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No
Foreign Office today is content to merely build
friendly and good relations in the classical
sense. Even economic content of diplomacy, which
had gained currency in recent decades, is no
longer the catch phrase in the conduct of international
relations. The sophistication and the growing
needs of the economy coupled with the demands
of globalization have brought about a qualitative
change in the conduct of international relations.
Energy - thermal and nuclear, science and technology,
biotechnology, information technology, nanotechnology,
environment, space, sustainable development,
PURA and the like are now at the core of diplomatic
vocabulary. Market protection is giving way
to dismantling of trade barriers.
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Competition
is the mantra, free trade the dharma and multilateralism the
altar on which the economic relations are now conducted. Energy
- the strategic need for which has spurred unprecedented demand
has, today, become the centerpiece of foreign policy. No wonder
in India too the energy, whether nuclear, natural gas or hydrocarbon
dominates the foreign policy debate, as in many other countries.
The challenge between high growth and social progress, hitherto,
the attribute of domestic politics has today assumed international
ramifications. Neither is possible without foreign investment
and modern technology. The problem of keeping the gap narrow
between lrich and the poor, maintaining economic vitality
and efficiency, attracting greater foreign investment and
enhancing the competitiveness of indigenous industry against
globalization trends, promoting mega projects and helping
the smaller entrepreneurs to survive and stand competition
are some of the challenges which have assumed foreign policy
implications even as they are governed by domestic economic
compulsions. While much of the burden of reconciling the conflicting
demands of modernization and globalization has to be met by
economic and financial experts, the Foreign Service bureaucracy
today is shouldering its own share of the challenge. The 756
documents in this compendium provide an ample proof of this.
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