India to Open Diplomatic Mission in Lithuania This Year

Experts say India's global footprint is increasing, suggesting an alternative model to China

European Union and Lithuanian flags flutter at border crossing point in Medininkai, Lithuania, on Sep. 18, 2020. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

NEW DELHI—The Indian government has accorded approval for the opening of a new mission in Lithuania this year.

“Opening of the Indian Mission in Lithuania will help expand India’s diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations and strategic cooperation, enable the growth of bilateral trade, investment, and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts, allow for more sustained political outreach in multilateral fora and help garner support for India’s foreign policy objectives,” said the Indian government in a press release on April 27.

Experts told The Epoch Times that the decision will enable India’s greater integration with the European Union (EU), open new channels for connectivity for India, and help New Dehli increase its global footprint. It will also help counter China’s growing influence abroad by providing an alternative model for engagement.

“It’s part of India’s broader foreign policy objectives but of course, given the state of affairs with China, between China and Lithuania since last November, this is certainly also aimed at telling China that look India is also able to respond to China’s challenge,” Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at the New Delhi based Observer Research Foundation, told The Epoch Times.

Lithuania has come under Chinese pressure after it allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in its capital Vilnius. The mission doesn’t have formal diplomatic status but it’s the first Taiwanese mission abroad with “Taiwan” and not “Taipei” in its title. China retaliated by imposing a series of sanctions against Lithuania.

“Lithuanian companies have been facing problems in China, India can perhaps emerge as an alternative,” said Pant. “So this is also part of the larger dynamics of India offering itself as a more credible alternative to China in the global economy.”

Abhishek Srivastava, assistant professor of diplomacy at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that in the current geopolitical context, European nations are coming closer to India because New Dehli is a responsible player in the global politics and can act as a counterbalance to China in Asia.

“European countries are not comfortable with the rise of China because China is not a protector of international values,” Srivastava told The Epoch Times in an email.

The decision is likely to send a direct message to China.

“I’m sure that China will be irked with this decision but they should hear us that China-India relations are on a trajectory where nothing much positive has come out in a long time span,” said Pant.

Taipei announced it had formally opened a de facto embassy in Lithuania using the name Taiwan, a significant diplomatic departure that defied a pressure campaign by Beijing, on Nov. 18, 2021. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images)

Increasing Global Footprint

India has had close diplomatic relations with the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, though activities are conducted by other embassies in Europe because New Dehli does not have any missions in the region.

Experts said opening a mission in Lithuania is in line with India’s desire to have a broader, global footprint and New Dehli has been rapidly expanding its missions in countries where it traditionally didn’t have an outpost.

“Lithuania was covered from Poland but sometime back decision was taken to open resident missions in all three and this is a continuation of that policy. This is also part of greater integration with the EU,” Anil Trigunayat, a former Indian diplomat who has served at the Indian missions in Cote d’Ivoire, Bangladesh, Mongolia, United States, Russia, Sweden and Nigeria, Libya, and Jordan told The Epoch Times in an email.

He said by opening its mission in Lithuania, India is fulfilling an obligation because Lithuania was the first Baltic nation to open an embassy in India in 2008.  Baltic countries have been making efforts to enrich ties with India to enhance technology exchanges.

The Indian government described the new mission as a “forward-looking step,” adding that its decision will help its goal of inclusive growth and achieving self-reliance.

“Enhancement of India’s diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact on augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India,” said the Indian government.

Boosting technology transfers, gaining greater access to the EU, and increasing connectivity corridors are key priorities for India, according to Trigunayat, who’s also a distinguished fellow at the Vivekanand International Foundation. The former diplomat added the EU’s pro-India foreign policy expedited India’s decision to open the new mission in Lithuania.

Srivastava said Lithuania is an important country in the EU and its location in Eastern Europe is crucial for India.

“Especially during the Russia-Ukraine war when India started evacuation process for Indian nationals it realized that we need more strong partners in this region. As both countries had strong historical and cultural links, this is an opportunity for India to diversify its opportunity from culture to commerce,” he said.