Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif was in Mumbai on 16-17 January 2020, just days after the Iran-U.S. showdown in Iraq and the assassination of Iran’s top general. Zarif explained Iran’s dilemma to audiences in India and was hoping for public support. But the fact is that the January tensions are not Iran’s problem alone; it’s a global game-changer that has propelled the formation of new alliances
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The rise in Saudi Aramco’s stock price within two days of its IPO in November 2019, has taken the company’s market value past the $2-trillion mark. This valuation should not be taken at face value for the offering is miniscule, and closely linked to the ruler's prestige rather than stock market fundamentals
Courtesy: Gateway House
Kartarpur is an exemplary achievement of bilateral discussion over two decades. For the faithful, it is an emotional reconnection with the life of Guru Nanak, now made into a grand memorial. For others, on both sides of the border, it is a neutral place where they can renew contact with long-lost relatives. The author, who visited Kartarpur a month after its inauguration, was witness to the joy and aura of collective worship
Courtesy: @narendramodi/twitter
Dr Condoleezza Rice and Dr Henry Kissinger, speakers at the annual meeting of the U.S-India Strategic Partnership Forum, in Delhi in October 2019, kept the audience riveted. The topics covered included China as competitor, the earlier disharmony in India-U.S. relations, and tips from a veteran on the art of negotiation
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The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with its unaffordable power projects is one reason for Pakistan’s current economic crisis. Pakistan has ended up with capacity it does not need, relying on fuels it is importing at a high cost
Courtesy: PM India
The reason for the two countries’ continued good relationship? They share strategic interests and universal values even if they have divergent ways of thinking
Courtesy: Sputnik News
Speakers at the seventh Atlantic Dialogues, held in Morocco earlier this month, discussed what the challenge to western dominance and China’s expansionism meant for their political and economic future
Courtesy: Washington Post
China’s large investments in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives and the economic dependence this creates make it impervious to the internal political upheavals in these countries. This blog explores how it will retain its influence in Sri Lanka regardless of how the turmoil is resolved
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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
Courtesy: Indian Ocean Conference
If India wants to become a serious Indo-Pacific player, it has to prioritise implementation of the SAGAR initiative, look beyond the Quad to partner with smaller littoral states and provide alternatives to China’s investment strategies. This was the message from the recent Indian Ocean Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam