Friends with benefits

Why countries today prefer being friendly with everyone – even people who don’t like each other!

Imagine you’re at school. You have lots of classmates, and some of them don’t get along. But you don’t want to pick sides — you want to stay friends with everyone. That’s kind of how countries are acting these days.

Recently, India’s Prime Minister went to visit a country called Cyprus. It was a big deal because no Indian Prime Minister had gone there in 23 years! Why now? Well, another country, Türkiye (Turkey), had supported Pakistan during a military mission by India called Operation Sindoor. India didn’t like that. So India visited Cyprus — a country that has its own problems with Türkiye — to show it has friends too.

This is an example of the saying: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” But even though Türkiye and India disagreed on some things, they still talk and work together in other ways.

In other parts of the world, similar things are happening. There’s a big fight between Iran and Israel, and many countries, including India, don’t want to take sides. They want to stay friends with both. The same goes for the war between Russia and Ukraine. Lots of countries are trying to keep good ties with both sides — or at least not make things worse.

So, what’s going on?

In the past, countries used to choose one side and stick with it — like picking a team in a game. But now, most countries are saying:
“Why not be friendly with everyone, and keep our options open?”

This idea is called “multi-alignment”, and India is doing a good job at it. It means India wants to have many friends, not just one group. And that’s smart, because:

• It helps avoid big wars, like World War III.
  
• It lets countries trade, talk, and work together even if they don’t agree on everything.
  
• It keeps the world from dividing into two angry groups, like in the Cold War.
  

Of course, problems and fights still happen — like in Ukraine or around Taiwan. But by not picking sides too quickly, countries can keep the peace for longer and maybe even solve problems peacefully.

In today’s world, being flexible and friendly is the new smart way to do things.

END OF ARTICLE