The IBSA task list
Why this unique grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa must be revitalised
Why this unique grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa must be revitalised
The following are remarks given by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House at a panel discussion on ‘Contemporary Global Governance and the Role of IBSA’, at the IBSA Academic Forum hosted by RIS and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
The recently concluded CII-Exim Bank Conclave on the India-Africa Project Partnership elicited in-depth discussions on how to increase economic cooperation between the two countries. Three themes emerged, the infrastructure deficit continuing to be one of Africa’s greatest preoccupations
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to India helped further strengthen bilateral ties. The presence of a South African president at the Republic Day parade was especially pertinent, as this year is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a common hero to both countries
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, who is in India this week as the chief guest on Republic Day, and Prime Minister Modi both have elections on their minds, but the considerable diplomatic stakes in the bilateral relationship warrant his visit at this time
India and Japan, two countries wanting to enhance the quality of their engagement in Africa’s development, have historically taken fundamentally different approaches to the task. But now, both are being guided by geoeconomic imperatives in aligning their strategy in the region— and the Asia Africa Growth Corridor offers many opportunities for synergy at the B2B level
The following remarks were given by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House as a panelist at an Interactive Session with Reginah Makgabo Mahaule, Deputy Minister of International Relations, South Africa hosted by RIS on January 9, 2019
Academic and columnist M.D. Nalapat, in this interview with Manjeet Kripalani, speaks of how a tardy bureaucracy has brought about “a too-cautious” policy towards the U.S. and China as opposed to the former Gujarat chief minister’s greater openness in consulting people before handing over policy implementation to the bureaucracy. He also discusses the prime minister’s shrewd approach to South Asia, the dependable warmth of the Japanese and a range of other topics
China’s footprint in the African continent is growing because it is a zealous summiteer. And now, in response to ‘debt-trap’ criticism, it also appears to be stressing private sector investment in Africa over loans and credit. Are there any takeaways for India in this?
The current political unrest in Sri Lanka and coups in Maldives and Zimbabwe bear a Chinese imprint. China’s use of strong-arm tactics smacks of the very behaviour that it had earlier criticised in former colonial powers