EU member hails India's economy, takes a swipe at China, Pakistan

"Though I have been closely following India’s political and economic trajectory for many years now, never before have I been struck by the maturity and   confidence of India’s global outreach, and the manner in which it has been approaching international issues, as in the year gone by," he wrote in his piece published in EP Today.

Martusciello said India's engagement with other global partners has been unparalleled, citing example of India’s recent Republic Day celebrations, which witnessed the presence of Heads of State of 10 ASEAN countries.

Praising India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Martusciello said that the former's innate ability to build a personal rapport with world leaders has helped India stand out globally.

"The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has infused new vigour into India’s relations with nations globally, dramatically enhancing the country’s international standing. It would appear that apart from his innate ability to build a personal rapport with world leaders, PM Modi has also laboured hard to identify and build on the unique characteristics of each foreign policy engagement. One has observed equal attention to detail in his engagements with countries as disparate as Mozambique and the US," he wrote.

"At the multilateral level too, India has actively participated in, and contributed to, groupings such as the G-20, SCO, BRICS, IORA, SAARC and the ASEAN, to name a few. India has also hosted international events like the Global Conference on Cyber Space, the Global Entrepreneurial Summit and has institutionalised the Raisina Dialogue, an annual gathering of strategic thinkers, similar to the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore.  All these send out a single message to the world community – it is time to recognise India’s rise as a regional power, a stabilizing force in South Asia, with the potential to positively impact global policy," he added.

The Italian lawmaker also highlighted India's latest tension with China pertaining to Dokalam, stating that the former refused to buckle under the latter's pressure.

"Even before the Doklam stand-off, India refused to buckle under Chinese pressure, and was the only country that declined to participate in the Belt and Road Summit in Beijing, citing issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity. India maintained that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship BRI project, passed through Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan Administered Kashmir, which were sovereign Indian territories under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. By doing so, India had hit out against a Chinese ‘core issue’, something noted by the world community," the piece read.

Hitting out at Pakistan, he wrote that India has rightly campaigned to unmask Pakistan's growing links with international terrorism.

"India’s no-holds-barred global campaign to unmask the Pakistani State’s nexus with terror groups has also started showing results, coming as it does, at a time when the world community is waking up to the fact that Pakistan has become the incubator of international terrorism," Martusciello's piece read.

Urging democracies and groupings to invest in India's growth, he wrote, "India’s advent on the world stage would, no doubt, be raising concerns in Beijing and Islamabad. However all responsible democracies of the world, and groupings like the European Union, should welcome this development, and invest in India’s rise in Asia and the world. A politically and economically strong India would contribute substantially to the stability of the region, and to the overall global equilibrium."

Banner Image: Narendra Modi/Twitter

Body Image: fulviomartusciello.com