Courtesy: The United Nations
The international rules-based order is being looked at critically by several countries, especially in the developing world. Many view it as embedding an entrenched bias in favour of the West, which wrote the rules, and with no room to accommodate the innovative ideas of emerging economies. Of late, these developing countries are increasingly the catalysts for change.
Courtesy: Reuters
In March, the U.S. announced an extension of Myanmar’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS), in light of the deteriorating situation. TPS provides legal status in the U.S., as an alternative to refugee status, to all nationals of a designated country fleeing instability. TPS shares similarities and key differences with refugee status, which are worth understanding in order to build strong protective legal framework for forcibly displaced communities.
Courtesy: India Today
Just as September 11, 2001 unfolded a new chapter of the world order, as December 17, 2010 awakened the "Arab Spring," so October 7, 2023, has become a date that has unforgettably changed the Middle East's foreign policy and geopolitical dynamics. The existential paradigm of Israel and Palestine has adopted a war axis without turning back but has necessitated reevaluating diplomacy and recalibrating priorities.
Courtesy: Global Times
China’s world vision has entered its next phase. After the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), come the Global Initiative on Data Security (GIDS) so Chinese tech standards can lead, Global Development Initiative (GDI) so China leads the development dialogue, and Global Security Initiative (GSI), so China’s security is ‘indivisible’ from other countries – all in time for China’s 2049 goal of becoming a global power.
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
South Asia requires resilient and cost-effective regional supply chains. This can be achieved through Indian investment, fostering local linkages while reducing dependency on Chinese financing of regional partners. A new approach enhances India's regional influence, creating a win-win scenario for the entire South Asian neighbourhood in a changing global landscape.
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.
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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.