Modi's tour of Africa, Caribbean and S. America: Key takeaways

Hindustan Times

a day ago

The 3,900 km long trip, the longest undertaken by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, took him to five countries on two continents in seven days (July 2-9). The careful choice of destinations, the fine details of the VVIP programme, the range of issues discussed, and the flawless execution of highly complex arrangements involved in State and official visits are all indicative of the new sophistication and aspiration of India's diplomacy. What the unparalleled visit achieved needs a critical examination. PM Narendra Modi(X/ @narendramodi)
It was a tour with five phases. It began in Ghana in West Africa. Thereafter, Modi moved to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean region. From there, he and his delegation went to the farthest point on their itinerary – Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The fourth and central segment involved a stay in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia for participation in the 17th BRICS summit and a state visit to Brazil. Finally, on the way home, the PM paid a State visit to Namibia.
It is notable that a visit by the Indian PM to Ghana took place after three decades, to Namibia after 27 years, and to Trinidad and Tobago after 26 years.
The three-fold goal was to exchange views and cement relations with important nations of the Global South, participate in the BRICS summit, and underline India's expanding worldview and the emerging global role.
Ghana, which played a founder's role during the time of Kwame Nkrumah in the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement, remains a significant player in West Africa. President John Dramani Mahama, who secured a landslide victory in January, played the gracious host for the State visit. While the dialogue between the two leaders was wide-ranging, it focused on expanding economic cooperation, especially as Ghana has been going through a deep economic restructuring process at present. Four bilateral agreements were signed on cultural cooperation, enhancing standardization, traditional medicine, and the establishment of a joint commission to institutionalise high-level dialogue. Defence and cooperation in critical minerals emerged as areas of mutual interest. While in Accra, the PM addressed the parliament.
The visit to Trinidad and Tobago coincided with the celebrations marking 180 years of the arrival of Indian immigrants to the country. By remarkable coincidence, both its President and PM are women, lawyers, and take pride in their Indian heritage.
The visit enabled both sides to review the entire range of relations and devise ways and means to expand the development partnership further. A close look was accorded to the growth of ties in areas such as pharma, tertiary care, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure. Six new agreements were signed, and the PM made nine announcements on forging closer cooperation. A joint statement was issued. PM Modi addressed the parliament, emphasising the connection between the history, democracy, and people of the two nations.
The visit to Argentina was PM Modi's second visit to the country. He was there earlier in 2018 for the G20 summit. Its significance lay in a series of indications given earlier that Argentina was keen to deepen cooperation with India. Information technology, digital healthcare, and energy cooperation emerged as having significant potential. Argentina holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserves and the largest shale oil reserves, besides substantial conventional oil and gas deposits. While bilateral trade has been on a stable trajectory, the two sides needed to work on the diversification of the trade basket. The two governments also discussed the expansion of the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement.
As a journalist put it, this visit was to the land of 'minerals and Maradona.' Modi noted in his departure statement, 'Argentina is a key economic partner in Latin America and a close collaborator in the G20.'
The stay in Brazil was the pièce de résistance, imbued with immense significance, both from the perspective of BRICS and bilateral India-Brazil relations.
In the absence of the presidents of China and Russia, media attention concentrated on the three leaders of the Global South at the BRICS summit – Brazil, India, and South Africa, as well as the president of the newly admitted member, Indonesia. Concerning the highlights of the summit's outcome, three points are notable.
One, the summit produced a detailed declaration reflecting consensus on key issues of the reform of global governance institutions, peace and security, economic cooperation, and the climate crisis. It demonstrated that, despite its internal divergences, BRICS is more united than the G7 today. Two, BRICS has emerged as the most visible platform for projecting the needs and concerns of the Global South. Three, Brazil as the present chair and India as the next chair, were working closely to guide this grouping to attain new heights.
PM Modi's State visit to Brazil was an honour for India. He visited Brazil earlier on three occasions in 2014, 2019, and 2024. The dialogue on this occasion with the Brazilian leadership focused on expanding bilateral partnership, covering trade and investment, agriculture, health, space, defense, and people-to-people relations. There was a joint decision to increase bilateral trade from the present level of $12 billion to $ 20 billion in the immediate future. The list of six bilateral agreements signed on terrorism and renewable energy, among others, was indicative of the areas where greater attention would be paid. A ministerial mechanism was set up for monitoring cooperation in trade, commerce, and investment. The joint statement entitled 'India and Brazil: Two Great Nations with Higher Purposes' revealed the full contours of a special transcontinental partnership.
A one-day sojourn in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, was the cherry on the cake. It revealed India's serious interest in an important, friendly nation in Southern Africa. It enabled Modi to hold an in-depth dialogue with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who took office in March. Their discussion would certainly mould what the two governments do in the future to expand and diversify economic and development cooperation, as well as cooperation in information technology and the defense domain. As a resource-rich country, Namibia is of interest to industries that need critical minerals. The visit resulted in two agreements and three announcements, including on Namibia joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance.
During the entire tour, PM Modi received four highest civilian honours. He delivered addresses at three different parliaments. He enunciated India's perspective on terrorism and several other issues of global and regional importance. In addition, at least three takeaways may be mentioned here.
First, India's diplomacy has been moving in high gear in a fast, robust, but pragmatic manner. Developing countries perceive India as a natural partner, given its rising economy, technological progress, political stability, and charismatic leadership.
Second, India is no longer relying on advancing large credits to its external partners. Instead, the focus now is on sharing proven experience and expertise in specific areas where the Indian development model has achieved success.
Third, despite geopolitical conflicts and tensions, New Delhi remains confident of its ability to manage contradictions and balance its relationships with the North and the South. It sees no contradictions in India's membership of BRICS and Quad, and its presence as a regular guest at the G7. The government remains determined to dialogue with different groupings in the quest for finding an acceptable solution to global challenges, while promoting India's national interest.
In the end, the results of PM's ambitious tour would be measured by the ability of India and its interlocutors to ensure optimal implementation of the agreements signed and the understandings reached. A positive impression has been created all around, and now it is time to carry the decisions to their logical conclusion.
This article is authored by Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House and former Indian ambassador.