Modi’s Speech at Davos: Just What the Audience Wanted to Hear

Posted by AsiaViews | Jan 29, 2018 | 0 |

INDIA

The Hindustan Times

23 Jan 2018
Given the preponderance of business leaders at the event, it was always clear that Modi would pitch India and India’s economy strong at the World Economic Forum (WEF), and he did not disappoint

Any leader asked to address the plenary session of the World Economic Forum at Davos has an opportunity to do two things. The first is to pitch his (or her) country strongly to foreign companies and investors. The second is to build the brand of both the individual and the country by looking at issues and concerns beyond those that just concern his or her country. The world, after all, is sorely lacking in statesmen (and stateswomen) of global stature.

The audience at the World Economic Forum was looking for these two big messages in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech during the plenary session of the World Economic Forum at Davos. It wasn’t looking for anything else and, in truth, it isn’t interested in anything else.

At the end of a speech delivered in Hindi – this was expected, and seen as a sign of confidence; Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke in Chinese at the plenary in 2017 – it was evident that Modi had addressed the concerns of at least this audience.

Given the preponderance of business leaders at the event, it was always clear that Modi would pitch India and India’s economy strong, and he did not disappoint. “An inclusive, progressive, India will continue to be the good news in an otherwise gloomy world,” the Prime Minister said, echoing numbers released by the International Monetary Fund that show that the country will be the world’s fastest growing major economy in 2018. India would be a $5 trillion economy by 2025, he added, as he rattled off the various reforms undertaken by his government, including the Goods and Services Tax, and recent changes in Foreign Direct Investment rules. India, he said had replaced “red-tape” with the “red-carpet” and is open for business.

The tougher task before the Prime Minister was to find common cause on larger issues. He did so by picking three issues on which most right-thinking people have similar views: climate change, terrorism and protectionism. The Prime Minister listed India’s long standing commitment to the environment (from a cultural belief in humans being “children of the earth” to a very real target of 175 GW from renewable energy by 2022); the threat that terrorism poses to humanity; and the fading lustre of globalization. India will remain open, Modi said, even as he emphasized that the country did not have any imperialistic aspirations.

It would have been good to hear some specifics of how India hopes to work with other countries to tackle the current wave of protectionism, but plenary speeches usually tend to be about intent and direction, not details. And from that perspective, Modi’s speech at Davos was just what the audience wanted to hear.

(First published in: https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/modi-s-speech-at-davos-just-what-the-audience-wanted-to-hear/story-7hDaTRtr674FTIRwthN9yO.html )

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Modi’s Speech at Davos: Just What the Audience Wanted to Hear