'Our relative absence is puzzling': Shashi Tharoor on India's decision to send MoS to Sharm el-Sheikh
At the Gaza summit, India is being represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly invited to attend
- Oct 13, 2025,
- Updated Oct 13, 2025 8:50 PM IST
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday questioned the level of India's representation at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, saying the decision to send a Minister of State instead of a higher-level delegation was "puzzling" given the global significance of the event.
"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?" Tharoor wrote on X, referring to the summit where US President Donald Trump and nearly 20 other heads of state are participating.
India is being represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly invited to attend the summit.
Tharoor, who earlier served as Minister of State for External Affairs, said the choice was not about Singh's competence but about the optics and access such a delegation level offers. "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," he said.
He argued that India's voice on key discussions could have carried more weight had a higher-level representative been present. "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," Tharoor added.
The summit, hosted in Egypt's Red Sea resort city, comes just days after the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan took effect, ending active hostilities after nearly two years of fighting. The ceasefire in Gaza began on Friday following Israel’s campaign launched after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to 251 hostages being taken.
On Monday, as the last 20 hostages held by Hamas returned to Israel, Prime Minister Modi welcomed their release and reaffirmed India’s support for US efforts to stabilise the region.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday questioned the level of India's representation at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, saying the decision to send a Minister of State instead of a higher-level delegation was "puzzling" given the global significance of the event.
"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?" Tharoor wrote on X, referring to the summit where US President Donald Trump and nearly 20 other heads of state are participating.
India is being represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly invited to attend the summit.
Tharoor, who earlier served as Minister of State for External Affairs, said the choice was not about Singh's competence but about the optics and access such a delegation level offers. "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," he said.
He argued that India's voice on key discussions could have carried more weight had a higher-level representative been present. "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," Tharoor added.
The summit, hosted in Egypt's Red Sea resort city, comes just days after the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan took effect, ending active hostilities after nearly two years of fighting. The ceasefire in Gaza began on Friday following Israel’s campaign launched after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to 251 hostages being taken.
On Monday, as the last 20 hostages held by Hamas returned to Israel, Prime Minister Modi welcomed their release and reaffirmed India’s support for US efforts to stabilise the region.