WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Policy Department External Policies

INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY: ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE EU

HELD ON MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2008

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

September 2008 JANUARY 2004 EN

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION DIRECTORATE B - POLICY DEPARTMENT -

Workshop Summary

"'s Foreign policy: Its importance for the EU"

held on

Monday 8 September 2008, 16:30 – 18:30

Summary On 8 September 2008 the Policy Department in DG EXPO organised a Workshop on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and of the EP Delegation for Relations with India. The large participation and interest from within and outside the European Parliament made for a successful event. The substance of the Workshop provided an opportunity for key Members of the European Parliament to present their views on India's foreign policy and on the partnership that can be developed with the EU to address regional issues. This Workshop Summary provides an overview on the issues raised during the Workshop. It is not intended as a verbatim reproduction of the event.

EXPO/B/AFET/2008/59/workshop 08/09/2008 September 2008 PE 406.993 EN

This summary is published in the following language: English

Authors Workshop summary prepared by Xavier Nuttin Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, Policy Department, rue Wiertz, B-1047 Brussels E-mail: mailto:[email protected]

Publisher European Parliament

Manuscript completed on 15 September 2008.

The summary is available on the Internet at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/studies.do?language=EN

If you are unable to download the information you require, please request a paper copy by e-mail : [email protected]

Brussels: European Parliament, 2008.

Any opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament.

© European Communities, 2008.

Reproduction and translation, except for commercial purposes, are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and provided the publisher is given prior notice and supplied with a copy of the publication.

2 Contents:

1. Programme ...... 4

2. Summary...... 5

3. Presentations

3.1 Presentation by Professor Radha Kumar on "India and the EU in transition: Dilemmas and Opportunities for partnership",...... 7

3.2 Presentation by Professor Christian Wagner on "India's growing foreign policy influence: what sort of player will India become?"...... 11

4. Brief biographies of the Speakers...... 15

3

1. Programme COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS DELEGATION FOR RELATIONS WITH INDIA supported by the POLICY DEPARTMENT (DG EXTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION)

JOINT WORKSHOP

INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY: ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION

Monday 8 September 2008, 16.30-18.30 Paul Henri Spaak Building (PHS), Room 1A002, Brussels

PROGRAMME

16.30-16.35 Welcome by Mr Libor ROUČEK, 1st Vice Chairperson, Committee on Foreign Affairs

16.35-16.50 Introductory remarks by Ms Neena GILL, Chairperson of the EP Delegation for Relations with India

16.50-17.10 Professor Radha KUMAR, Director, Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, New , India. "India and the EU in transition: Dilemmas and Opportunities for Partnership"

17.10-17.30 Professor Christian WAGNER, Head, Asia Research Division, Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin, Germany. "India's growing foreign policy influence: what sort of player will India become?"

17.30-18.20 General Debate

18.20-18.30 Concluding Remarks and summing up

4 2. Summary1

2.1 Background

There is increasing recognition and interest in the EU for India’s growing influence, both economic and political, on the world scene including for India's leading role in South Asia. In Delhi, there is a wish for increased engagement with the EU as it is viewed as an alternative pole of dialogue for Indian foreign policy. Moving in that direction the EU has in 2004 upgraded its relations with the world's largest democracy to a strategic partnership. The relationship however still lags far behind those with Japan and China, the EU's other strategic partners in Asia. The purpose of the Workshop was therefore for the European Parliament to inform itself on the current foreign policy of India, to review its growing role in world affairs and to discuss how best India and the EU could join forces to address some of the regional issues. The Workshop was also intended to prepare the plenary debate of 24 September on the preparations for the next EU-India summit to be held on 29 September 2008 in Marseille under the French presidency. Upon the proposal by MEP Neena Gill, Chair of the EP Delegation for Relations with India, the workshop was jointly organised by the Delegation and AFET with the support of the Policy Unit of DG Expo. It featured a presentation by Professor Radha Kumar, Director of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution of , in New Delhi, and one by Professor Christian Wagner, Head of the Asia Division in the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. It was attended by about 20 MEPs and 50 other specialists and officials.

2.2 Introductory remarks

In her introductory remarks Neena Gill explained that the idea for this seminar developed from a discussion that took place just over a year ago with the then newly established EP Delegation for Relations with India. She clarified that the aim of the meeting was to clear up many of the myths and misunderstandings often surrounding discussions about India's foreign policy. She also pointed out that Europe is still viewed in India primarily through the prism of its largest trade partners particularly Germany, the UK and France and actions by different EU member states need to be better co- ordinated so as to give a clear image of what the EU is beyond the 'Common Market'.

