With whom did India sign its first strategic partnership?
Q. India signed its first strategic partnership with- Published on 13 Jan 17a. Russia
b. France
c. USA
d. Germany
ANSWER: France
- India signed its first strategic partnership with France.
- After that India has signed such partnerships with many countries.
- The main criterion for choosing strategic partners should be a complementarity of interests in vital areas like security, defence and investments, on a long-term basis.
- Strategic partnerships are commonly associated with defense or security related issues, but a survey of formal strategic partnerships around the world reveal they can also be covering a wide range in bilateral relations, from defense to education, health and agriculture, and quite commonly, economic relations, including trade, investment and banking.
- However, the ministry had no “official list” of its strategic partners nor had it “formalised any criterion” for which a country qualifies for the term.
- Many times India has been criticized for signing such partnerships with countries not fulfilling even basic requirements of fulfilling basic commitments.
- Also many argue that partnerships are placed at the same level for all countries. That means that strategic partnership with China is kept at same level as strategic partnership with Rwanda.
- However, it is said that it is misconception about India’s strategic partnerships is that they all entail the same level of engagement.
- In reality, there is a hierarchy that is well appreciated by the foreign policy community in India.
- “Strategic partnership” for Indian allows a nation that has not entirely shed its non-aligned roots to experiment with comprehensive diplomatic engagement like never before.
- If things go well, India may be likely to take things more seriously and ultimately begin using the much more concrete word - Alliance.
