India World Forum

India and Italy are ancient civilizations but young states (Italy having been reunified only in 1861). These two ancient civilizations have known, interacted and traded with each other for over 2000 years. Modern day contacts between the two nations were formed through exchanges between the intellectuals from both sides. Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore visited Italy in1926, on invitation of Carlo Formichi, a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Rome. Mahatma Gandhi visited Rome in 1931 on his way back to India from the Round Table Conference in London. Leaders of the Indian freedom struggle read the works of the Italian revolutionary Mazzini of early 19th century, who worked for a Democratic Republic of Italy. Indian troops, serving with the British Indian Army, were active in Italy during the World War II. India Italy Political Relations Political relations between India and Italy were established in 1947. The two countries enjoy a cordial relationship. There has bee...

Bilateral ties with Russia are a key pillar of India's foreign policy. India views Russia as a time-tested, trustworthy and reliable strategic partner. Since the signing of the ‘Declaration on the India Russia Strategic Partnership’, in October 2000 (during the visit of then President Vladimir Putin to India), there has been a qualitative strengthening of the relationship. During the visit of President Dmitry Medvedev to India in December 2010, it was mutually decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to the level of a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”. The two countries closely cooperate in diverse spheres, including defense, civil nuclear energy, space, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment, cultural and humanitarian fields. To consolidate and advance multifaceted bilateral ties, several dialogue mechanisms, operating both at the political and official levels, have been instituted to ensure regular interaction and follow up on our coope...

Warm and friendly contacts between India and Kuwait go back several centuries and our excellent bilateral relations have been consolidated by the continuous intermingling of our peoples and civilizations. Till the discovery of oil, Kuwait s economy revolved around its fine harbour and three maritime-linked activities, all of which had an Indian perspective: building ships using teak and other timber brought from India; pearl diving and fishing; and voyages to India on dhows carrying dates that were traded for wood, rope, rice, tiles, cloth and spices. Until 1961, Indian Rupee was the legal tender in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti ruling family too has had longstanding ties with India. Cultural affinities, historical trade and other linkages, geographic proximity, and a large presence of Indian expatriates in Kuwait, have sustained and nurtured the close relationship, which encompasses significant political, trade and economic interests. VVIP visits from India to Kuwait: These have been by H...

India Brazil Historical Relations : Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer landed on the East coast of Brazil in 1500, two years after Vasco de Gama had landed in India. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Brazil and Goa, both outposts of the Portuguese imperialist outreach, had bilateral exchanges, which found reflection in the flora and fauna, food and dress as well as folk traditions of Brazil. However, our different colonial histories limited our contacts. India opened its diplomatic mission in Rio de Janeiro in 1948, which later moved to Brasilia in 1971. The Indian Consulate General in Sao Paulo, the industrial and commercial hub of Brazil, was opened in 1996. India Brazil Political Relations India -Brazil bilateral relations are in a state of clearly discernible upswing. Although the two countries are divided by geography and distance, they share common democratic values and developmental aspirations. Both are large developing countries, each an important player ...

India- New Zealand have traditionally enjoyed cordial and friendly relations based on common linkages of Commonwealth, parliamentary democracy, English language and sports. Agreements Signed : Trade Agreement - October 1986 Agreement on avoidance of Double Taxation - October, 1986 Civil Aviation Agreement between India and New Zealand August 1997 MOU on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between ICAR and Horti Research of New Zealand - March 1998 MoU of Technical Cooperation between Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Regulatory Authority of New Zealand on Cooperation on Plant Quarantine Issues, April 1999 Arrangement between India and New Zealand for cooperation in the area of Information Technology, December 2001 MoU between Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) and the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand (WRONZ), May 2003 MOU on Cooperation between the Indian Co...

The origin of the Indian Foreign Service can be traced back to the British rule when the Foreign Department was created to conduct business with the “Foreign European Powers”. In fact it was on September 13, 1783, when the Board of Directors of the East India Company passed a resolution at Fort William, Calcutta (now Kolkata), to create a department, which could help “relieve the pressure” on the Warren Hastings administration in conducting its “secret and political business”. Subsequently known as the “Indian Foreign Department”, it went ahead with the expansion of diplomatic representation, wherever necessary, to protect British interests. In 1843, Governor-General Ellenborough carried out administrative reforms under which the Secretariat of the Government was organized under four departments – Foreign, Home, Finance and Military. Each was headed by a Secretary level officer. The foreign department Secretary was entrusted with the “conduct of all correspondence bel...