India is a natural ally for Europe and shares much in terms of outlook and values with the EU. It must be said, however, that these synergies are not perceived by the two sides in quite the same way. While the EU wishes to regard India as a key regional and global partner in solving crises such as those in Burma or Iran, India's take on the relationship is slightly different. Where the EU views cooperation with India as a foreign policy imperative owing to India's growing global power, the Indian government tends to continue to view the relationship in terms of trade.

She concluded with four sets of questions for the experts to address: on India´s non- interventionist policy; on the prospects for India getting a seat on the UN Security

1 Quotes are used to highlight key points raised by participants but have not been attributed to individuals.

5 Council; on the US -India nuclear deal and on the mediating role India could play in the Georgia conflict given its historical relationship with Russia.

2.3 Key points of the Presentations

The two invited speakers spoke on India's foreign policy from different angles but agreed that

" Sharing common values does not always lead to a common foreign policy"

Professor Kumar while recognizing the willingness of both the EU and India to upgrade their relation found little concrete progress in cooperation so far. She then analysed different developments that have taken place in India over the last few years, from the Look East Policy focusing on East Asia at large to the Look West Policy which emerged later and is characterised by the recent rapprochement with the USA. Relations with China had grown in complexity, but there was too much rivalry for their relationship to be close. India's political stance was of non-intervention abroad, partly as a backlash given previous experiences (e.g. in Sri Lanka) and due to consequent wariness among her neighbours. The democratic factor has also played a key role in shaping India's foreign policy by promoting the concept of soft power. Overall, Professor Kumar believes that India was growing up: she had a global role, but was not a superpower. She summarised EU-India relations as "brave words, little progress".

Professor Wagner for his part looked at the global influence of India and its place in the international order: India is indeed seeking "great power status", especially since the end of the Cold War. There was broad consensus among Indian leaders on this. This meant parity with China, recognition of India as a nuclear power and the freedom to pursue an independent foreign policy (something difficult to achieve in a globalized world). He also spoke about the need for India to strengthen its own democracy, not forgetting that India still is a developing country, ranking 128 on the UN Human Development Index, having lost two places in 2007. India's recent foreign policy transition meant a shift of emphasis from hard to soft power, and from security to trade. Many of India's exports were going east.

2.4 Discussion

A lively exchange of views with MEPs took place after the presentations covering different issues and also offering different viewpoints on the partnership that could be developed between the EU and India. Energy security, the US-India Nuclear deal, Afghanistan, the Indian policy in Africa and the competition between India and China, both in the political and economic fields, were particularly discussed.

The non- interventionist policy pursued by India reflects the current defensive approach of India's foreign policy which while seeking to gain a larger role in the international community remains reluctant to appear as intervening in the internal affairs of third countries. This is partly linked to its historical role in the non-aligned movement and partly due to the current economic interests of India.

6 Regarding EU-India relations there was agreement that both entities were in transition. They were natural partners preferring multi-lateral means and shared views on many issues. But this did not mean common policies. As result, there was a risk that both India and the EU might lose out on each other given the other options that both had. India had recently made clear that she was not interested in a PCA with the EU.

3. Power point Presentations:

3.1 Presentation by Professor Radha Kumar on "India and the EU in transition: Dilemmas and Opportunities for Partnership",

INDIA & THE EU IN TRANSITION

Dilemmas & Opportunities for Partnership

Radha Kumar Jamia Millia Islamia

7 India and the EU

India is important to Europe because it is emerging as an Asian player; and it is a democracy in a region with relatively few democracies. Europe is important to India because it offers trade and technology; plus Europe and India stand at either end of the Eurasian region with which India has had long economic, cultural and socio-political ties.

India and Europe appear to be natural foreign policy partners. Both are in transition to wider global roles, but with little clarity or consensus on what these roles should be. Both prefer multilateral diplomacy to unilateral or decisive action.

However, the U.S. has picked up on India faster than the EU has. Why is this? What can India and the EU do to rectify matters?

India’s Look East Policy

“Pursuing a cooperative architecture of pan-Asian regionalism is a key area of focus of our foreign policy.” Shyam Saran, former Indian Foreign Secretary. US focus: India’s Look East Policy made India a player in a region where China was beginning to outrank the US. Look East Policy: Spurred by the recognition that economic growth and market potential alone would help India emerge as a regional if not global power. In the past 5 years India-China trade has shot past USD 40 billion p.a., rivaling India-EU trade. With India-ASEAN signing an FTA this August, their trade is projected to grow to USD 48 billion this year. India is an increasingly active member of ASEAN+6, ARF and EAS. Indian, South-East Asian and East Asian civil societies are interlinking on a growing number of tracks; and There is expanding maritime cooperation between India and East Asia.

