Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Studies Programme at Gateway House. He is a member of CII’s International Advisory Council, Trade Policy Council and Africa Committee. He is theChair of FICCI’s Task Force on Blue Economy, and served as Chair of Core Group of Experts on BIMSTEC. He is a founding member of the Kalinga International Foundation and a member of the governing council of Asian Confluence. As Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) from 2012-15, he played a key role in strengthening India's Track-II research and outreach activities. During a 37-year innings in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he served as Ambassador to Myanmar and Mexico and as High Commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho. He dealt with a part of South Asia, while posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. A prolific columnist, he is also a regular speaker on foreign policy and diplomacy in India and abroad. He was Senior Visiting Research Fellow during 2011-13 at the Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Allahabad University.His first book India in Global Affairs: Perspectives from Sapru House(KW Publishers, 2015) presented a sober and insightful view of India’s contemporary foreign policy. His second book, India-Myanmar Relations: Changing contours(Routledge 2016) received critical acclaim. His third book, India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons (Routledge 2022) has also been receiving positive reviews.
Expertise
Foreign Policy, Quad & Indo-Pacific, South & South-East Asia, Africa, Blue Economy
The year 2017 may change some equations in the East Asian region. Will the near parity that the U.S. and China currently share turn into a keener contest? Will strained relations between India and China persist? Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president casts the spotlight squarely on these inter-state relationships
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is visiting India next week two years after assuming office, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is now in the second half of his five-year tenure, is yet to extend the gesture. A ‘Look West-Act East’ policy will benefit both nations respectively
In Modi’s worldview, bolder than that of his predecessors, India has a bigger place than envisaged before. Consonant with this, the prime minister’s foreign policy mirrors the Arthashastra’s emphasis on pragmatic and intelligent use of power, informed by knowledge and the larger cause of the people. Has it been successful so far?
China is the largest investor in Sri Lanka today, with funding and investment of nearly $15 billion. Gateway House tracks the Chinese money trail to Sri Lanka-- where it lands, where it stays--and assesses its depth. This is the second in the Gateway House Series on Chinese investments in South Asia.
The seven decade-reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who passed away last month, was rich with event. There were coups, but economic development too, with the skilful leader managing to hold the nation together
Aung San Suu Kyi paid high-profile visits to both Japan and India recently; economic cooperation would have been high on her agenda. But what could also emerge from such overtures is a diplomatic threesome
Perhaps South Block did not gain as much as it had hoped to: there was a gulf in member states’ perceptions. One takeaway, therefore, for policy makers was that while noise has its uses, it is now time for some quiet diplomacy
Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House wrote an article for The Hindu on the evolving India-Myanmar bilateral relationship.
India has remained connected with the African nations in the course of the last one year through high-profile events and well-publicised visits by top leaders. This momentum in bilateral cooperation needs to be sustained on all fronts
Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House, wrote an article for Hindustan Times on Aung San Suu Kyi's role in BIMSTEC and South Asia.
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Courtesy: Gateway House
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Courtesy: The Hindu
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