TALKS OF THE TOWN

Diplomats from various camps are flying into Delhi. Hot topic: The Russia-Ukraine conflict

- REKHA DIXIT

Creme diplomat is the hottest item on New Delhi’s summer menu. With the easing of Cov-id-19 restrictions and a world order on the churn, diplomats from across the world, and more significantly, from across various camps, have been heading towards India, keeping officials of the ministry of external affairs, who had got used to virtual meets, on their toes.

Over the last few days, India has hosted two heads of government (Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba), five foreign ministers (Russia's Sergey Lavrov, UK's Liz Truss, China's Wang Yi, Greece's Nikos Dendias and Mexico's Marcelo Casaubon), two national security advisers (Germany's Jens Plotner and the Dutch Geoffery Van Leeuwen), and a deputy NSA, Daleep Singh from the US. Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's visit was cancelled because he got Covid; his defence minister’s visit, too, was rescheduled because of security incidents in Israel.

India also held two important trade meets with the UAE and Australia virtually, the former taking forward a landmark trade pact and the latter inking the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA). The phone lines are busy, as key officials of various countries reach out to their Indian counterparts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called up External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar a day before Lavrov’s visit. Meanwhile, the French navy engaged with the Indian Navy in the Varuna exercise in the Arabian Sea.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the number one agenda at most of these interactions, either directly or indirectly. Only Nepal’s Deuba focussed almost exclusively on bilateral relations.