Courtesy: Gateway House
The recently concluded U.S. midterm elections have brought a major shift in the American political landscape, with the Democratic Party now in control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In this webinar, experts Ambassador Mohan Kumar, Lt Gen S. L. Narasimhan and Amit Bhandari decode the election results and their implications for India, the war in West Asia and global oil markets.
Courtesy: X/ @NationPress
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar from October 20 to 22 reflected a new dimension to the India-U.S. bilateral: economic diplomacy. Referring to India as “a refining superpower” showed how global energy trends have impacted the U.S., whose national interest dictates a deeper energy cooperation with India. The two sides still remain apart on Pakistan, China, Iran, tariffs, and BRICS.
Courtesy: BSS News
Beijing has agreed to fund a port in Bangladesh, the third port funded by foreign governments. This shouldn’t be a concern for India, because unlike Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it has a diversified lender base. Japan and Russia are the large infrastructure funders, with China in the third place, while the U.S. and the EU are key export markets. India lags as an investor.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, currently stalled due to conflicts in the Gulf, may be an answer to the disrupted energy flows from the Persian Gulf. The proposed route, which connects the interior of Saudi Arabia to the Arabian Sea on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, has immense value as a conduit for West Asian oil, as well as global data flows.
Courtesy: Gateway House
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure is spawning important services in agriculture which, when combined with Artificial Intelligence, is giving access to the country’s remotest and most linguistically diverse farmers. The state of Maharashtra is a case study in how this works, at scale and diversity. Components from the India example are being adapted in countries like Ethiopia with needs for similarly varied populations.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The sustainability of the Mecca Accord is determined by its response to three geopolitical challenges represented by India, Iran, and Israel. The India test centres on preventing the export of South Asian conflicts to the Gulf, the Iranian test rests on institutionalising sustainable deterrence beyond formulas of perpetual clash, and the Israeli axis tests the mechanisms for reshaping Saudi ties with American security and the future of regional normalisation.
Courtesy: Reuters / Yonhap News Agency
The recent BRICS Summit in New Delhi was declared a success. Its 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration is the longest yet. With members divided over the Russia-Ukraine and West Asia wars, leaders avoided naming countries or taking positions, focusing on issues affecting the Global South and deepening intra-BRICS cooperation. India steered the grouping towards practical cooperation. The question now is: how will BRICS implement the decisions taken?
Courtesy: AFP
The Mecca Accord between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan has raised some red flags in the region, and in India. One element remains unchanged: India’s value to Riyadh as an energy importer. With demand security holding more weight than supply security in an uncertain future, a major and growing oil importer like India is more important than the cash-for-security arrangement the Kingdom has signed with Pakistan.
Courtesy: Japan Ministry of Defense
Japan’s recently-released defence white paper marks a significant turn in intent and policy. The country’s long focus on economic security is now blended with its defence capacity, bringing together foreign policy, intelligence, and economic, technological and industrial capacities into a “comprehensive architecture for national defence.” This is a new conception of national security in Japan.
Courtesy: ASEAN
The Manila meetings of ASEAN, held amid continuing crises in Ukraine and West Asia, have demonstrated that ASEAN centrality has not gone out of fashion. Neither the U.S. nor China, despite scepticism about ASEAN's effectiveness, wishes ASEAN institutions to disappear. India, Russia, Japan, Australia, the EU and the UK likewise continue to use these meetings as valuable platforms for Indo-Pacific engagement.