Courtesy: PTI
The consecutive Presidencies of the G20 for India, Brazil and South Africa provides a rare, unique opportunity to forge an agenda common to both the G20 and IBSA. The timing is coincident: with Russia and China consumed by conflict and zero-Covid respectively, BRICS has receded. IBSA can convert both crises into an opportunity and become relevant to the Global South’s current and future challenges.
Courtesy: Reuters
Brazil will head to the polls in a runoff this month to choose its next president. Will it be incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, or former president Lula da Silva? Both are popular with their voter bases, but both have hurdles to overcome, most notably the economy, and have differences on their global political alignment – particularly important as Brazil will be the G20 President in 2024.
Courtesy: Reuters
Disenchantment with traditional parties and politics, changed constitutional organisation of Parliament and the election system, over-regulation by the EU, immigration issues. This is why Italy turned right.
Courtesy: Getty Images
Wide-ranging economic sanctions on Russia are likely to stay for several years, if not decades. Given Russia’s critical global role as a supplier of key commodities and military hardware, India should pursue long term solutions to continue this trade.
Courtesy: Justin Lane/European Pressphoto Agency
The BRICS have largely abstained from the UNSC resolution condemning Russia’s attempts to annex four Ukrainian provinces. Is it BRICS solidarity or is it because the interests of the Global North and its allies, and those of the Global South, are diverging?
Courtesy: Advantour
The last week of September was eventful for Russia. The partial-mobilisation was underway, the referendum of Russian-speaking regions in Ukraine took place, President Putin made a significant speech and the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged. Amit Bhandari, Energy Fellow, Gateway House, was in Moscow during this time. In this podcast, he offers his impressions of Moscow after the sanctions, compared with the city he saw before the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Courtesy: Shutterstock//Creativa Images
Indonesia has managed its G20 Presidency year by understanding the importance of not going it alone. This trading nation has used its deep regional and multilateral cooperative processes which provided trusted back-up and support at every step, and was book-ended by strong linkages and investment partnerships with Japan and Australia. In this, it has laid the groundwork for India’s 2023 presidency.
Courtesy: Economic Times
India is stepping into a new era of free trade agreements in the midst of turbulent global waters that bring both risks and opportunities. A fragile global recovery can dampen demand for India’s goods, but it can also attract medium and high-tech manufacturing sectors leaving China, benefit from technology and skill transfer from abroad and lay a strong foundation for growth.
Courtesy: Reuters
The recent SCO Summit held in Samarkand was significant not only because it was held in-person after three years but also because of its rapid expansion and the increasing attention to economic development. The SCO’s progress on connectivity, commerce and digitalization is relevant for India which takes over the presidency in 2023.
Courtesy: Embassy of Uzbekistan in Beijing
The upcoming SCO Summit led by Uzbekistan seeks to ignite a ‘Samarkand Spirit’ where nations are indivisible and not fragmented, and connected by trade and investment. This is a welcome positive note in the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, where Central Asia is now being impacted by diminishing essential commodities, depreciation of local currencies, and reduced remittances from its migrant workers in Russia.