Rajiv Bhatia

Rajiv Bhatia

Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Studies Programme at Gateway House. He is a member of CII’s International Advisory Council, Trade Policy Council and Africa Committee. He is the Chair of FICCI’s Task Force on Blue Economy, and served as Chair of Core Group of Experts on BIMSTEC. He is a founding member of the Kalinga International Foundation and a member of the governing council of Asian Confluence.  As Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) from 2012-15, he played a key role in strengthening India's Track-II research and outreach activities. During a 37-year innings in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he served as Ambassador to Myanmar and Mexico and as High Commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho. He dealt with a part of South Asia, while posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. A prolific columnist, he is also a regular speaker on foreign policy and diplomacy in India and abroad. He was Senior Visiting Research Fellow during 2011-13 at the Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Allahabad University.  His first book India in Global Affairs: Perspectives from Sapru House (KW Publishers, 2015) presented a sober and insightful view of India’s contemporary foreign policy. His second book,  India-Myanmar Relations: Changing contours (Routledge 2016) received critical acclaim. His third book, India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons (Routledge 2022) has also been receiving positive reviews.  
Expertise

Foreign Policy, Quad & Indo-Pacific, South & South-East Asia, Africa, Blue Economy

Last modified: May 7, 2018

Recent projects

The Hindu Courtesy:
26 February 2018 The Hindu

Justin Trudeau’s discovery of India

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies at Gateway House wrote an article for The Hindu

MANILA, Nov. 14, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Participants pose for group photos during the 15th ASEAN-India Summit in Manila, the Philippines, Nov. 14, 2017. The 15th ASEAN-India Summit was held here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/IANS) Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr
18 January 2018 Gateway House

India-ASEAN: salute to a commemorative summit

This is a partnership that has been based on mutuality, economic cooperation and undisputed political closeness ever since ASEAN’s inception. Now, the path into the future has to be different: creating a new security architecture and determining ASEAN’s role in the Quad are overarching questions that cannot be wished away
Indo-Pacific Security Quad Courtesy: Indian Navy
3 January 2018 Gateway House

A case for the Quad’s reappearance

A noticeable feature of 2017 was China’s aggressiveness, which it deployed openly to advance its interests in the eastern rim, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. This could well be the impetus for the consolidation of a broad front of China-wary nations in 2018
IMG_3345 Courtesy:
14 December 2017

Presentation at India-ASEAN Partnership@25

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House gave a presentation on ‘Regional and Bilateral Co-operation’ at the Conference on India-ASEAN Partnership@25, New Delhi
DSC_0158 Courtesy:
8 December 2017

Keynote on ‘ASEAN Today: Introspection and Prospects’

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House gave the Keynote Remarks on ‘ASEAN Today: Introspection and Prospects’ at the Regional Conclave on ASEAN@50 and India-ASEAN Relations in Bengaluru