Ministry to take stock of key foreign policy plans

In a first, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has begun conducting a survey on the country’s foreign policy especially focussing on policies such as Neighbourhood First, Act East and Look East among others.

A brainchild of Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the government is aiming to get feedback from experts on whether it is “on the right direction” and taking the right steps in a dynamic geo-political and economic environment, according to sources.

“The idea is to basically do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of sorts. This is a self evaluation exercise,” a senior official told BusinessLine .

As part of the survey, the MEA has sent a detailed questionnaire carrying 12 broad-based questions to top ranking think-tanks, institutes, former diplomats, foreign policy experts and academicians.

On the government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the focus of which is Pakistan, the MEA has asked whether it has led to “forward movement” with South Asian countries even though it has not mentioned the country’s name. It has also asked what can be done further to promote “integration, cooperation, connectivity and contacts” with these countries.

In the last two years, the government has taken some important steps to bring its neighbours closer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited all SAARC leaders to attend his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, which was further enhanced with a ‘SAARC Yatra’ to boost trade and connectivity ties with these countries.

On the much-touted ‘Act East Policy’, the MEA has also sought to garner views on what more can be done to chalk out a “more comprehensive policy” with the countries in the region.

In the survey, the MEA has also enquired about how far the government has been able to advance its strategic ties with the “major powers” such as US, UK, Germany, China and Japan, without naming them explicitly.

The survey has also enquired about the steps taken by the MEA towards Central Asia, West Asia and the Gulf.

The Ministry has also asked for suggestions and feedback on some of the procedural issues in terms of human and financial resources of the MEA.

This is because of late the government has faced sharp criticisms for its inability to “effectively engage” some of the veteran diplomats and former ambassadors such as Shyam Saran, Shivshankar Menon, Kanwal Sibal and others into the decision-making process on foreign policy.

According to Satinder K Lambah, Chairman, Ananta Aspen Centre & Former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister: “Involving the larger audience in the country’s foreign policy discourse is a significant move. This will generate ideas, viewpoints and suggestions thereby helping in policy formulation.”