2014 Lok Sabha elections: No slowdown due to polls, work goes on at brisk pace at Ministry of External Affairs

NEW DELHI: At a time when decision-making in the government has slowed down due to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, officials in the ministry of external affairs have a busy schedule.

Once the polls are notified, the model code of conduct kicks in and announcements and project launches are generally suspended. The foreign ministry, however, continues to maintain its diplomatic commitments.

Officials explained that the prime minister seeks the counsel of the president if any major decision is to be taken and he operates through the National Security Advisor on matters of foreign policy.

Projects already agreed upon with foreign countries continue to be implemented during this period. However, no new agreements involving major financial commitments can be concluded or signed once the notification comes into effect, said G Parthasarathy, former High Commissioner to Pakistan. An inprinciple agreement or pact can, however, be approved by the Union Cabinet with presidential consent.

This year, officials at South Block have a busy schedule. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is currently on a trip to Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan as part of Delhi’s Look West Asia Policy.



He is also expected to travel to Maldives for a SAARC event later in the month and then to The Hague for a Nuclear Security Summit in March. The big trip could be that of the prime minister to Myanmar for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit on March 3-4.

This could, however, be last time that Manmohan Singh travels abroad as the PM before polls. The list of incoming dignitaries begins with the German president whose weeklong trip starts on Tuesday.

Visits by the State Councilor of China, King of Bahrain and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia too are slated for this month. Also visiting will be a senior Russian minister for the inauguration of aircraft carrier ‘INS Vikramaditya’ and the US Energy Secretary (in March). It may be recalled that in the runup to the polls both in 1999 and 2004, the external affairs ministry was busy dealing with Pakistan.

While in 1999 the Kargil war loomed large, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s peace initiative following his trip to Islamabad was the flavour of the season. Change of guard at the Centre has hardly altered India’s foreign policy.