News articles and essays on the Indian diplomacy at work around the world.
During the visit, Singh will hold consultations with the Sri Lankan leadership on a range of bilateral issues and interact with members of the Indian diaspora in Colombo. He will lead a high-level delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, met Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy, in Riyadh on Sunday. The two leaders reviewed the progress of India-Saudi relations and discussed opportunities for greater cooperation on climate-related initiatives.
Schools and universities may increasingly use equal-area world maps when teaching comparative geography. Publishers and media organisations could also reconsider the default projections they use for global illustrations.
This distinction is particularly important as India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026. The stronger and more realistic story is not the imminent creation of a single BRICS currency, but the gradual construction of a financial architecture that could allow BRICS economies to conduct significantly more business in their own currencies.
Union Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh held a virtual meeting with French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space Prof Philippe Baptiste on September 4, 2026. According to the Department of Space, both sides agreed to accelerate cooperation between their space agencies while creating greater opportunities for companies and emerging private-space ecosystems in the two countries.
The visit has been officially confirmed by both sides, with Luxembourg describing India as an important strategic partner in Asia and outlining an extensive programme covering New Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. Bettel will be accompanied by Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism Lex Delles.
His remarks underline Moscow’s argument that India-Russia energy trade is fundamentally commercial, based on India’s large energy requirements and Russia’s position as a competitive supplier rather than political assistance from one country to another.
Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken’s official programme included discussions with Doval on the rapidly changing security environment and prospects for closer military cooperation. Doval also participated in the broader high-level India-Belgium talks at Hyderabad House, where security and defence formed an important part of the bilateral agenda.
At the centre of the initiative is the long-standing use of the Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century primarily to assist navigation. Although extremely useful for preserving compass directions, the projection increasingly enlarges areas as they move towards the poles. Consequently, northern territories can appear disproportionately large compared with regions nearer the equator.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 3, 2026, Russian State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Roman Chekushov said Moscow was ready to share technologies with Indian partners and support the development of long-term industrial projects. His remarks point to a broader Russian strategy of encouraging companies to manufacture in India rather than relying solely on exports.
