With elections looming, Bhutan – one of the youngest democracies in the world – is struggling to stabilise its government and political system. If the political climate does not change swiftly in the coming years, it’s dictated democracy will be slow to mature.
Domestic politics are impacting overall SAARC relations. As the largest SAARC economy, we must strive to minimise differences with our neighbours by understanding how they perceive our policies, and uphold the promise of this regional bloc.
In the past few years, the SAARC region has seen promising engagements in mutual cooperation between nations. For these developments to hold, new ideas must be put on the table for discussion. ‘Neighbourhood Views of India’ is our effort towards contributing to that process.
Amit Baruah is the South Asia Studies Fellow at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. He is an award winning journalist who has lived and reported from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Singapore. He is the author of Dateline Read more
A growing freedom of the press and an independent judiciary are indicators that Bhutan is transitioning well after its adoption of a constitutional democracy.
With more than half of the approximately 50,000 large dams on the planet, China is rapidly accumulating leverage against its neighbors by undertaking massive hydro-engineering projects on transnational rivers. Persuading it to halt further unilateral influence has become pivotal to Asian peace and stability.
India should be prepared for the consequences of it's strategic move to closer ally itself with Afghanistan.
Shortly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka, Gateway House interviewed the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India, Tariq Ahmad Karim, who commented on the prospects of enhanced relations between the two nations, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Lacking real political or economic power, the small Himalayan nation of Bhutan has asserted its independence by looking inward and holding firmly to its national identity. As Bhutan cautiously builds stronger foreign ties, what will happen to its domestic and foreign policy?
The inaugural South Asia Forum is poised to draw upon business, academia and non-governmental entities to provide inputs for the agenda of the upcoming South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation summit.
.png)
