The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in an iconic visit to the UAE has re-established his image as a truly global leader, and a Prime Minister who is fixing a foreign policy which has been crying for attention since years. Let us look at some of the outcomes of the visits that the PM has made to different nations.
Bhutan– There was a lot of curiosity regarding which country the PM would pick for his first foreign visit. He took everyone by surprise when he chose Bhutan as his first foreign destination. By doing so, he sent out a message to the world that a regional bond is equally-if not more-important as a global bond. He also made it clear to Bhutan that India was willing to continue its long friendship, overshadowing the growing Chinese influence. India also signed a hydro-electric deal, and Modi inaugurated the India-funded Supreme Court of Bhutan building.
Brazil – The BRICS Summit – The PM attended The 6th BRICS summit, which was his first International summit. He interacted with the representatives of the other BRICS nations, and suggested ideas, many of which found a mention in the declaration. India also got the presidency of the New Development Bank – headquartered in Shanghai, China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Chinese President Xi Jin Ping in a bilateral meeting, and discussed various issues including the need to resolve the boundary question in an amicable manner.
Japan – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe met during Modi’s five-day visit to Japan. During this visit, Japan announced it would provide financial, technical & operational support to introduce Bullet trains in India. Japan also declared that it would be doubling its private and public investment in India to about $34 billion over the next five years.
China – During his visit to China, Modi addressed The China-India Business Forum. Deals worth $22 billion were signed between Indian firms including the Adani group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun, and Chinese business houses. India and China also signed 24 agreements worth over 10 billion dollars, which included ‘Space cooperation outline’, ‘Broadcasting agreement between CCTV and Doordarshan’ amongst many others.
USA – The main agenda of this meet, as many journalists pointed out, was marketing India. He invited the businesses in America to make in India, an initiative he has been promoting all through. U.S. President Barack Obama, after a bilateral meet with Modi, announced $4 billion in government-backed investments and lending to India.
Canada – Modi’s visit to Canada generated business worth 1.6 billion Canadian dollars in wide range of sectors including Aerospace and defence. During this visit, Cameco – a Canadian company, signed a contract for the supply of over seven million pounds of uranium concentrate to India over the next five years for the generation of electricity.
UAE – Modi became the first PM of India to visit UAE in 34 years. During the visit, UAE promised it would invest $75 billion in India. One of the highlights of this visit however was the land allotment for a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, which the PM described as a ‘great step’. The PM also sent out a message to Pakistan that The UAE and India were committed to fight terrorism.
It has been recently brought to light that India received a total of $19.78 billion Foreign Direct Investments from nations visited by the Prime Minister in the Financial Year 2015.
If we add up only the money which Modi has made different countries mentioned above to commit to invest in India, it sums up to somewhere around a whopping $146 billion. So while we keep mocking and questioning his foreign visits, Narendra Modi is quietly doing his duty of taking ‘Brand India’ to the world.
