, sustainable development, tech, health
- Major ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ cabinet ministers & PM Modi took inputs for ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's G20 Presidency priorities
(5/11)
Why this Matters
Voices of the Global South, unlike Non-Aligned Movement, is an entirely ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ run show
-๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ positions itself as representative of the developing world at global high table
-Strikes contrast w, Western pwrs who are seen as insensitive to the Rest's concerns
(6/11)
3. India-China Trade Numbers
The latest ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ trade data was released:
Trade ๐Ÿ“ˆ to $135.98 bn from $125.6 bn (2021)
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ imp.๐Ÿ“ˆto $118.5 billion ($97.5 billion in 2021)
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ exp. ๐Ÿ“‰to $17.48 b (from $28.1 billion in 2021)
@ananthkrishnan broke the news
(7/11)
Why this matters:
-2.5 yrs after Galwan clashes, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's econ dependency on ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ continues
As Vijay Gokhale put it, this is not just an econ issue: it has political & strategic pitfalls for ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ
@Chellaney pointed to the need to๐Ÿ“‰dependency on ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ ๐Ÿ‘‡
livemint.com
(8/11)
4. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ-๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต air force exercises
-๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ&๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต holding maiden air force exercises at Hyakuri Air Base in ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต for two weeks
Aim of the exercise: โ€œTo promote mutual understanding and strengthen defence cooperation between the Air Forces and enhance JASDFโ€™s tactical skills"
(9/11)
Why it Matters
-Demonstrates how close๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ-๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต def ties have become
-Follows on ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต's part in MILAN exercises with ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Navy
-Follows Reciprocal Access Agreement last yr.
-๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต growing closer to ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง&๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ on def; ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต's ๐Ÿ“ˆcapability a good sign for ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ which needs partners vs. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ
(10/11)
5. Latin America & Caribbean back on ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's agenda
-Pravasi Bharatiya Divas saw participation from Prez Irfaan Ali of Guyana & Panama's FM Janaina Mencomo
-Junior Foreign Minister (MoS) Meenakashi Lekhi in Cuba, Guatemala & Central Am. ctries on 10-day visit
(11/11)
Why this matters
-๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's trade w. LatAm has๐Ÿ“ˆ20 times in 20 years
-Major opportunity for ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ business to exp. into Americas
-Ties with LatAm help counter ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ's influence
-๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ looking to develop LatAm as both traditional & renewable energy partner
Thinking of doing a similar wrap up thread every week if there's interest.
Also hoping to do a thread that looks at the Top 5 Global Stories that matter to India every week.
Please do let me know what you think! Thanks very much for reading .

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