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<keyword id="3089284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jawed-Ashraf">Jawed Ashraf</keyword>, joint secretary to the Prime Minister since 2012, is planning to step out of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=PMO">PMO</a>. Wait, he has not parted ways with the government. In fact, he is leaving this existing post to take an overseas position. 
 Ashraf, who has also worked with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will now be replaced by <keyword id="2212058" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vinay-Kwatra">Vinay Kwatra</keyword>, currently working as the joint secretary (America) in the <keyword id="6374106" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-External-Affairs">Ministry of External Affairs</keyword>. Kwatra, who has served as Modi’s interpreter in 2014, took charge of the Americas division in the MEA from Vikram Doraiswami. 
 
Doraiswami moved last year to Uzbekistan as ambassador, but was moved again to South Korea just before PM's visit in May this year. 
 
Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar, has carried out a major overhaul of the MEA, putting in a whole new set of faces in South Block and in key missions overseas. However, there are some other important ambassadorial positions that will also be up for grabs in a few months in Bhutan, Myanmar and Singapore.

Narendra Modi’s precious speech writer is leaving. Will that make a dent on his great oratory skills?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In a move likely to anger the US, Modi is visiting Russia.</li><li>It signals strong ties between the two countries and shows that India is pursuing its own agenda.</li></ul>In a move likely to anger the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Russia on Monday for his first bilateral trip after winning a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-election-results-complicates-plans-unseat-china-modi-bjp-2024-6">historic third term</a> in office.Modi's two-day visit to Russia — where he is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin — is significant in that it signals strong ties between New Delhi and Moscow. It also shows the world that India is not afraid to pursue its own agenda.Vinay Kwatra, India's foreign secretary, told reporters in New Delhi that issues between Russia and India have "piled up" and "need to be addressed," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-07/putin-hosts-modi-after-hailing-best-in-history-ties-with-india-rival-china">Bloomberg reported</a>.Russia's relationship with India goes back to the Cold War, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/rise-in-trade-with-russia-not-a-temporary-phenomenon-s-jaishankar-429969-2024-05-17">trade between the two countries</a> has grown since Russia started the war in Ukraine. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russian-oil-india-purchases-us-crude-wti-sanctions-ukraine-war-2024-3">India is a major buyer of Russian oil</a>. Russia is also India's biggest arms supplier.Kwatra underscored that the two countries' trade relationship has remained "resilient."Still, Modi's trip will "rankle many Western observers," Ved Shinde, a researcher and contributor to Australia's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/why-modi-will-go-moscow">Lowy Institute</a>, wrote in a note on Wednesday."Since the Ukraine war began, India's purchase of cheap oil from Russia has been seen as profiting from troubles in the heart of Europe," Shinde added.<h2 id="05696275-c92a-4ee6-84e4-fd193ca99db2">Modi's visit to Russia will make the US look bad</h2>Just like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vietnam-russia-putin-visit-us-wary-manufacturing-supply-chain-diplomacy-2024-6">Putin's visit to supply-chain hot spot Vietnam</a>, India's engagement with Russia isn't a good look for the US, as it comes while Washington is trying to isolate Putin.The US has raised "some concerns" about India's relationship with Russia with New Delhi, Kurt Campbell, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/special-online-briefing-with-deputy-secretary-of-state-kurt-m-campbell/">US deputy secretary of state</a>, said last month.However, Washington acknowledges that India's ties with Russia are different from its ties with the US."We have many areas of alignment, but it is not surprising that there would be areas where we've had perhaps different perspectives, views, historical ties," Campbell said about America's relationship with India.India, for its part, is looking to balance its relationship with the world's key powerbrokers: the US, Russia, and China."There are different degrees in India's multi-alignment. Make no mistake — the United States and its allies are more consequential for India's future than its relationship with Russia," Shinde wrote.India needs to leverage its historical ties with Russia to secure its economy and security, so Modi isn't just in Russia for a goodwill trip.<h2 id="c79db6fd-b57b-4ff5-8f16-bc16c77b8021">Reducing the trade imbalance</h2>A key agenda item for the visit is to reduce a huge bilateral trade imbalance, Kwatra said.India imports about $60 billion of goods a year from Russia, but Russia buys less than 10% of this amount from India, Bloomberg reported.Modi may also touch on China's activities in the Indo-Pacific region, Kwatra added.India is trying to manage its relationship with China, which has been testy since a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-china-border-clashes-could-cause-more-indian-ocean-activity-2020-7">border dispute in 2020</a>. Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan last week.There's also the matter of Russia's ties with China.At the summit last week, Putin said <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/video/kazakhstan-china-government-russia-government-russia-5b1c1a8f402c400d8d703543b0562b51">Russia's relationship with China</a> is in the "best period in history."Modi now needs to cozy up to Putin to counter China's advances."The reason for the time-tested stability in India-Russia ties is to maintain a continental balance in the Eurasian heartland. That is, to balance China," Shinde wrote."Or to put it another way, don't go around making new adversaries when there are already two open fronts — China and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-and-china-pick-sides-in-tense-india-pakistan-rivalry-2022-3">Pakistan</a>," he added.