8 The Democracy Factor

“In the 60th year of India’s independence and the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, India and the EU, as the two largest democracies of the world and global actors in a multipolar world… reaffirmed that the Strategic Partnership flows from a shared conviction in the values of democracy” India-EU Strategic Joint Statement, Nov. 2007 India: a stable democracy in “a dangerous neighborhood” & a partner for the smaller democracies in South-East Asia – how much does this count? “Natural partners”: India and Europe converge on treatment of great powers like China (realist), but have clashed on policy towards smaller countries, for example Myanmar. India is wary of asserting democratic norms in its foreign policy; and, as a poor and internally diverse federation, India’s democracy is uneven. But the growth of India-US and India-ASEAN relations, and of EU-China and EU-South Asia ties suggest that if India-EU relations do not grow in the same way, each will lose out.

India’s Look West Policy

The India-US partnership has “had a positive effect… on our dealings with the rest of the world”, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, 2007 The India-US civil nuclear energy agreement is often seen as the cornerstone of India’s Look West policy, and is misrepresented as rewarding India’s weapons program. If anything, it will insulate India’s weapons’ program against covert activity and over time lead to India’s integrating with non-proliferation regimes. Most importantly, it frees India from the Cold War baggage of the past and allows India to develop a foreign policy based on values and location. This is why it had to be the first milestone of India’s Look West policy, of working with Europe and the US to stabilize its neighborhood and strengthen its own democracy, through for example: Meeting MDG goals and the Global Compact. Cooperating with the EU in Nepal and Sri Lanka; and Working with the EU on issues concerning the Middle East, such as Israel-Palestine, Lebanon and to some extent Iran.

9 Dilemmas

Brave words, little concrete progress: The India-EU security dialogue has taken place only twice, and the counter-terrorism consultations took place after a 3 year gap, in 2008. For all the talk of cooperation in multilateral security architecture, there has been little active collaboration at the UN. India and Europe have shared objectives in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, but have not evolved common policies towards them. Roadblocks: Despite policy agreement in the 2007 Joint Statement, Europe would like more Indian pressure on Myanmar, and now for Darfur. In both cases, India-China relations complicate the issue. In Africa, India and Europe have different pasts (colonial/imperial) and present (large Indian Diaspora), which affect their interests and policies. Vulnerabilities: Spurts of EU-Russia hostility and energy insecurity complicate potential for cooperation in Eurasia. No active policy in the Middle East.

Opportunities

On the plus side: There is a high potential for collaboration on civil and political reconstruction in Afghanistan. There is EU backing for the India-Pakistan peace process. Indian and European civil society have far closer positions than their governments do. Indian and European think tanks are now beginning to interact more closely. As they start to produce joint reports, the influence will be felt on their governments. Potential Initiatives: India-Europe trade and cultural connectivity through Silk Route revival. Public level India-Europe interchanges in different cities – including provincial ones – in India. ASEM offers an opportunity for collaboration in Asia, for example through ASEF. The EU can work with Indian in SAARC to develop common programs to stabilize South Asia.

10 3.2 Presentation by Professor. Christian Wagner on "India's growing foreign policy influence: what sort of player will India become?"

SWP Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Berlin

India‘s Foreign Policy: A General Overview

Christian Wagner, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin

SWP Christian Wagner

India‘s Foreign Policy

1. Domestic Scenario: Self image, Strategy, Resources

2. India in the Region: South and Southern Asia

3. Global Level: Co‐opting India!

4. What kind of international player will India be?

SWP Christian Wagner

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India‘s Foreign Policy

Argument:

1. India’s foreign policy is characterised by the quest for great power status. Since the end of the Cold War the international constellations and the domestic reforms are more conducive for India’s aspirations.

2. On the regional level India is emphasizing her soft power capacities.

3. On the global level there is a growing convergence of ideas, interests and institutional linkages between India and the peer group of great powers. India may be regarded as agreat power SWP by co‐optation. Christian Wagner

India‘s Foreign Policy

1. Domestic Scenario: Self image, Strategy, Resources

Self image: all Party consensus: India as a “Great Power”

‐ Nehru 1946: U.S., Soviet Union, China, India ‐ PM Singh 2004: India pole in multi‐polar world ‐ Equality with China (size and civilization + democracy) ‐ Permanent Seat UN Security Council ‐ India as a nuclear power ‐ Independent Foreign Policy

