Ministry of External Affairs
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, is the nodal Ministry responsible for protecting India's interests, both at home and abroad, on a wide variety of issues including bilateral political and economic cooperation, trade and investment promotion, cultural interaction, press and media liaison as well as a whole host of multilateral issues.
Functions of the Ministry include, representing India in its Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates and Permanent Missions to multilateral organisations like UN; protecting India's national interests in foreign countries; promoting friendly relations with receiving states and also with its people, including NRI/PIOs; tracking developments in various foreign countries to influence policy formulation in India; negotiating agreements on various issues with authorities of receiving states; and extending consular facilities to foreigners and Indian nationals abroad.
At home, Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for all aspects of external relations. Territorial divisions of the Ministry deal with bilateral political and economic affairs, while functional divisions look after policy planning, multilateral organizations, regional groupings, legal matters, disarmament, protocol, consular, Indian Diaspora, press and publicity, administration and other aspects.