Courtesy: Magnific/BBC
The midterm results surprised not just the U.S., but the world. With the Democrats now controlling both houses of Congress, can India finally see an end to ongoing tariff threats and the potential for a faster, more favourable U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement? And hopefully, a perceived de-escalation of the Iran conflict will ease energy prices and supply chain issues.
Courtesy: Gateway House
As global growth slows and geopolitical uncertainty rises, India has an opportunity to strengthen the foundations of its next phase of development. This requires three strategic priorities: diversifying trade pathways, securing access to critical commodities, and building reliable energy and technology capabilities. How effectively India advances these priorities will shape its ability to contribute to and influence the emerging global order in the decades ahead.
Courtesy: On Think Tanks
Gateway House has been named among the top 55 organisations in On Think Tanks’ Think Tanks to Watch 2026, announced on November 4. The peer-recognition initiative highlights noteworthy practices and contributions across the global think tank community. This recognition reflects Gateway House’s sustained research and scholarship, its ability to produce and disseminate rigorous research and ideas, stimulate public debate on India’s foreign policy choices, and develop international partnerships.
Europe needs to set aside talk of populism because it becomes an obstacle in evaluating what's at stake. In a conversation with Dr Huricihan Islamoglu of Bogazici University, she notes that Europe's competitiveness requires states fashioned or refashioned as sovereign economic actors. A big problem these states will face is unemployment, with technological transformation displacing jobs, alongside a loss of a global prime market for goods and destination status.
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: Reuters / Ueslei Marcelino
Brazil’s October 25, 2026, elections witnessed President Lula win a fourth term, at a crucial time when Brasília is navigating a fragmenting global trade order. In this chapter of the KEMP Report 2026, Foreign Trade Secretary Tatiana Prazeres explores Brazil’s dual-track approach: expanding bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements while supporting multilateral trade reform. Brazil demonstrates how middle powers can strengthen resilience and preserve strategic flexibility.
Courtesy: Gateway House
As Prime Minister Modi heads to the ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Manila, India-ASEAN cooperation has gained fresh momentum in 2026, the Year of Maritime Cooperation. Joint naval exercises, new subsea cables linking India to Southeast Asian hubs, and growing information-sharing are turning geography into a practical partnership. The real test, however, is trade, where the review of the India-ASEAN FTA remains unfinished.
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 Tata group faces one of the biggest challenges in its history: the preservation or dismantling of the mandate of the Tata Trusts in favour of investors whose primary objective is financial returns. On the second anniversary of Ratan Tata’s death, it is worth remembering that those who carried the name of Tata in their Trusts, believed foremost in “giving India what it needs.”
Courtesy: Reuters
The BRICS Summit in Delhi carried over the issues from the previous years. But it was particularly important because it also hosted the India-China leaders’ bilateral, and it was preceded by the visit of Chinese President Xi to the U.S. The optics of the 2026 Summit will have been keenly watched in Washington for its effect on U.S.-China relations.
