NEW DELHI – India has stepped up the pace of opening new diplomatic missions, with an eye on serving the growing Indian diaspora and expanding the country’s global footprint.

In the last seven months, India has opened several consulates and embassies worldwide – from Europe to Asia and Latin America.

On March 8, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar inaugurated a new consulate in Belfast in Northern Ireland, a region of the United Kingdom, as part of a renewed push by India to increase its global diplomatic presence.

It aims to solidify and deepen business connections, as well as support a growing Indian diaspora.

“It made sense after we came back into government to move early to set up consulates,” said Dr Jaishankar, at the inauguration of the Belfast consulate.

“We do see the economic potential (in setting up the mission in Belfast). But, at the same time, we do want it to be very much at the service of the Indian community,” he added.

Apart from Belfast, India in the last seven months has opened consulates in Brisbane in Australia, Marseille in France, Manchester in Britain and Auckland in New Zealand, as well as an embassy in Dili in Timor-Leste and La Paz in Bolivia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for a third consecutive term in June 2024, with the Bharatiya Janata Party in its poll manifesto promising to widen India’s diplomatic presence by expanding the network of missions and diplomats “to pursue the country’s global interest”.

Despite having the largest diaspora in the world and being among the fastest-growing economies globally, India is not among the top 10 countries on the Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index 2024.

The index maps the world’s most significant diplomatic networks through the number of diplomatic missions.

India is ranked 11th am...