| Sreemoy Talukdar brings you the essential cheat sheet on foreign affairs covering India and the world |  | | Bitter fighting between two top generals is ravaging Sudan in a civil war, and Indians have got stuck in a country where more than 400 have already been killed in fighting. PM Modi has called for a contingency evacuation plan. Meanwhile, Pakistan foreign minister is due to arrive in India, New Delhi and Moscow are tightening economic ties and British deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has been forced to resign amid a bullying scandal. | | TOP FIVE NEWS UPDATES | | Over 400 killed, thousands injured as bitter civil war continues in Sudan; calls for Eid ceasefire ignored | | The civil war in Sudan, which according to Wall Street Journal is the result of a bitter power struggle between Sudan's two top generals, is ravaging the African nation. The WHO says more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 others injured in the fighting so far and the UN children's agency, UNICEF, added that at least nine children were among the dead and more than 50 children had been wounded. Fighting started on April 15. The Economist says tensions had been building for months "between the two most powerful figures in the military government: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan's de facto leader since a coup in 2019, and Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), a warlord. He is the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit that grew out of the Janjaweed militias." BBC says "members of the RSF were redeployed around the country last week in a move that the army saw as a threat. It is disputed who fired the first shot on Saturday morning but fighting has since escalated in different parts of the country. Even though the conflict appears to be around the control of key installations, much of it is happening in urban areas and civilians have become the unwitting victims. It is not exactly clear where the RSF bases are, but it seems that their fighters have moved into densely populated areas. The Sudanese air force has mounted air strikes in the capital, a city of more than six million people, which is likely to have led to civilian casualties." The United States, meanwhile, is worried about Russia's influence in Sudan, including lucrative gold mining carried out by companies controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin's Wagner group has offered heavy weapons to the RSF, the militia run by General Dagalo, The Wall Street Journal has reported. There were clashes on Friday as well despite calls for Eid ceasefire. Arab News says "the capital has borne the brunt of some of the fiercest fighting, with most of its five million people sheltering at home without electricity, food or water. Residents have struggled to sleep for nearly a week and been jolted awake by the roaring sound of fighter jets and air strikes, said Nazek Abdalla, a 38-year-old in southern Khartoum." | | Prepare contingency evacuation plan, PM Modi says at high-level meet to rescue Indians caught in Sudan | | As fighting continues in Sudan, unspecified number of Indians are stranded in the country. Out of them more than 181 members belong to the Hakki Pikki tribal community from Karnataka. The Hakki Pakkis live in several states in west and south India, especially near forest areas. Hakki Pikkis (Hakki in Kannada means 'bird' and Pikki means 'catchers') are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters, notes Indian Express. The Indian Embassy in Sudan has advised its nationals to stay indoors, ration their food and seek help from their Sudanese neighbours. As per reports, India is also coordinating closely with "the Quartet" countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – to ensure the safety of its citizens, according to Firstpost. "Our hotel is without electricity for five days. Food and water are in short supply. Earlier today, the hotel was looted by the paramilitary forces. Most of Khartoum has been without electricity as well and the paramilitary has not been allowing repairs," an Indian national said over telephone from the Sudanese capital told The Hindu. One Indian national, 48-year-old- Albert Augustine, has died after getting caught in the clash. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed officials to prepare contingency plans at a high-level meeting on Friday to discuss the condition of Indians trapped in the African nation. The meeting, chaired by the PM, was attended by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Indian ambassador to Sudan BS Mubarak, foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, secretary-in-charge of overseas Indian Affairs Ausaf Sayeed, and high level officials from the air force and navy. "The Prime Minister instructed all relevant officials to remain vigilant, closely monitoring developments and continuously evaluating the safety of Indian nationals in Sudan and extending them all possible assistance. He further directed the preparation of contingency evacuation plans, accounting for the rapidly shifting security landscape and the viability of various options," a press note issued by the government said. | | India, Russia agree to deepen trade & economic ties as Jaishankar calls for addressing 'trade imbalance' | | India and Russia on Tuesday agreed to work jointly to unlock the full potential of their economic relationship by addressing the trade deficit and market access issues, reports Hindustan Times. "These were discussed at a meeting of the Inter-governmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation that was co-chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and the visiting Russian deputy prime minister Denis Manturov. The commission also discussed ways to step up engagement in trade, finance and energy, including nuclear power. The meeting was held a day after Jaishankar and Manturov said India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement (FTA) involving the Eurasian Economic Union. The Indian side also flagged its concerns about a widening deficit as two-way trade touched $45 billion, propelled largely by India's purchases of discounted Russian oil," adds the report. Trade between the two sides have already touched $45 billion in the period between April 2022 to February 2023. The expectation is that it will continue to grow. "During the meeting the two sides discussed cooperation in the areas of trade, finance, industry, energy sector, including nuclear power, agriculture, transport, healthcare, education & culture. Manturov also met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman whom he knows since her days as Defence and Commerce Minister. Manturov, the Russian deputy PM, also met Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal and talks focussed on collaboration in shipbuilding, metallurgy and railways. Russia is assisting India to create 120 Bande Bharat trains. On Monday, Manturov and Jaishankar met with representatives of the Russian and Indian businesses at a closed-door business Forum, reports Economic Times. Jaishankar, however, called for urgently addressing India's trade imbalance with Russia even as he described the partnership between the two countries as among the steadiest of major relationships globally. | | Bilawal Bhutto may attend SCO meet in India but Poonch terror attack casts shadow over Pak FM's visit | | Pakistan announced Thursday that foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will head the country's delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit to be held in May in Goa. Bilawal's visit to India is the first by any Pakistani leader after Nawaz Sharif in 2014. