: Despite its ambitious global plans, the Indian government has failed to set up diplomatic missions in a large number of small countries and island nations.
“During the previous government, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor had told us that India would open embassies in Georgia, Costa Rica, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, but the plan has not yet been implemented, ” said Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, dean of the foreign diplomatic dorps, who is also the ambassador of the Dominican Republic to India, and added, “In the last decade alone, at least 17 countries have opened new embassies in India, but India has not reciprocated so far to most of those countries.”
The observation is important as it comes just a day after the Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh highlighted the government’s commitment to energise ties with all geographical locations of the world.
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Mr. Singh has visited several countries of Latin America and Africa, but Mr. Castellanos said a large number of the smaller countries of the Latin America, the Caribbean region, Africa and the island nations of the world, do not have Indian missions.