South-South Cooperation and Environmental Diplomacy

The nature and style of India’s engagement in enhancing cooperation with countries across the world is an interesting area of focus for many people working on issues of diplomacy during the recent months. Certainly there is enhanced level of interest in India to work with neighboring countries in South Asia and beyond that is driven by interests of economic development and sustaining growth. If India could sustain its efforts to work with both developing and developed countries on issues of mutual interest, it is a matter of time before India could emerge as a key player in guiding multilateral processes and shaping the future of South-South Cooperation (SSC). While the immediate interest of the Government is to engage in enhancing cooperation for trade, investment, development of infrastructure and the related, the Government should not lose sight of another significant opportunity that exists for India to shape the future of its positioning, globally. This opportunity is through environmental diplomacy. This Policy Brief provides an assessment of current state of play in the area of environmental diplomacy and suggests options for India to engage more effectively in re-shaping SSC, especially when the Prime Minister of India is keen for India to play a lead role on issues such as climate change negotiations.