Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan is significant for India domestically and its extended Asian influence. His visit, just prior to the SCO Summit in China, represents a shrewd endeavour at balancing the several priorities of Indian foreign policy
The G20’s current cycle is unique, with four Global South nations presiding consecutively: Indonesia, India, Brazil, and now South Africa. Brazil’s 2023-24 presidency exhibited both achievements and struggles, prioritising social inclusion, hunger, energy transition, and governance reform. The handover to South Africa marks a significant milestone in G20 history. Will the momentum be followed by the U.S., the next G20 president but also a G20 sceptic?
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India achieved a significant goal: to resolve the bilateral border dispute and ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. It’s not a reaction to the U.S.-India tariff tensions, but a realistic policy compulsion felt by India.
The recent election for Japan’s Upper House of Councillors is a pivotal moment for Japanese politics, revealing fractures within the ruling coalition and a simultaneous rise of the political right. Economic discontent, cultural anxieties, and effective digital mobilisation are converging. Is this a fleeting moment for Japan, or the start of a deeper, more profound change in its political landscape?
There was much at stake for the U.S.-Russia summit at Alaska – more than just the future of Ukraine. It will put the world back on economic track, and ease East-West relations, under stress for an on-going tariff war. For now, diplomacy has played a successful hand.
U.S. President Trump will meet Russian President Putin on August 15. A positive outcome may mean removal of punitive U.S. tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and resolving its dilemma of placating a partner country with growing commercial, geopolitical and defence ties, or pursuing strategic autonomy, keeping its old friends and take an economic hit? Is Russia the red line for India?
India-U.S. trade negotiations have faltered. India stepped outside its comfort zone to offer zero tariffs on industrial goods that form 40% of U.S. exports to India, but the additional 25% tariffs have rendered most Indian exports noncompetitive. Only a carefully balanced, incremental negotiating framework blending economic pragmatism with protection of core domestic interests backed by political will, stands a realistic chance of bridging the current impasse.
India’s engagement with Latin America is gaining momentum, marked by PM Modi’s recent visits to Brazil, Argentina, and Trinidad & Tobago. Amid rising Chinese influence, sustained political engagement and targeted investments are key to unlocking Latin America’s potential for India’s benefit. India needs a multifaceted strategy that blends economic engagement with public diplomacy and more official visits at higher political levels.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Republic of Cyprus on June 15-16, and was warmly received by President Christodoulides. Deep in the bilateral connection is an Indian-origin First Lady, Lilla Irene (Erulkar) Clerides, wife of former president Glafkos Clerides. Lilla, an Indian Jew from Bombay, lived through India’s and Cyprus’ independence and Partition. It made her a passionate advocate for the unity of her adopted home.
Egypt sits at the intersection of three continents and two seas, and its foreign policy is a geographic, historic and strategic consequence. From Tripoli to Kortum, Addis Ababa to Brussels, New Delhi to Moscow, Beijing to Washington, Cairo employs diplomacy as a key national security tool, positioning itself as a cornerstone of geopolitical stability within an increasingly multipolar world.