Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a historic visit to war-torn Ukraine, becoming the first Indian leader to visit the country since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. The visit comes at a crucial juncture as India seeks to balance its position regarding the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and his interactions will be closely watched by the United States and Moscow.
In the last ten years of his tenure as the Indian Prime Minister, PM Modi has taken 79 foreign trips, wherein his main motive was to engage with global leaders. Besides bilateral meetings, he embarked on multiple state visits including last year's trip to America where he received a grand welcome from US President Joe Biden. His anticipated arrival in Ukraine has grabbed global attention a month after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Geopolitical experts opine this trip as India's "balancing act". An official at the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the talks between PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to focus on the entire gamut of India-Ukraine ties including in areas of agriculture, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, health and education, defence, and people-to-people ties.
Countries where Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister ever to visit
Mongolia: Narendra Modi was the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia in May 2015. During his visit, various agreements were signed between both nations.
Palestine: PM Modi visited Palestine in February 2018, the first for any Indian Prime Minister. During his visit, he signed six agreements worth around $50 million that includes setting up of a $30 million super speciality hospital in Beit Sahur. He was also conferred the highest civilian award of Palestine, the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine.
Rwanda: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rwanda visit in July 2018 was the first visit to the East African country by any Indian Prime Minister. He held a bilateral meeting with the President of Rwanda and also met the business community. The PM visited the Genocide Memorial and participated in an event on "Girinka” (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda personally initiated by President Paul Kagame.
Israel: In the year 2017, Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. During the visit, seven MoUs were signed.
Bahrain: PM Modi visited the Kingdom of Bahrain in August 2019. This was the first-ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to the Kingdom. PM Modi held talks with Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and other leaders. He also interacted with the Indian diaspora.
Papua New Guinea: Prime Minister Modi was the Indian leader to visit Papua New Guinea. He visited the world's third-largest island country in May 2023.
Ukraine: PM Modi became the first Indian leader to visit war-torn Ukraine on Thursday (August 23). This is a historic visit, given that no other Indian leader visited the country since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1992. His visit comes as India seeks to balance its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Will India act as peacemaker in Russia-Ukraine war?
Over the last few years, India has resisted pressure from the West to halt oil purchases from its traditional partner Russia. Despite its strong and age-old relations with Russia, India has maintained its diplomatic tightrope walk by providing several consignments of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since March 2022 and expressing concerns over threats of nuclear war issued by Russian leaders.
However, PM Modi is unlikely to use this visit to seek a role for India as a peacemaker in the conflict, which some had speculated it would do at the onset of the war given New Delhi’s ties to Russia and emerging stature globally. “Indian behaviour… has been to try to stay out of resolving it, and to only occasionally comment against further aggression," said Derek Grossman, an Indo-Pacific analyst at the RAND Corporation.
ALSO READ | PM Modi departs for Ukraine after concluding successful two-day visit to Poland | WATCH
