UN:Sushma discusses strategic cooperation, trade, development at bilaterals
United Nations, Sep 25 : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met nine leaders from across the globe in a whirlwind of bilateral interactions and spoke at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit.
She began her day on Monday by attending the high-level event on counter-narcotics convened by US President Donald Trump, where she was seated at the front row.
India is one of 129 countries that have signed the pledge drafted by Trump on commitment towards international fight against drugs.
Although it was not a formal meeting, she greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she came to the UN, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj met the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Spain, Ecuador, Colombia, Mongolia, Nepal, Morocco, Lichtenstein and Federica Mogherini, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
The topics discussed during the meetings with the foreign ministers depended on the relations with those countries and ranged from strategic cooperation to trade and investment.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale participated in the Special Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) -- a 26-member forum for cooperation in promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
Ruchi Ghanashyam, the Secretary (West), spoke at the Africa Adaptation Initiative High-Level Roundtable. The organisation aims at facilitating finance and cooperation for the continent's development.
After Sushma Swaraj's meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "Strategic partnership gaining momentum!"
The two countries have been building up their strategic relations reinforced by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that includes the US and Japan.
Closer to home was the meeting with Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, which "took stock of our bilateral relationship", Kumar tweeted.
At the meeting with Ecuador Foreign Minister Jose Valencia Amores, there were "good discussion on ways to further consolidate bilateral relationship in the areas of trade, agriculture, pharma, IT and capacity building", according to Kumar.
Also from Latin America, Colombia's Foreign Minister, the discussions centred on cooperation on trade investment, pharma, mining, petroleum and capacity building, he tweeted.
With Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, Sushma Swaraj "explored ways to intensify ties in investment, renewable energy, water treatment, tourism and their contribution to our flagship initiatives", according to Kumar.
Mogherini and Sushma Swaraj "discussed issues related to trade and investment and exchanged views on the regional and global issues," Kumar said in a tweet.
He noted that India and the EU were bound by a "strategic partnership based on common values of democracy, freedom and rule of law."
"Celebrating the 25th anniversary of our diplomatic relations" Sushma Swaraj and Lichtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick "exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations in trade and investment, particularly through participation at Indian trade fairs and tourism," Kumar tweeted.
On relations with Morocco, he noted that they stretched back to the time of Ibn Battuta, the 14th century explorer, and tweeted that Sushma Swaraj and "Morocco Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita discussed strengthening cooperation in areas of commerce, pharma, cyber security, defence and culture".
She also met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar. The High-Level General Assembly session begins on Tuesday.
On the sidelines, she was to meet Fiji Prime Minister J.V. Bainimarama and the Foreign Ministers of Iraq, Cyprus, Moldova and Estonia.
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'Operation Sindoor 2.0 seems inevitable as Pakistan fixated on Kashmir issue with Chinese support'
Gandhinagar (PT): Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh (retd) on Sunday said the Indian armed forces must remain prepared as "Operation Sindoor 2.0" is inevitable, mainly because Pakistan's military remains fixated on the Kashmir issue with support from China and Turkiye.
Singh said the "ceasefire" during Operation Sindoor in May remains “fragile” due to repeated violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC).
He also highlighted the need to improve narrative-building capabilities by India, which he described as one of the shortcomings during the military operation.
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Singh, Director General of the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), was addressing a gathering at the headquarters of the Indian Air Force’s South Western Air Command (SWAC) near Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
His address was part of the ninth edition of the Late Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (PVC) Annual Memorial Lecture, organised by the Air Force Association, Gujarat Branch.
"Operation Sindoor was not the end, but it was the beginning of new dynamics of escalation management. So, what are the chances of any future conflict with our adversary? The answer is yes. 'Operation Sindoor 2.0' is not merely a possibility; it is inevitable. The earlier we prepare for it, the better we are," said Singh.
He added that the likelihood of another 'Operation Sindoor' remains high as Pakistan’s military continues to remain fixated on the Kashmir issue, with backing from China and Turkiye.
Singh, however, expressed confidence in the Indian government’s ability to deal with future threats.
"One of the successes of Operation Sindoor was the doctrinal shift. It discarded restraint and exposed Pakistan's weaknesses. For the first time since the 1971 war, a tri-service synergy was achieved. Political clarity translated into military precision, air defence innovation, and surprised global observers," said Singh.
Operation Sindoor was India's swift, targeted military response in May 2025 to a major terrorist attack in Pahalgam, aiming to destroy terrorist infrastructure and launchpads inside Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Highlighting shortcomings, Singh said India was weak in international narrative management.
"Diplomatic missions were not briefed aggressively, and pro-India lobbies abroad remained under-utilised. Narrative warfare was not fully leveraged. This is a gap we cannot afford in the future," the retired Army officer said.
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He noted that Pakistani social media influencers flooded platforms such as TikTok, with amplification support from Chinese social media networks, and even targeted youth audiences in Bangladesh.
Singh also pointed to intense cyber warfare during the four-day operation.
"Cyber attacks on India were heavy during the four days of Operation Sindoor, but our counter-offensive cyber operations were either not clearly articulated or we were not aware of them," he said.
Singh said cyber attacks on government networks had surged sevenfold during the four-day period.
"The power sector witnessed nearly two lakh cyber attacks, while the National Stock Exchange faced around 40 crore cyber attacks. Had any been successful, it could have triggered a financial crisis," he said.
Singh emphasised that modern conflicts extend beyond land, sea and air, underscoring that multi-domain warfare is now a reality.
"We need coordinated information propagation during conflicts. On the information warfare front, Chinese media were deeply engaged in data analysis and crafting messages to amplify India’s fault lines," he said.
He recommended codifying a "national security strategy.
"India needs a well-documented national security strategy. We also need to reform intelligence and internal security, fast-track the integrated theatre command, raise defence spending by 3 per cent of the GDP, excluding pensions, and focus on outcome-based budgeting, not process-driven," the retired officer said.
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Singh also called for the creation of dedicated Cyber Warfare and Cognitive Warfare Commands, and stressed the need to overhaul India’s strategic communications.
"We need to mend India's strategic communication for better narrative building. Siloed messaging by agencies such as the MEA and MoD led to delayed rebuttals during the operation, which amplified Pakistan’s narrative. These things are equally important because they affect India's overall image.
"Weak technology integration failed to counter viral claims about Indian jets. We must deploy AI for disinformation tracking and engage the 32 million-strong Indian diaspora as narrative amplifiers," Singh added.
Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (retd), Director General of the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), spoke about the relevance of air power and the future of the Indian Air Force.
He said Operation Sindoor was a strategic shift from restraint to "deterrence by punishment".
Claiming that Pakistan's aggressive moves against India during the military conflict exposed collusion between China and Pakistan, Golani said China used the conflict to test its weapons. PTI PJT NSK
