Strategic Restraint Or Missed Opportunity: Tharoor Questions Sending MoS To Gaza Summit

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said India's presence at the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, at the level of a Minister of State, was in stark contrast to the heads of state gathered there, and wondered whether the decision reflects 'strategic restraint' or 'missed opportunity'.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is representing India at a peace summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

It is learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited for the summit that is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump and nearly 20 other world leaders. However, New Delhi deputed Singh to attend the summit.

Reacting to the development, Tharoor said, "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.

The summit is taking place days after the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan came into effect. The ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on Friday.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli cities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 251 people as hostages, and over 50 of them are still in its captivity.

Israeli military operations have killed over 66,000 Palestinians since then, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Gaza has been reeling under a massive humanitarian crisis largely due to the scarcity of food and medicines. The World Health Organisation said last month that Gaza's malnutrition rates have reached 'alarming levels'.