Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government will be completing one year of its second tenure in the office on May 30.
During his tenure, Modi's party has pointed out at his skillful diplomacy on the world stage and has given him credit for increased India’s global stature and foreign investment.
A closer look at Modi’s last year trips shows that while some yielded vague agreements, others developed into having a substantial conclusion.
Here’s a look at some of the foreign visits made by our Prime Minister in his first year of the second term. Let us understand their impact and what exactly have Modi’s foreign travels and diplomacy achieved?
India-Kyrgyzstan
The countries signed the Bilateral Investment Treaty and MoUs in the field of health, security, defence and information and communication technology in June 2019.
India- Saudi Arabia
One of the major areas of cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia is in investments by Saudi Arabia in infrastructure projects in India. During his visit to India in February 2019, the crown prince had indicated an intent to invest in excess of $100 billion in India across various sectors. Saudi also showed interest in investing in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
India-Russia
The agreements included four in the area of oil and gas, LNG and coking coal, five in trade and investments, two in infrastructure, and one each in defence and audio-visual production. An agreement between Invest India and the Russian Direct Investment Fund was also signed for Investment Collaboration.
The signed MoU on defence was about the production of spare parts for Russian origin arms under Make-in-India program through joint ventures.
The MoUs in infrastructure was related to the establishment of maritime links between Vladivostok and Chennai to improve connectivity.
An agreement was also exchanged for combating customs violations during 2019-22.
India- Germany
As many as 9 MoUs were signed between India and Germany during German Chancellor’s two-day visit to India in November 2019 in the fields of agriculture, maritime technology, Ayurveda, Yoga and research cooperation:
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Occupational Diseases, Re-habilitation and vocational training of Insured Persons & workers with disabilities
- Memorandum of Understanding For Cooperation in Inland, Coastal and Maritime Technology
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote, establish and expand scientific and technological research cooperation
- MoU on Establishment of an Academic Collaboration in Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation
- Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Germany on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education for Extension of the period of Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education
- MoU between National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management MANAGE and the German Agricultural Academy DEULA in the city of Nienburg on collaboration in agricultural technical and professional training
- MoU on the Extension of Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education
- Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation between the National Museum, the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Indian Museum Kolkata, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum in Berliner Schloss
- Memorandum of Understanding between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V (DFB)
India-Brazil
To scale-up Brazil-India's strategic partnership, wide-ranging cooperation across energy, security, agriculture and investment sectors was launched.
Recognizing the importance of renewable energy in their energy mix and its contribution to sustainable development and energy security, both countries agreed to promote reciprocal investments in order to meet their respective renewable energy targets and conveyed their commitment to strengthen the International Solar Alliance and the Biofuture Platform. Welcoming the signature of International Solar Alliance (ISA) framework agreement, India looked forward to Brazil’s ratification of the instrument.
MoU on cooperation in the area of Cyber security, Bio-energy Cooperation, Oil and Natural gas, Geology and Mineral resources, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Homeopathy and exchanging experiences and technical knowledge were also signed.
In addition to that, MoU between R&D Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Centro Nacional de PesquisaemEnergia e Mataeriais- CNPEM of Brazil for establishing a nodal agency in India to carry out research in bioenergy was also brought into existence.
India- Myanmar
In Feburary 2020, an agreement regarding Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIP) was signed between the two sides. Three agreements for development projects in the conflict-torn Rakhine state were also signed.
India-USA
With regards to the safety of medical products an agreement was signed between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization with the US Food and Drug Administration. MoU between the health departments of both countries which will help both countries address mental health challenges through innovative approaches was also signed. A letter of cooperation was signed as well between Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Exxon Mobil India LNG Limited and Chart Industries Inc, US.
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