Modi's Russia visit shows India isn't worried about making the US mad

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian Prime Minister Modi gave Russian President Putin a bear hug during an official visit to Moscow.</li><li>Modi's visit coincided with a Russian missile strike that hit a Ukrainian children's hospital and ahead of a NATO summit.</li></ul>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Russia the destination of his first bilateral visit after securing a historic third term in office. On top of that, he gave <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fear-china-behind-india-modi-display-of-friendship-russia-putin-2024-7">Russian President Vladimir Putin a bear hug</a> while he was there.The spectacle involving the two leaders came on the same day Russia hit a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/experts-challenge-russian-narrative-on-kyiv-childrens-hospital-attack-2024-7">Ukrainian children's hospital with a missile strike</a> and ahead of a three-day NATO leaders' summit in Washington DC that started on Tuesday."It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1810437647581716707">post on X on Monday.</a>On Monday, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-july-8-2024/">US State Department</a> said it has raised concerns with New Delhi about India's relationship with Russia.Modi's advances toward Putin come less than two months after the usually reserved Chinese leader <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/hugs-not-full-socialist-era-kiss-putin-xi-beijing-2024-05-17/">Xi Jinping hugged Putin</a> not once, but twice — dealing another blow to the West's isolation of Russia.<h2 id="390a51d2-9be0-469a-acc9-c9f006ae04ff">What India wants from Russia</h2>Like Xi, Modi has his own agenda for cozying up to Putin during the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modi-putin-russia-india-relationship-not-worried-us-biden-mad-2024-7">two-day visit.</a>India is an important strategic partner for the US and the rest of the world, which is aiming to diversify supply chains away from China.Over the last two years, India-Russia trade has grown. The relationship is underscored by energy, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-divert-oil-exports-europe-india-china-circumvent-sanctions-2023-12">India has become a major buyer of Russian oil</a>.But there's a huge trade imbalance that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modi-putin-russia-india-relationship-not-worried-us-biden-mad-2024-7">Modi is seeking to narrow.</a> India imported about $60 billion of goods a year from Russia in the last fiscal year. In comparison, Russia bought less than $5 billion of goods from India."The structure of trade is highly asymmetric, with India running a chronic large trade deficit with Russia," Rajiv Biswas, an international economist who's also the author of "<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=bi-auto-70656-20&amp;h=2252c62746e53e506c655ce3df395bcea3ecbee5e1b11653f5e13361d3be9338&amp;postID=668deb6674bca98bb4de2ad6&amp;postSlug=russia-economy-india-modi-putin-hug-west-isolation-big-blow-2024-7&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAsian-Megatrends-Rajiv-Biswas%2Fdp%2F1137441887">Asian Megatrends</a>," told Business Insider.To be sure, Russia's import of Indian products — particularly engineering and electronic equipment — has surged by 35% over the last fiscal year, added Biswas. But, it's from a low base.<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-india-modi-putin-fe2b1d0abbb3e67e6f3ff88f02ce658c">Vinay Kwatra,</a> India's Foreign Secretary, said after Modi and Putin's meeting that the two have pledged to boost bilateral trade from nearly $65 billion last year to $100 billion by 2030.In addition to oil, India is looking to import more fertilizers. Russia is looking to import more Indian agricultural and industrial products.On the political front, India — which has been mired in a <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-china-border-clashes-could-cause-more-indian-ocean-activity-2020-7">border dispute with China since 2020</a> — is also looking to leverage on Beijing's cozy relationship with Moscow."Security is an increasingly important factor driving India's relations with Russia," said Biswas."Due to Russia's close ties with China, India can turn to Russia to help defuse crises when bilateral geopolitical tensions flare up between India and China," he added.After all, Putin chose to head to China — rather than to India — in his first foreign state visit in May after he was sworn in for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-vladimir-putin-presidential-election-vote-landslide-win-2024-3">fifth presidential term.</a>Xi definitely welcomed Putin; after all, the Chinese leader initiated the hug.

The West's attempts at isolating Russia just took another big blow

Senior diplomats of India and Nepal on Monday held a virtual meeting to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation. The meeting came days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by Nepal in May. Nepalese Foreign Secretary <keyword id="2609598" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shanker-Das-Bairagi">Shanker Das Bairagi</keyword> and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra are leading the delegations representing their respective countries during the oversight mechanism meeting, according to Nepal Foreign Ministry sources here. The meeting, being held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, will assess the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal, the sources said. No further details of the meeting were available. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. In June, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepal's lower house of parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Prime Minister Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tech-mahindra-hcl-tech-wipro-and-likes-are-hoping-global-5g-race-resumes-next-year-bringing-some-large-deals-before-that/articleshow/77583638.cms">Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Wipro and likes are hoping global 5G race resumes next year⁠ — bringing some large deals before that</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/gaza-strips-only-power-plant-may-run-out-fuel-in-the-next-24-hours-following-israel-border-shut-warns-expert/articleshow/77584765.cms">Gaza Strip's only power plant may run out fuel in the next 24 hours following Israel border shut, warns expert</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/the-heat-is-on-mark-zuckerberg-in-india-as-facebook-and-whatsapp-incur-the-ire-of-modis-rivals/articleshow/77575358.cms">The heat is on Mark Zuckerberg in India as Facebook and WhatsApp incur the ire of Modi's rivals</a>

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Narendra Modi’s precious speech writer is leaving. Will that make a dent on his great oratory skills?

BI India Bureau

Modi's Russia visit shows India isn't worried about making the US mad

Huileng Tan

The West's attempts at isolating Russia just took another big blow

Huileng Tan

Nepal and India meet to discuss development projects amid border tensions

PTI

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