Many firsts amid some strained ties

PM's visits to Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, and Guyana were historic for many reasons. But relations with Canada, Bangladesh remained tense in 2024, writes ARCHIS MOHAN

- ARCHIS MOHAN

New Delhi set a frenetic pace in its foreign relations outreach in 2024, with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, over and above performing his duties as his party's lead campaigner in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, visiting more countries than he had since 2018.

In 2024, the PM embarked on 11 foreign tours, visiting 16 countries—more than he had undertaken in a single year since 2019, which also saw a Lok Sabha election.

In 2019, the PM went on 11 foreign tours, visiting 14 countries. In 2018, he embarked on 14 foreign tours, visiting 20 countries.

However, during his second term, the PM's foreign visits were less frequent than the first, partly due to the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which he went on three foreign tours, visiting four countries in 2021. He made no foreign visits in 2020.

In 2022 and 2023, the PM's foreign visits were fewer than they had been during his first term. In 2022, according to data from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the PM went on seven foreign tours, visiting 10 countries. In 2023, he visited 9 countries during six foreign trips.

In 2024, the PM's domestic responsibilities included extensive campaigning for his party and its allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, in the Lok Sabha and eight Assembly polls—four of which took place simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections and four later.