New Delhi:
With the first dawn of 2025 less than a week away, India has already started shaping its foreign policy in the new year. To advance India's agenda, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will travel to the United States this week, where he will meet officials from both the outgoing Biden administration and the new Trump team ahead of the transfer of power in the US.
During his visit, Mr. Jaishankar is likely to meet members of the Trump transition team and some top nominees for the foreign and defense ministries to host high-level meetings soon after Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, according to a report by The Hindu .
He is also likely to seek an early date for Trump to travel to India for the Quad Summit to be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next year.
The Quad is a grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States that is maintained through discussions between member states. Heads of state from all four countries are expected to meet during the summit. The focus of this year's meeting will be interesting, as Trump has promised to review his predecessor's policies, especially on health and climate change.
Prime Minister Modi may also travel to the US to meet the incoming US president, according to a report by The Economic Times.
India will also host the annual summit with Russia, for which President Vladimir Putin may visit New Delhi. If this happens, it will be Putin's first visit to India since the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Several high-profile meetings are also expected at the BRICS summit in Brazil, scheduled for July, and the SCO summit in China, scheduled for August-September. During the two summits, all eyes will be on a possible dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Russian and Chinese counterparts. Prime Minister Modi may travel to China for the SEO summit.
There is particular anticipation of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit as the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh appears to be normalizing.
The next edition of the Indian summit with the EU will also take place in New Delhi, for which several European leaders are expected to visit India.
India's 2025 diplomatic calendar is likely to start with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's visit in mid-January, the ET report said.
This will be followed by the visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, who will be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in 2025. Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font may also visit India in March or April, ET said report.
Later in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also reportedly planning to visit France. He may also reportedly travel to Japan for the annual summit.
By the second half of 2025, the G20 summit will take place in South Africa and the ASEAN summit in Malaysia. Prime Minister Modi may travel to the respective countries to participate in the bloc meetings.
