On the morning of March 2, a bleary-eyed External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stood in the sunny forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to greet his counterparts attending the G20 foreign ministers meeting. It had been days of negotiations as Jaishankar and his team tried hard for a consensus. A week after the meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) of the G20, which failed to arrive at a joint communique, Jaishankar was hoping to find a middle ground on the Ukraine issue. The hurdle? An ally, Russia, and an arch rival, China. A consensus and a joint statement ultimately turned out to be elusive.
The foreign ministers met befittingly in a room filled with the photographs of India’s past presidents who had risen above partisan politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi in his video address, urging the top diplomats to overcome their differences. The consensus India helped hammer out at the G20 summit in Bali in November has frayed.
“It will be a tightrope walk for India,” said former ambassador Rakesh Sood. A few months after the Bali consensus, Russia has changed its position. “It is partly a reaction to NATO’s hardening stance, and it has hurt the prospects of peace. The Russians also expect more from Delhi as India is the host and a strategic partner,” said Sood.
Denne historien er fra March 19, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 19, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Pressure Points
Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world
War Over Wounded Earth
For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra
Say no to continual elections
Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.
Fabulously, fashionably funny
The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?
All in the family
The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.
Death no bar
Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States
The Lotus POTUS
You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.
RAY OF HOPE
Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).
