Diplomatic Opinion

SATYA BRAHMA

Satya is an experienced business Strategic Affairs writer and communication consultant with more than a decade's experience in the financial and media industries of South East Asia. Having spent many years with India's stock exchange, together with many years in understanding India’s foreign policy, Satya has a keen awareness of the Asia-Pacific’s economic and financial issues. Satya has worked as a research scholar at both foreign and domestic financial institutions. He is also engaged in consulting in the areas of international economics and international political risk, and teaches post-graduate finance courses for various UK Universities.

Satya feels that India needs to develop both short-term & long term approach in dealing with complex issues at the International level. While measures like peace talks are much needed, they only scratch the surface of the issue. Change on two more fundamental aspects is needed just as much for economic diplomacy to move forward. On the one hand, the state needs to move beyond its traditional reluctance to engage with the private sector, a habit of the post-Independence economic regime, which has not completely disappeared twenty years after liberalization. On the other, makers of foreign policy have to internalize and act upon an acknowledgement that foreign economic and political relations are intrinsically linked.

The growing number of meetings between external affairs officials and business representatives, facilitated by FICCI and CII, gives reason to believe that the state is becoming less reluctant to engage with the private sector. More important, however, is the growing acknowledgement that foreign economic and political relations cannot be regarded as separate playing fields. This was also highlighted at the last Heads of Missions conference in September 2012, during which diplomats emphasized that free trade treaties and similar economic arrangements reflected India’s desired political ties with the countries in question. These developments provide grounds for cautious optimism about the future of India’s economic diplomacy. Serious engagement with the latter is strongly needed given the global and domestic environment. It is also needed because companies are strategic assets that can help India develop greater influence abroad.