Strategic Restraint or Missed Opportunity: Tharoor Questions Sending MoS to Gaza Summit

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor questioned India's presence at the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. Tharoor questioned the Centre's decision to send a Minister of State to the Gaza Summit at a time

when the heads of the state have gathered there. Tharoor wondered whether the decision reflected "strategic restraint" or "missed opportunity". "India's presence at the Sharm el-Sheikh Gaza peace summit, at the level of a Minister of State, stands in stark contrast to the heads of state gathered there. Strategic restraint or missed opportunity?""This is no reflection on Kirti Vardhan Singh, whose competence is not in question; but given the galaxy of grandees present, India’s choice could be seen as signalling a preference for strategic distance, which our statements don't convey," said Tharoor, a former minister of state for external affairs."And for reasons of protocol access alone, India's voice at the Summit on issues of reconstruction and regional stability may carry less weight than it could have. In a region reshaping itself, our relative absence is puzzling," the Congress MP argued. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh represented India at a peace summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited to attend the summit along with 20 world leaders, New Delhi deputed MoS Singh to attend the summit.

India Great Country, With Good Friend: Trump

US President Donald Trump, at the Gaza summit, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming him, saying “India is a great country with a good friend of mine at the top”.“India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top and he’s just done a fantastic job. I think Pakistan and India are going to live very nicely together,” Trump said while looking at Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who was standing behind him, as he responded with a chuckle.The summit was held after the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan came into effect, and hostages returned home after two years of captivity.