India’s Proximity Archives

South Asia 
A delegation from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), headed by Major General Shahid Amir Afsar, Director General of Analysis and former Pakistani Defense Attaché in Beijing, visited Bangladesh from January 21-24. This visit followed a prior visit to Rawalpindi by Lieutenant General S M Kamr-ul-Hassan, Principal Staff Officer of Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division. The two visits represent a sudden advancement in military-to-military relations between Dhaka and Islamabad. In response to  heightened military interactions between Bangladesh and Pakistan and the presence of ISI officials in Dhaka, India reacted on January 24 saying that it would implement necessary actions to uphold its national security.

Southeast Asia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto held wide-ranging talks on cooperation in sectors such as defence manufacturing and maritime safety, seeking to further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, on January 25. Prabowo, who is on his first state visit to India at the invitation of Modi, was also the Chief Guest for the country's Republic Day celebrations on January 26. Amid international concerns over China’s aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific, Modi stated that both leaders are committed to maintaining peace, security, prosperity and rules-based order in this entire region. Following this, Prabowo also added that the two sides had “very intensive, very frank discussion” on many key sectors of common interests in which they would like to accelerate the level of their cooperation. He said enhancing economic cooperation is "very important," and has directed his team to cut bureaucracy and over-regulation to put India and Indonesia’s common interests at centre stage.

East Asia
On January 27, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong of China met Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri in Beijing. This meeting was part of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism aimed at enhancing China-India relations following the leaders' discussions in Kazan. The two sides reached several common understandings to promote cooperation, including India’s support for China’s leadership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and active participation in related activities. They agreed to strengthen strategic communication through various bilateral and multilateral platforms, commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025 with media and cultural exchanges, and resume direct flights between the two countries to facilitate personnel exchanges. Additionally, they discussed the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, and more “people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions, as well as resumption of direct air services between the two countries”.      

West Asia
President Trump stated on January 25 that the US would like to “just clean out” Gaza and urged Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees. While Trump claimed that the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza may be temporary or long-term, analysts expressed concern about “ethnic cleansing” in the region. Jordan and Egypt rejected President Trump’s proposal warning that it risks expanding the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Meanwhile, Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers and 200 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons in the second exchange since the ceasefire between the two sides. 

Central Asia
On January 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, “Ukraine stands ready to transit natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe and a contract could be inked quickly if an agreement can be reached”. After meeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu to discuss a gas supply crisis in Ukraine’s neighbour, Zelenskiy told reporters that “We can use our infrastructure” to transit the Azerbaijani gas, ““We can sign a contract quickly if there is political will.” Zelenskiy also stated that he met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Davos, with gas supplies one of the topics the two leaders discussed. 

Indian Ocean Region

Admiral Muhammad Ali, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, was welcomed by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of Naval Staff of India, in New Delhi on January 27. This visit is part of a high-level delegation accompanying Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade 2025. The two naval leaders discussed critical areas such as joint initiatives, operational collaboration to address shared maritime challenges, and capacity building through enhanced training and information sharing. To strengthen bilateral cooperation in defence technology and strategy, Admiral Ali visited key maritime establishments like the Information Fusion Centre (IFC-IOR), Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE) and BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL).