Senior Congress leader and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor on Monday criticised the Indian government’s decision to send a Minister of State to the Gaza peace summit in Egypt, raising questions over whether the move reflects “strategic restraint or a missed opportunity” that could undermine India’s influence at the high-level talks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had received a personal invitation from Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, chose not to attend the summit, leaving Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh to represent India.
The summit, held in Sharm el-Sheikh and co-chaired by US President Donald Trump and President El-Sisi, has drawn more than twenty heads of state to discuss a framework for a Gaza peace deal and post-war reconstruction. Tharoor noted that India’s representation “stands in stark contrast to the heads of state gathered there,” stressing that his critique is not aimed at Kirti Vardhan Singh, whose competence he did not question, but rather at the decision itself, which he believes sends a mixed signal.
Tharoor argued that India’s relative absence at the summit could have practical implications. He observed that, for reasons of protocol access alone, India’s voice on matters of reconstruction and regional stability may carry less weight than it otherwise would, potentially diminishing the country’s ability to influence outcomes in a region undergoing rapid political and humanitarian changes. He described India’s minimal representation as “puzzling,” given the presence of so many global leaders.
Observers note that the decision may also have been influenced by heightened tensions with Pakistan. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s attendance at the summit likely prompted New Delhi to avoid a scenario in which Indian leadership would appear alongside him, following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in April and India’s retaliatory “Operation Sindoor.” Another factor could be the presence of US President Donald Trump, whose repeated claims of having brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan have been consistently denied by New Delhi, raising concerns over unwanted political narratives.
The summit is aimed at finalising a US-brokered peace plan to resolve the conflict triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The subsequent Israeli military operations have created a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the World Health Organization reporting alarming levels of malnutrition. On Monday, Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages, marking a key step towards ending the two-year-long war.
