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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor questioned the decision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to send junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh to represent the country at the peace summit in Egypt, where heads of state of at least 27 countries have gathered to discuss how to end the Israel-Hamas war.
In a post on Twitter, Tharoor questioned whether India’s representation reflected a stance of “strategic restraint or a missed opportunity” at an important international forum.
“India’s presence at the Minister of State level at the Sharm el-Sheikh Gaza Peace Summit is in stark contrast to the heads of state gathered there. Strategic restraint or missed opportunity?”. Tharoor wrote.
His comments came after Kirti Vardhan Singh announced his arrival in Cairo, Egypt as the special representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Gaza peace summit.
Congress MP Tharoor clarified that his comments were “no reflection on Kirti Vardhan Singh, whose capability is not in question”, but stressed that the scale and stature of the summit required high-level representation from India.
“Given the gathering of grandees present, India’s choice could be seen as a signal of a preference for strategic distance, which our statements do not express,” Tharoor said.
India’s presence at the level of Minister of State at the Sharm el-Sheikh Gaza Peace Summit is in sharp contrast to the heads of state gathered there.
Tharoor said the protocols and access levels could impact India’s weight in shaping discussions on key issues such as Gaza reconstruction and long-term regional peace.
Tharoor concluded, “And for reasons of protocol access alone, India’s voice may lose weight at the summit on issues of reconstruction and regional stability. Our relative absence in a region that is reshaping itself is puzzling.”
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