An Indian Diplomat's View of Africa and the Indo-Pacific

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia is one of India's most respected diplomatic voices on Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and the evolving architecture of the Global South. With an illustrious career spanning Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, South Africa, and Lesotho - and later as Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs - he has long articulated the strategic intersections shaping India's external engagement.

- 

In this conversation, he reflects on the widening arc of India's Indo-Pacific vision, the growing salience of Africa, the complexities of Myanmar, and the urgent need for a more resource-backed, business-linked foreign policy. Drawing on decades of diplomatic practice and deep regional insight, Ambassador Bhatia offers a grounded yet forward-looking assessment of India's choices in a world of shifting power balances.

In your recent writings, you argue that Africa's eastern and southern flanks are part of India's wider “Western Indo-Pacific.” Given China's deepening footprint in the Indian Ocean and Africa, how should India prioritise its maritime security and Blue Economy engagements across Africa without overstretching its resources?

India's vision of the Indo-Pacific indeed covers a vast area stretching from 'Kilimanjaro to California'. The competition with China is a reality. India's approach is to enhance its influence where it is present and create its presence where it is negligible or nonexistent.

The priority areas are located near our home, including South Asia, the Indian Ocean island states, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia. New Delhi's armoury includes a range of instruments to promote maritime security and deepen economic cooperation, including in the domain of the Blue Economy.

With the entry of the African Union into the G20 and India's push to elevate South-South cooperation, what concrete mechanisms do you believe would most effectively integrate Indian private-sector investment, diaspora networks, and African institutions, beyond simply diplomatic rhetoric?