While west continues its bickering over free trade Davos World Economic Forum has clearly become an Asia dominated event. It was the Chinese president last year last year who pressed for free trade and globalization.
This year, its Narendra Modi who has taken the baton as warned against protectionism and fro freedom of trade in a speech at Davos on Tuesday. Just a day before the speech US has imposed restrictions on solar panels and washing machines imported into US.
While majority of US questions as to how Trump is the one representing their great nation, the French have elected a president with no experience for the post the holds. As for Germans, the voters still do not a single leadership to vote for. British are busy carving out a future away from EU and entire western leadership is in disarray.
Its time for the India to rise and truly invite the world. However, the world comes, not in invitation of future success but in the awe of what has been delivered. To that extant Modi had very little in common with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who in his address last year was seeking to lead the world. In a world where rich are racing to build walls an ‘open to business’ invite may have been as cold as the snow outside.
India is still to become powerhouse of anything to lead any agenda in the world. Even a good terrorist vs Bad terrorist speech by Modi is meaningless as Turkey’s German built tanks destroy US trained and equipped Kurdish Resistance. With North Korean nuclear threat no one has thoughts about securing Pakistan’s Nukes. While boasting close relationship with both Israel and Iran, India maintains itself on the sidelines in the name of neutrality and that remains a bane of our foreign policy.
While world is waiting to hear from New Delhi and Beijing, China is clearly filling the void while India still can let go off Pakistan and NAM hangovers. Its an appeal to the statesman in Modi to be more than counted. Leadership only comes to those who seek it, and no one knows it better than Modi.
