Website articles (97) Courtesy: The Hindu
21 May 2026

India-Africa strategic partnership needs realism

BY

India and Africa together represent nearly a third of humanity, making deeper ties a strategic priority. However, the partnership faces multiple challenges: growing competition in Africa; limited interest within Indian diplomacy, business, and media; instability across parts of the continent; and inadequate financial resources for development co-operation. As the fourth IAFS progresses, both must adopt a holistic and forward-looking approach anchored in both realism and shared historical ties.

Website articles (99) Courtesy: REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
20 May 2026

The Africa Forward Summit

BY

As India readies for the India-Africa Summit, it is worth understanding the realism present at the recent Africa Forward summit in Nairobi with France. Paris acknowledges Africa’s geographic shift beyond Francophone Africa, its economic and technological aspirations, and African agency. However the ambitions of the Summit are still constrained by structural legacies, credibility challenges, and intensifying global competition.

Website articles (96) Courtesy: The Secretariat
20 May 2026

Interview with Sheikh Hasina

BY

Bangladesh elected a new government in February this year after former long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in a violent mass protest on August 5, 2024. Her party, the Bangladesh Awami League, was banned from participating in this year’s election, which saw the return of the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Hasina has been living in India since then and talks about her plans to return to Bangladesh and revive her party’s activities there. She spoke exclusively to Nayanima Basu.

Website articles (95) Courtesy: Gateway House
14 May 2026

Stacking up the India-Africa summits

BY and

The Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) will take place in New Delhi from May 28-31, 2026. It is being held at a time when Africa has actively engaged with several other major partners, placing high expectations on India. Over the last 18 years, the India-Africa partnership has had ambitious goals and some outcomes across diplomacy, trade, education, capacity building, health, and infrastructure development. This will deepen.

Rajiv Bhatia with Aung San Suu Kyi Naypyidaw in 2013 Courtesy: Rajiv Bhatia
14 May 2026

Leaves from my Myanmar diary

BY

Myanmar’s latest political transition offers the illusion of closure, but little clarity. After years of conflict triggered by the 2021 coup, a new administration under Min Aung Hlaing takes charge amid continuing resistance and fragmentation. Is this consolidation or another phase of instability? Reflecting on this question, Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia draws upon his three-decade-long association with Myanmar, including serving as India’s Ambassador from 2002 to 2005.

Website articles (92) Courtesy: Gateway House
7 May 2026

India’s quest for sovereign AI

BY

India is moving from “digital adoption” to “digital swaraj,” a demand for technological self-reliance. The national discourse is shifting from data sovereignty to broader technological sovereignty. India’s goal is a hybrid model where global innovation meets local control and digital services that align with domestic needs. If successful, this model could offer the Global South an alternative to both U.S. private-led and Chinese state-led digital systems.

Website articles (91) Courtesy: PIB
7 May 2026

Strengthening Africa’s security architecture

BY

Africa has been increasingly drawn into conflicts and faces difficulty in preventing or managing them. At the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit to be held on May 28-31, India can announce assistance to the continent in capacity-building in training, logistics, and technology. India-Africa defence industrial cooperation, particularly in affordable equipment and maintenance capabilities tailored to African conditions, will align with its evolving needs.

Website articles (90) Courtesy: Gateway House
7 May 2026

The Smackover blueprint

BY

The Smackover Formation in south Arkansas and east Texas holds vast reserves of lithium — the critical mineral powering electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and data centres. If successfully tapped, those reserves could drastically reduce America's dependence on China. Arkansas has a stable, proven, predictable regulatory and statutory framework and familiarity with the production process. Policymakers in India would be wise to follow developments closely.

Website articles (89) Courtesy: Gateway House
30 April 2026

Will Bengal turn inward or outward?

BY

The most significant election of the five states going to the polls in India in April is that of West Bengal. The state, once India’s trading hub and entrepreneurial centre, now lags its counterparts. The big battle is between the regional Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, both of which have pulled out their big guns and are wooing the state’s voters as never before.

Website articles (85) Courtesy: FB / @The Statesman
30 April 2026

Legacy and new issues with India-Sri Lanka

BY

India’s Vice President C. Radhakrishnan visited Sri Lanka from April 19-20, reaffirming Colombo’s importance in India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and MAHASAGAR vision. While ties remain stable, legacy issues persist: Tamil demands for devolution, illegal fishing disputes, and the stalled Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement. The hope is for these to be resolved within Sri Lanka; till then, the unresolved challenges will continue to test the depth and durability of the bilateral.