Narendra Modi took his geopolitical charm offensive to a new continent last week, speaking in Australia about the countries' "deeply interlinked destinies" during the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 28 years.
Modi probably understands better than any politician of his generation the yearning that young Indians — the children of the liberalization of India's economy in 1991, and the first generation of Indians with a global-minded imagination — nurture not just for jobs and a better standard of living, but also a greater influence in and respect from the world. Accordingly, he has focused on the unusual but sound strategy of entrenching his authority at home by winning hearts abroad, including those of the vast Indian diaspora.
After successful tours of Japan and the U.S. in recent months to seek foreign investment and to draw attention to what he calls India's "new energy," Modi appeared to win over Australia's parliamentarians this week with an impressive speech — in English, not his preferred language — in Canberra. He deftly laid out the reasons to forge a closer alliance between the two countries — not an easy task, given their obvious differences and lack of cooperation in the past — and proposed India as the logical destination "for new economic opportunities."
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