As political and military solutions to the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan are nowhere in sight, the refugee crisis in Europe is not going to disappear in a hurry.
The fall of the wall also coincided with the collapse of the USSR and end of the Cold War. Theoverall changes since 1989 have been largely a remarkable success with the majority of citizens in the former socialist countries not wanting to go back to the earlier economic and political system.
More than a decade has passed since the European Union (EU) signed strategic partnerships with China (2003) and India (2004). The EU’s ‘honeymoon’ with China was over within a few years while cooperation on truly strategic issues with India is yet to emerge. The core of both these relationships is still economics.
Russia has signalled its intentions in Crimea. With neither the US nor Europe willing to be engaged in another crisis in Eastern Europe, the Russian strategy would be to re-enter the scenario not as a junior partner of the West but as a recognized primary power in the region, without whom Ukraine cannot be stabilised.
The main objective of the summit is to attract foreign investment in Afghanistan, particularly in the context of emerging opportunities in sectors like mining, hydrocarbons, infrastructure, telecommunications, agriculture, education, health services, etc.
In the absence of even an FTA, the main challenge before policy makers from India and the EU will be to continue justifying the relevance of a strategic partnership to their respective constituencies.
