The Act East Policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is a follow-up of the look East policy that the country is pursuing for a few years now has the potential to help Odisha, which has the tradition of maritime trade with countries in the Far East as symbolised by Bali Yatra.
Former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vivek Katju mentioned this while offering a 360-degree view of the country’s foreign policy and the environment in which it is being practised. He was delivering the Foundation Day lecture of the National Aluminum Company ltd (Nalco) on the subject on Tuesday.
Katju said the principles of Chanakya propounded more than a millennium ago is still relevant in diplomatic activity. He described lord Krishna as the ideal diplomat when he visited the Kauravas as an emissary of the Pandavas. Friendship among individuals is possible, but friendship among countries is a myth. It can at best be termed as convergence of interest. The objective of foreign policy of any country is the pursuit of its own interests and not friendship with other countries.
While covering the entire neighbourhood of India in his speech, Katju was emphatic that it was definitely appropriate for India and Indians to sympathise with Pakistan for the Peshawar tragedy, but nobody should expect any significant impact of it on the bilateral relationship with Pakistan. He mentioned the dominance of Pakistan Army in managing the affairs of the nation and its strategic objective as the reasons for this sad state of affairs.
He was upbeat about the relationship of the country with Australia, Japan, the South East Asian countries and neighbours including Bangladesh and Myanmar. But he considered China, along with Pakistan, as major challenges. The challenge from China would be for access to raw materials as the ‘Make in India’ movement gains ground. The grip of the United States at the top of the list of countries would continue for the foreseeable future, he observed.
Katju supported the steps by Modi to give greater role to the States in the country’s foreign affairs. He called for steps to strengthen the MEA with a bigger cadre of IFS officers and inclusion of domain experts in the MEA to meet the emerging challenges in a fast-changing diplomatic environment.