| As External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee held hands with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Li Zhaoxing and Sergei Lavrov, on a sunny Valentine's Day afternoon, instead of love, it was worry that brought them together. The idea of the strategic triangle had been proposed by former Russian premier Yevgeny Primakov in 1998 to promote multilateralism, but the collective voice of the group has not gained much in strength since then. When the foreign ministers met in Hyderabad House, Delhi, on February 14, it was not only their first meeting in India, but also the first one with a structured and cohesive agenda. The group had last met in Vladivostok, Russia, in June 2005 for a stand-alone meeting. It has also been meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Multilateralism was clearly the magic mantra of the meet. As the trio made an appearance after more than two hours of talks, Mukherjee said, "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should govern the approach to regional and global affairs." "We have to work harder to facilitate democratisation of the international order to make it work responsibly in accordance with the principles of multilateralism," added Li, even as the Russian minister concurred. It was apparent that the reference was to the US policy of unilateralism in Iraq.  | | | | | The three countries have agreed to support multilateralism and advocate a central role for the UN | | Differences persist on UN Security Council reforms and bilateral issues | | Trilateral economic co-operation was the mantra of the meet. A business forum has been scheduled later this year to identify key areas. | | An expert meeting on biotechnology, energy and public health will be held | | Even though the foreign ministers insist that the group is not directed against the interests of any other country, there are speculations about barbs being exchanged about US policies in its closed-door discussions. The three countries agreed that the North Korean example could be emulated in the case of Iran, and that the tension could be diffused through dialogue. All three countries are victims of terrorism and have a common agenda of stemming its financial roots. There should not be any double standards in fighting terrorism, they declared, as they agreed to push for the implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. Hard-nosed economic factors steered their discussions on the issue of energy, which has been propelling Russia's trillion-dollar economy. The interests of the three countries converge on this issue. Russia is a major supplier of energy, and India and China, who are major consumers, agreed to bid for joint exploration contracts. Economic cooperation, especially in areas such as information technology, will be stepped up and a business forum held later this year. Even after holding seven trilateral ministerial meetings and a summit in Russia, the group does not have much to boast about. In fact, it seems the partners are hazy about what they want to achieve with the forum. Not so long ago, they were even shying away from acknowledging the formal existence of the trilateral group. While India has close ties with Russia, it needs to build a relationship of trust with China. The differences were obvious in the joint communiqué, as Beijing stopped short of any explicit support for India's candidature to the UN Security Council. While it is important to push for balance in the global arena, it may be some time before the group delivers any diplomatic dividends. -By Saurabh Shukla Index |