National Interest: ‐ “growth, growth, and even more growth…” SWP ‐ Development: Problems to meet MDGs Christian Wagner

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India‘s Foreign Policy

1. Domestic Scenario: Self image, Strategy, Resources

Foreign Policy Strategies: ‐ Soft power: Multilateralism, UN‐Peacekeeping ‐ Hard power: Nuclear power (1974/1998), but no military alliances ‐ National interest (energy, security) more important than political values like democracy for example in Sudan, Myanmar

Resources: ‐ Economic Growth: liberalization since 1991, growth engine of global economy ‐ Hope for new middle class as consumers: 200 Mio. out of 1 Bn. ‐ Human Capital: Outsourcing, R&D, IIT ‐ High tech: IT, Bio‐ and Nanotechnologie

SWP Christian Wagner

India‘s Foreign Policy 2. India in the Region: South and Southern Asia

India in South Asia: From Hard to Soft Power Before 1991: South Asia part of India‘s national security. Hard Power strategy of political interference failed (1970/80s)

Since 1991: South Asia part of India‘s market. Soft power strategy of economic cooperation ‐ promoting regional cooperation (SAARC, SAFTA), foster „connectivity“, unilateral trade concessions for LDCs, Indian investments in Pakistan ‐ Reluctant to political interference, except in Nepal (Maoists)

India in Southern Asia: Economic and political integration Trade and investment: China biggest trading partner, FTA with ASEAN Common security perceptions: terrorism Inclusion in regional organisations: ASEAN, ARF, ASEM, SCO (observer) SWP Christian Wagner

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India‘s Foreign Policy 3. Global Level: Co‐opting India

A. Politics: permanent seat in Security Council – G‐4 Initiative, UN reform including permanent seat in SC Æ failed! – Strategic Partnership agreements with USA, RUS, PRC, FRA, UK, JAP, EU

B. Security: NPT – Nuclear agreement with USA, March 2nd, 2006 Æ India de facto, not de iure a nuclear power – Supported by FRA, UK, RUS, PRC, and IAEA – But no support by NSG so far Æ failed!

C. Economy: G 8 – India one of five “outreach” countries

SWP Christian Wagner

India‘s Foreign Policy

4. What kind of international player will India be?

– India has a traditional understanding of great power status which rests on hard power and soft power capacities.

– India has a defensive posture, i.e. demanding a great power status without challenging the international order.

– India plays by the existing rules and regimes, i.e. UN, WTO. No proclamation of “Indian” norms and values.

– India an important partner for global governance issues like climate change.

– India to keep her independence as indicator for great power status: Indo‐US, Indo‐EU but also: India‐Russia‐China SWP Christian Wagner

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4. Brief biographies of the Speakers

Radha Kumar Professor Radha Kumar is Director of the Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia University and trustee of the Delhi Policy Group. She is a specialist on ethnic conflicts and peace processes. Formerly Senior Fellow in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York (1999- 2003), she was Executive Director of the Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly in Prague (1992- 4) and an Associate Fellow at the Institute for War and Peace Studies at Columbia University (1996-8). She is currently on the Board of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), a member of the Council on Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP India), and an Associate Fellow of the Asia Society in New York. Dr Kumar has a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and an MA and BA from Cambridge University, UK. Her books include "Negotiating Peace in Deeply Divided Societies: A Set of Simulations" (September 2008), "Making Peace with Partition (2005), Divide and Fall? Bosnia in the Annals of Partition" (1997), and "A History of Doing: Movements for Women’s Rights and Feminism in India, 1900-1990" (1993). Her articles have been published in reviews such as Foreign Affairs, the Centre for European Policy Studies, the World Policy Journal, and the Brown Journal of World Affairs. She is a frequent Op Ed contributor to The Indian Express, DNA, and other Indian newspapers.

Christian Wagner

Dr Wagner has been Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) since 2003 and recently became Head of the Institute's Asia Division. Before that, he was a senior research fellow at the Centre for Development Research in Bonn (2001-02) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Rostock (1996-2001). He had previously held positions at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin, the Johannes-Gutenberg University in Mainz and the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg.

Dr Wagner holds a PhD and an MA in Political Science from the Albert-Ludwigs University and has a habilitation from the University of Rostock. His recent publications include "The EU and India: a deepening partnership (May 2008)", "EU relations with Brazil, China, India and Russia" (May 2008); "Peace in Waziristan. Success or Setback in the Fight against Terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan?" (2006); "Religion, State, and Conflict in South Asia"(2006); and "From Hard Power to Soft Power? Ideas, Interaction, Institutions, and Images in India's South Asia Policy" (2005).

WX

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