‘Prepare formal strategic document that articulates foreign policy objectives’

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel on external affairs has strongly recommended the government to take up on priority the preparation of a formal strategic document that clearly articulates India’s foreign policy objectives, and flagged that its absence is a “significant gap” for a country with such global stature, ambitions and expanding international engagement.

The committee, in its report presented in Parliament on Tuesday, also noted that the introduction of Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2025 has “remained pending” despite the completion of the panel’s feedback, and recommended that the Centre treat the introduction of the new emigration Bill as a “legislative priority” and introduce it in Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

The Committee of External Affairs is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The ‘Twelfth Report of the Committee on External Affairs (2025-26) on Demands for Grants (2026-27)’ of the Ministry of External Affairs, contains 62 recommendations, ranging from budgetary allocation to passport facilities.

One of the key recommendations is that the MEA “must articulate a formal foreign policy document” or a grand strategy.

“The Committee note that with regard to formulating a grand strategy or a comprehensive foreign policy document that clearly articulates India’s foreign policy objectives, goals, and long-term strategic approach, the Ministry submitted that no single overarching and formalised strategic document currently exists, and that India’s diplomatic principles and priorities are expressed through various platforms,” the report says.