By Phapano Phasha
A FEW years ago, the well-renowned Japanese-American physicist, Professor Michio Kaku, told an American audience what Americans have always known; that Silicon Valley and the thriving American FinTech industry will not exist without the H-1B Visa, which literally poached thousands of Indian and Chinese graduates to build this illustrious billion-dollar America’s industries.
He called this American immigrant “America’s secret weapon”.
In December 2024, South African-born Elon Musk reignited this debate when he also affirmed how Indian tech engineers via the H-1B visa had become the backbone behind America’s technological dominance due to the failing American education system, which is considered the worst in the Global North.
Many Americans attacked Musk, but to his luck, United States President-elect Donald Trump came to his rescue.
The last 20 years have also seen India realise the fruits of its declaration in 2004 that was encapsulated into two decades of self-determination and global integration.
With India being one of the original founding members of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) economic bloc, it remains to be seen how the country will respond to the various geopolitical contradictions, especially with the recent election of Trump.
India’s relations with the US and foreign policy: Trump had a very tumultuous relationship with China during his first tenure as President; it will be interesting how China manages the second Trump era, which will in all likelihood look at India as an ally post the former President Joe Biden administration. India, on the other hand, has managed to skilfully navigate between the West and Eastern superpowers.
India relations with Western Europe: In the past few decades, India has had good relations with the Western Europe countries, with large multinational companies from India investing in the United Kingdom. However, these relations are getting a bit tense as India has economically surpassed former colonies in wealth and education.
India-UK relations: India’s long historical relations with the UK are well documented, and the two nations have a long-standing tradition of strong trade and diplomatic ties. These relations and ties have stretched post-Brexit, whereby the two nations are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between them.
Both countries have seen significant economic opportunities in expanding trade, particularly in sectors such as technology, services, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.
In 2022, India’s economy surged that of the UK, making it the fifth biggest economy, while in 2023 S&P Global projected that India would take over Japan and Germany to be the third-largest economies by 2030.
India relations with the rest of European countries: Russia is still considered to be “India’s big brother” due to the historical role the country played as an ally to India, but this role has swiftly changed. India has obviously overtaken Russia, which is now the 11th biggest economy, and in 2024 India surpassed China to become the largest importer of Russian oil.
In addition, in 2022, India frustrated US and European diplomats at the United Nations by declining to vote on a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India has managed to cut a brotherly relationship with Russia, and the two countries are cooperating in building nuclear power plants in India. India will not only be the recipient of Russian technology, but a clear strategy was agreed that seeks to position India as one of the leading nuclear vendor countries in the world, alongside the US, France, South Korea, China, and Russia.
India’s relations with Africa: In recent years, India has become wildly known as a country that fought for the inclusion of the African Union (AU) in the global superpower, the G20, in September 2023.
India-Africa relations (unlike, for example, Europe-Africa relations) indeed benefit from the idea of a shared colonial past. Both sides often invoke the bonds created by their past resistance to colonialism and imperialism.
The close cultural and historical ties have increased the trade footprint and geopolitical influence across the African continent. Results are already showing that India and Africa bilateral trades have steadily been rising in recent years.
Pundits have also recommended that India’s development model could be used as a template by African countries. The Indian diaspora in Africa has also played an important role in cultural diplomacy and people-to-people cooperation in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mauritius.
India’s diplomatic, economic, and cultural engagements with Africa have grown substantially in the last three decades.
It is our firm view that India remains the Eastern country to watch to compete with the West's dominance in geopolitics, science, and economy.
* Phapano Phasha is with the Centre for Alternative Political and Economic Thought, with a focus on The Global South and BRICS Plus Countries. The views expressed here are her own.