Following the Taliban’s sudden takeover in Afghanistan in August, India closed its five diplomatic missions in the country. However, this was a rare exception to India’s recent trend of expanding its diplomatic network in South Asia.
Our ongoing research finds that over the last 20 years, India opened or reopened thirteen new consulates in seven of its eight immediate neighboring countries (excluding China). This means that since 2001, India has opened approximately twice as many new missions in the region as it did in the previous fifty years altogether.
These new consulates and other missions are the most visible aspect of India’s subnational footprint across the region, going beyond traditional embassies or high commissions situated in capital cities. Located in second-tier cities or peripheral regions, often in the neighbor’s borderlands, these smaller missions spearhead the widening reach of India’s subnational engagements in South Asia. India’s new consulates reflect the country’s expanding interests in the region, dealing with an increasingly large set of subnational entities in neighboring countries, including local or provincial authorities, minority groups, and economic actors.
India’s New Consulates and Subnational Diplomacy in South Asia – South Asian Voices
