Courtesy: Reuters
The Italy-Africa summit, held on January 28-29, followed Prime Minister Meloni’s Mattei Plan for greater engagement with Africa and the Global South. It gives Italy’s ongoing G7 presidency an edge and a means of addressing immediate concerns like energy and illegal migration. Italy must now follow through on its commitments by coordinating with partner countries, organisations and private sector.
Courtesy:
When the 154-year-old man-made Suez Canal became operational, it reduced the voyage between Europe and India from four months to 30 days. It made Egypt the centre for the development of modern tourism in the mid-19th century, attracting entrepreneurs from across empires. A brisk business grew with the Sindhis from the Bombay Presidency, who made the Egyptian free ports and Cairo as their first overseas bases.
Courtesy: Sputnik India
Tensions in West Asia have disrupted global shipping and revived interest in the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor. Better freight and passenger connectivity between Southern India and Russia’s Far East will open new areas for bilateral cooperation such as the export of machinery, auto parts and engineering goods from India, and progressively integrate the economies of the two countries.
Courtesy: Tezbid
President Emmanuel Macron is the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day celebration. This comes six months after Prime Minister Modi went to Paris as the Chief Guest for France's Bastille Day. It marks a special continuum in the India-France bilateral, and the growing convergence of their respective visions which include a shared dedication to strategic autonomy, an understanding between friends, and the maturity of the bilateral.
Courtesy: South Asian Voices
The proximity in the Indo-French relationship is reflected in the countries' increasing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. An ambitious joint Indo-Pacific roadmap is supported by the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative and the recently announced Indo-Pacific Triangular Development Cooperation Fund. Both partners must now devise timelines for the implementation of the proposals.
Courtesy: Reuters
India and France are both large energy importers with a shared interest in stable prices and decarbonisation. They have much to offer each other. France is a leader in nuclear power and green hydrogen, and can help India with the technology it needs. India, with its large and growing market, can help bring down the cost of these technologies and mainstream them.
Courtesy: Outlook
Bhutan’s newly elected People’s Democratic Party is inclined to modernize the bilateral ties with India through investment and commercial ties with cities like Mumbai and Bangalore. This is the moment for New Delhi to view Bhutan with a new, non-linear lens, to deepening ties with a valuable neighbhour.
Courtesy: CivisDaily
The Oslo Accords’ two-state solution for Palestine-Israel, visualised Gaza and the West Bank as self-governing entities under the Palestinian Authority. That political hope existed in an expanding global economy led by the U.S. and secured by American armies, with the promise of capital flows and investments to develop Palestine on its way to statehood. All this changed in the 2000s, as both Israelis and Palestinians became significant regional actors.
Courtesy: Xinhua
A tiny nation of half a million people, Maldives has drawn enormous attention from the media, diplomats and informed public since Muizzu’s election last September. The interest has only risen after the recent diplomatic row with India and Muizzu’s increased bonhomie with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Courtesy: Institute for Security & Development Policy
Japan and the EU have a stable and long engagement with India. As India grows in economic and geopolitical significance, both partners must change the lens they view India with. Japan has done better, especially with investment, and because of a common interest and activity in the Indo-Pacific. The EU is driven by Brussels still and needs must overcome that limitation to better leverage India.