1. China’s increasingly intense rivalry with the United States makes an impartial Chinese mediation between US-supported Ukraine and anti-US and China-aligned Russia difficult.
2. China has failed to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, repeated Russian propaganda and disinformation about the war, and staunchly opposed Western economic sanctions that aim to curb the Kremlin's ability to fund its war operation.

India is uniquely placed to play the role of an intermediary between Ukraine and Russia. India has the capabilities and experience to play a meaningful role in ending the war.

Strategic Partners

Countries considered India’s closest include

1. United Arab Emirates
2. Russian Federation
3. Israel
4. Afghanistan
5. France
6. Bhutan
7. Bangladesh
8. United States

India has also forged relationships with developing countries, especially South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.

Partnership agreements

India has signed strategic partnership agreements with more than two dozen countries/supranational entities

India stands with the Global South and seeks to strengthen the United Nations’ effectiveness. India’s focus is on reformed multilateralism, rule of law and a fair and equitable international system aimed at ensuring UN’s continued relevance. 

While India has been a consistent and prominent voice of the Global South the crisis resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war has only intensified India’s efforts to work towards equitable representation to the Global South. 

Source: Reporters without borders

The purpose of the World Press Freedom Index is to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories. This comparison is based on a definition of press freedom formulated by RSF and its panel experts when developing the new methodology to be used from 2022 onwards

Launched by President Xi Jinping at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, the GDI aims to put “development high on the global macro policy agenda”. Its main constituency is the Global South that involves mostly developing and less developed countries. Thus far, the GDI remains largely a declaration of intent and principles and its funding scale is rather modest.  However, the GDI has been well received among developing countries, including in Southeast Asia. .

The GSI aims to eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era, and promote durable peace and development in the world. 

Core concepts and principles

The Middle Powers are shaping the emerging geopolitical landscape. The war in Ukraine has shone a spotlight on the activism of the Middle Powers as the major driving force of the reshaping of the international environment. They are a cast of odd bedfellows. South Africa, India, South Korea, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel, to name but a few, don’t have much in common. Some are democracies, some are autocracies and others populate a grey area in between.

The days when geopolitical risk was not something most companies needed to worry a lot about are long gone; it’s now a board-level issue. It’s more important than ever for companies and their CEOs to be able to tap into genuine geopolitical expertise. But where can they get this, and how should it feed into their work? 

1. Redonner de l’agilité à la diplomatie française.
2. Renforcer la capacité de pilotage interministériel du MEAE sur les enjeux globaux.
3. Accélérer la transformation numérique du MEAE.
4. Favoriser les méthodes collaboratives et le partage d’expérience.
5. S’adapter à l’évolution des grandes priorités et renforcer les capacités d’anticipation et d’innovation.
6. Réinvestir les trois vecteurs majeurs de la diplomatie culturelle, scientifique et économique.