NEW DELHI: As India readies to play a bigger role in the international stage, the external affairs ministry called in its envoys from missions the world over for a three-day brain storming session that ended on Wednesday.
Contrary to media speculation, the conference had nothing to do with the Mumbai terror attacks. It was aimed at projecting India’s image as an emerging key power in the world. The attack and the threat jihadi groups pose to India and the world did figure in the discussions. In dealing with the neighbourhood, Pakistan came under close scrutiny, especially the role of the army there and the tug of war between civilians and the military.
National Security Adviser MK Narayanan spoke at length about the security threat in the country and the government’s preparedness.
“India is at the cusp of qualitative change and will be out of the South Asia box it has traditionally been content to be in. This country will be playing a certain role in the world and we must ready ourselves for the challenge ahead,” said a key ambassador, who attended the session, but did not wish to be identified.
The thrust of the conference was to give India’s top diplomats an idea of what this role would entail and how they could carry forward these ideas in the countries they are posted in.
“The sessions covered the entire spectrum of issues concerning our foreign policy, including politics, security and defence, economic and cultural issues, as well as challenges of food and energy security and the environment,” a ministry statement said.