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a briefing that the SCO foreign ministers meeting is scheduled from May 4-5. Bhutto is also the first foreign minister to visit India 12 years after former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar came to India, observes Hindustan Times. The Indian Express had first reported in January on New Delhi's invitation to Islamabad to attend the SCO foreign ministers' meeting. The invitation from external affairs Minister S Jaishankar was sent through the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Announcing Islamabad's participation, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson said this "reflects Pakistan's commitment to the SCO charter and processes, and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities." The report, however, adds that "while the meeting is still two weeks away, the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, hours after the announcement by Islamabad, once again puts a question mark on the visit. The political temperature in New Delhi and Islamabad will determine the diplomatic and military response to the attack." Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said similar invitations have been extended to all SCO member states. He said, "It would not be really appropriate to look at participation by any one particular country". | | UK deputy PM Dominic Raab hits out at 'activist civil servants' after forced to resign for 'bullying' | | UK deputy prime minister Dominic Raab grudgingly resigned Friday after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants, though he criticized the findings as "flawed." Raab's announcement came the day after prime minister Rishi Sunak received the investigation report into eight formal complaints that Raab, who was also justice secretary, had been abusive toward staff members during a previous stint in that office and while serving as Britain's foreign secretary and Brexit secretary, reports Associated Press. Attorney Adam Tolley, who conducted the inquiry and noted that "bullying" was not a legal term, found Raab "acted in a way which was intimidating," was "unreasonably and persistently aggressive" and "introduced an unwarranted punitive element" to his leadership style. In his resignation letter Raab said that the report into his conduct had upheld two claims against him and both are "flawed". He claimed that the report sets a dangerous precedent of a low threshold for bullying. In an interview to BBC, Raab has accused "activist civil servants" of trying to block the work of government. He said he was sorry if he upset anyone but "that's not bullying". He said there was a risk "a very small minority" of officials "with a passive aggressive culture" were trying to block reforms they did not like. Raab told the BBC the only complaints upheld against him were by "a handful of very senior officials", out of hundreds of civil servants he had dealt with. | | | | | | | | | | TOP ANALYSES OF THE WEEK | | US policies paved the way for war in Sudan | | In Sudan, American policies paved the way for war, writes analyst Justin Lynch in Foreign Policy. | | Pakistan's political culture is in a shambles | | The deterioration of Pakistan's political culture has reached dizzying heights. With politicians losing any sense of what language to use and ordinary citizens still searching for a Messiah, is there any hope for Pakistan's political system?, asks Farhan Akhtar in The Friday Times. | | Japan PM Kishida's visit to India was historic and game-changing | | In his column for The Diplomat, Nagao Satoru of the Hudson Institute gives three reasons for positing that Japan prime minister Fumio Kishida's visit to India was historic. | | Why India is disinterested in Western calls for Russia's isolation | | Europe and Washington may be right that Russia is violating human rights in Ukraine, but Western powers have carried out similarly violent, unjust, and undemocratic interventions—from Vietnam to Iraq. New Delhi is therefore uninterested in Western calls for Russia's isolation, writes former Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao in Foreign Affairs. | | India should consider leaving BRICS | | Given the huge social, political and governance differences, the group has not been able to live up to the expectations from it. The question here is should India then leave the grouping?, asks professor Sriparna Pathak of OP Jindal University in Hindustan Times. | | In West Asia, don't confuse tactical de-escalation with strategic alignment | | The structural pretext that drove West Asia's cycle of competition and proxy conflict is still in place without a clear solution in sight, writes Mohammed Soliman, director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, in ORF. | | Macron's gaffes in China have opened a door for India | | France's aspiration for strategic autonomy has its roots in the World War II experiences that sidelined France, and the rest of Europe, and made it dependent on the US, writes Swasti Rao of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in The Print. | | Biden administration must step down from bully pulpit | | America needs friends, and it isn't going to win them by delivering lectures, writes Walter Russell Mead in Wall Street Journal. | | Leave Indian democracy to Indians instead of preaching and judgments | | The recent murmurs in the West about the backsliding of democracy — polite rebukes from Western governments and strident editorials by Western media — are having the exact opposite from the intended effect, writes Barkha Dutt in Washington Post. | | Raab resigned because he got wind of Sunak's plan to sack him | | Boris Johnson stood by Patel. Raab had no such luck – he appears to have caught wind of Rishi Sunak's plan to sack him and decided to beat him to the pass by resigning instead, writes Brendan O'Neill in The Spectator. | | PODCAST | | Ukraine war both a challenge and spur for liberal democracy | | We recommend this edition of Financial Times' Rachman Review podcast where the host speaks to US political theorist John Ikenberry about why the Ukraine war has been both a challenge and a spur for those who want to see liberal democratic values thrive. | | | | Copyright © 2023.Firstpost - All Rights Reserved. | |
