On March 2, Italian Prime Minister (PM) Giorgia Meloni inaugurated the Raisina Dialogue 2023, co-organized by the ministry of external affairs and the Observer Research Foundation. Earlier in the day, during her first official visit to Delhi, she held a bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, and signed a series of bilateral agreements, elevating India-Italy relations to a strategic partnership.
It is no secret that India’s relationship with Germany has traditionally lagged behind its relations with its other European partners such as France. Benign mutual neglect coupled with Germany’s primary focus on China are factors, but this appears to be changing rapidly.
Today, structural changes in the international system are quite evident and their impact on nations is also palpable. Two countries that are redefining their foreign and security policies and, in so doing, their global identities are Germany and Japan.
In the last few years, there has been an impressive acceleration in Italy’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific and not only in terms of economic presence, which was already very marked, but also political attention.
On 24 February, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, not only provoking the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, but also setting in motion geopolitical trends that are likely to change the contours of the post-Cold War global order.
The one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine marks an important turning point in our understanding of the post-Second World War global order. What was supposed to be a short and successful war against what seemed like a military minnow is now entering into its second year with the mighty Russian army looking like a pale reflection of its old self.