While the Indian authorities downplays the importance of the latest approval, the transfer has been lauded by members of the Indian diplomatic neighborhood and its shut observers.

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“The news that we’re expanding our diplomatic corps is welcoming. Capacity issues have long influenced Indian foreign policy, and considering the extensive nature of India’s global engagements, it’s time to address this aspect,” mentioned Harsh V Pant, Vice-President Studies and Foreign Policy on the Observer Research Foundation suppose tank in Delhi.

The international coverage overhaul responds to suggestions from a parliamentary committee in March that emphasised the necessity for diplomatic reinforcement.

‘No match’

Nevertheless, the nation remains to be lacking the diplomatic assets, whether or not employees or abroad missions, to behave as a spine to buttress such lofty ambitions.

While the latest enlargement is welcomed, a former Indian diplomat cautions that it stays inadequate to rival the diplomatic prowess of nations like China. “In diplomacy, whether we want to admit it or not, we’re still no match for any major player,” mentioned the envoy, who declined to be named.

The Indian exchequer has allotted merely 0.4 per cent of the nation’s annual funds to the Ministry of External Affairs within the final 5 years, and the international ministry is amongst India’s least-funded federal ministries.

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Amitabh Mattoo, a professor of worldwide research on the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, famous that the service was missing in each “numbers and skills”.

“There are a limited number of diplomats with good language skills,” he mentioned, including that India additionally wanted diplomats with experience in cyber know-how and synthetic intelligence, and the flexibility to barter complicated financial agreements.

As a part of the enlargement, Delhi plans to open 9 new diplomatic missions within the coming years, with the areas and employees sizes nonetheless being labored out.

“The Global South will be and should be a priority for India’s foreign policy in this expansion phase. It’s not enough to have ad hoc relations with a regional group of countries,” he mentioned. “That engagement has to be sustained.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to touch upon the most recent enlargement plans.

Afghanistan dilemma

On November 29, merely days after the Afghan embassy in Delhi mentioned it had shut for good, the Taliban administration declared that the diplomatic mission would quickly reopen. Afghan experiences indicated that the nation’s diplomatic employees in India, loyal to the earlier administration, had resigned from their posts.

India had been a pivotal associate for Afghanistan earlier than the Taliban took management in 2021, with Delhi having invested billions of {dollars} in Afghan infrastructure, well being and meals help, as a part of its neighbourhood technique.

“India’s approach in Afghanistan has always been people-centric, focusing on initiatives to improve people’s lives. However, with the Taliban in control, the trajectory of the country remains uncertain. At this point, articulating a concrete Afghan policy makes little sense,” Pant mentioned.

While the Taliban had “benefited” from the a number of crises around the globe, which shifted consideration away from them, “India, of course, cannot ignore Afghanistan”, he added.

Mattoo, the tutorial, mentioned: “India’s closure of its mission has meant that its development programmes and assistance will be severely impacted. It is also a loss of face.

“But, ultimately, India has invested in earning the goodwill of the people of Afghanistan. Hopefully, this will survive in the long term.”