Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi hours before they were to inaugurate the Raisina Dialogue 2026. Stubb is on a four-day state visit and will be a guest of honour and keynote speaker at the geopolitical conference. Both leaders discussed the US‑Israel conflict with Iran.
“India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace,” Modi told reporters, using an Indian term for the Middle East. He added that in an era of “instability and uncertainty,” India and Europe were entering a golden era of relations. Stubb also met India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, earlier in the day.
The meeting took place as the region reels from a naval incident: a US submarine reportedly torpedoed and sank an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka after the ship left India’s port of Visakhapatnam, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Sri Lanka’s navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, with around 60 still unaccounted for. The Iranian warship had visited India for the International Fleet Review 2026 and MILAN 2026 naval exercises.
New Delhi has not publicly commented on the sinking or its implications. DW requested comment from the Ministry of External Affairs but had not received a response. Prime Minister Modi expressed “deep concern” for Indians in the affected region and condemned Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations. Former Indian ambassador KC Singh wrote on social media that silence is not diplomacy and warned India was being “pushed deeper and deeper into a corner.”
Economic repercussions of the conflict are already visible in markets. After a four‑day selloff triggered by the US‑Israel war with Iran, Indian benchmark indices were trading higher on Thursday morning—Sensex up about 0.43% and the Nifty 50 up about 0.69% as of midday IST—following earlier losses that erased millions in wealth. The initial selloff was driven by concerns over global oil supplies: Brent crude has risen about 15% since the start of the conflict, the highest level since July 2024, after Iranian attacks disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which more than 20% of global oil passes.
Energy analyst Vibhuti Garg of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warned India has limited crude reserves—enough for less than a month—making the situation “very, very volatile.” If the conflict continues, she cautioned, crude prices could rise further, driving broader inflation risks amid a weakening rupee.
The Raisina Dialogue, New Delhi’s premier geopolitical conference, brought diplomats, analysts and leaders together as the crisis unfolded. Coverage noted domestic concerns: many Indians have relatives in the Gulf, students and workers in affected areas, and others facing financial losses tied to market volatility.
Meanwhile, India marked Holi, the spring festival of colours, as diplomats gathered for the Raisina inauguration. DW’s New Delhi bureau framed the day’s coverage as a snapshot of rising temperatures—literal and geopolitical—across the region.
