2023 must be labelled as the year of the summits. The G7 and Quad just held their summit-level meetings in Hiroshima. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS follow in India (July) and South Africa (August) respectively. India then gets to host the G20 summit in September. And if you wish to be technically correct, the APEC summit is scheduled to take pace in California in November.
With the exception of APEC, India will participate at the highest level in all the above summit meetings. It is the most visible sign of India’s arrival on the world stage. Equally, it is an admission by the international community that it is well nigh impossible to discuss and resolve any of the world’s biggest issues without India being present.
Participation in summits is both an opportunity and a challenge. To begin with, India has an advantage in a Prime Minister who is both shrewd and savvy about strategic issues. He has charisma and commands respect. And he invests tremendously in personal relationships. I was witness to this when I was India’s Ambassador to France and saw the friendship between our PM and President Macron flourish. Other than the late Japanese leader Abe, the PM’s closest friend among foreign leaders is Macron. And diplomats will tell you that this does make a huge difference when it comes to foreign policy and international relations. This undoubtedly serves as a strategic opportunity. But the challenge is also to ward off pressure from friends and partners and enhance strategic space for one’s own country. It boils down to the ability and skill of the leader to manage pulls and pressures.
It is worth noticing that in all the summits listed above, the United Nations is conspicuous by its absence. So, what to make of it? Perhaps, the UN has outlived its utility. At a minimum, it is a wake up call for the UN which has stubbornly refused calls for reform and change.
Academics and practitioners of diplomacy will not fail to observe that “summit diplomacy” – diplomacy practiced at the highest level by Heads of State/Government – is back in vogue. This is no bad thing since the world is largely messy and disorderly and deserves the attention of people at the highest level. The importance of summit diplomacy cannot be overemphasized and can often determine the difference between war and peace in the world.
Diplomacy and Geopolitics 