Warm and friendly contacts between India and Kuwait go back several centuries and our excellent bilateral relations have been consolidated by the continuous intermingling of our peoples and civilizations. Till the discovery of oil, Kuwait’s economy revolved around its fine harbor and three maritime-linked activities, all of which had an Indian perspective: building ships using teak and other timber brought from India; pearl diving and fishing; and voyages to India on dhows carrying dates that were traded for wood, rope, rice, tiles, cloth and spices. Until 1961, Indian Rupee was the legal tender in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti ruling family too has had longstanding ties with India. Cultural affinities, historical trade and other linkages, geographic proximity, and a large presence of Indian expatriates in Kuwait, have sustained and nurtured the close relationship, which encompasses significant political, trade and economic interests. VVIP visits from India to Kuwait: These have been by HE Vi...

Switzerland and India have had cordial and friendly relations since India became independent. The relationship is based on shared values of democracy, multiculturalism and the rule of law. Independent India’s policy of non-alignment and Switzerland’s traditional policy of neutrality helped to develop a close understanding between the leaders of the two countries in the early years. A Treaty of Friendship between India and Switzerland was signed at New Delhi on August 14, 1948, one of the first such treaties to be signed by the independent India. The Treaty provided for the establishment of diplomatic missions between the two countries and diplomatic missions were opened in Berne and Delhi soon after its conclusion. During the course of 2008, India and Switzerland celebrated the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Friendship Treaty, an important milestone in the annals of our bilateral relations. In recognition of the growth of multi-faceted bilateral relationship in the past six...

 India Singapore Political Relations India and Singapore have a cordial relations and bilateral relationship based on convergence of strong economic and political interests. The process of economic growth and economic reforms in India since the early 1990s created a strong basis for cooperation with Singapore, opening up possibilities for significant presence in each others’ economies. For India, Singapore has also played an important role in reconnecting us to the countries of South East Asia and beyond. As pluralistic societies, the two nations share similar concern about the challenges posed by terrorism and religious extremists and have therefore found it mutually beneficial to evolve a broad framework of security cooperation. Singapore, led by then PM Goh Chok Tong, took a major interest in India’s economic reforms in the 1990s. He visited India in 1994 as the Chief Guest at our Republic Day celebrations. A reciprocal visit by PM Shri Narasimha Rao took place in September ...

On 17 September 1950, India announced recognition of Israel. Soon after India’s recognition of Israel, the Jewish Agency established an immigration office in Bombay. This was soon converted into a Trade Office and later a Consulate. Sporadic governmental contacts continued between India and Israel in the fifties and early sixties, including visits by several Israeli and Indian ministers. Following decision to establish diplomatic relations, Israel opened its Embassy in Delhi in February 1992 and India opened its Embassy in Tel Aviv on 15 May 1992. Since then relations have seen rapid growth across a broad spectrum. Recent important high level visits from India include that of Chief Minister of Punjab Shri Parkash Singh Badal and Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Prem Kumar Dhumal in November 2009; Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia in February 2010; Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology Shri Prithviraj Chavan in March 2010; Membe...

India Japan relations have undergone a significant and qualitative shift in recent years, propelled by the successful regular summit level exchanges. From Japan, the then Prime Ministers Koizumi, Abe and Hatoyama visited India in April 2005, August 2007 and December 2009 respectively. From India , Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December 2006, October 2008 and again in October 2010. India Japan Cordial Relations The establishment of the Strategic and Global Partnership between India & Japan in December 2006 elevated relations to a new level. This Partnership is based on five pillars of cooperation viz., India Japan Political Relations , India Japan Defence and Security Cooperation ; Comprehensive Economic Partnership; Science and Technology Initiative; People-to-People exchanges and cooperation in Regional/Multilateral fora. During the visit of PM Abe to India in August 2007, a Roadmap for New Dimensions to the Strategic and Global Partnership ...

Germany is the most populous country in Europe and contributes to 23 % of the EU budget. It is India’s biggest trading partner in Europe and the 5th biggest trading partner in the world. Germany is also India’s second largest technology partner. India was amongst the first countries to recognize Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) after the Second World War. In 2011, we are celebrating 60 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the FRG. Our relationship, based on common values of democracy, peace and rule of law, intensified after the German Re-unification in 1990. There has been a rapid growth in trade and economics with bilateral trade reaching Euro 15.44 billion in 2010. The two countries also work together in various international forums including the UN, G-4 and G-20. In 2011-12, India and Germany are both non-permanent members in the UNSC, which provides a new area for cooperation. India Germany bilateral visits Bilateral exchanges, including at the...