NEW DELHI: In a year marked by geopolitical tensions, India and China ended an over four-and-a-half-year border standoff and announced steps to reduce mistrust even as New Delhi faced fresh challenges after deposed Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country in the face of a mass movement against her rule.The year 2024 saw India navigating the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict. New Delhi is readying its approach in dealing with US President-elect Donald Trump’s second term amid fears that his policy approach relating to trade and tariff may have profound implications for international trade.Though the overall India-US relations broadly continued to blossom, Washington has been pressing India to take action against Indians allegedly involved in a foiled plot to assassinate pro-Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York last year. The relations between India and Canada sharply nosedived in the second half of the year after Ottawa linked several Indian diplomats including High Commissioner Sanjay Verma to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.However, the end of the military faceoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh was the high point in the foreign policy domain. Following an understanding reached on October 21, the two sides completed the disengagement of troops at the two remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Russia on October 23 and agreed to revive bilateral dialogue mechanisms.However, India’s relations with Bangladesh came under strain after Hasina fled the country. The relations nosedived dramatically after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.This month, the Yunus-government sent a diplomatic note to New Delhi seeking extradition of Hasina, a move that may further strain the relation between the two neighbouring countries.In his meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Modi told him that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield.Modi’s visit to Russia triggered some criticism in the West as the trip came amid global outrage over a Russian missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. In August, Modi travelled to Ukranian capital Kyiv and conveyed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine and Russia should sit together to end the war and that India was ready to play an active role to restore peace in the region.On warIn his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield.
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