BIMSTEC Courtesy: Google Earth
20 October 2016

BRICS/BIMSTEC’s maritime portents

The recent BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach highlighted some laudable maritime endeavours linking geographically distant, emerging economies within the grouping. The BIMSTEC platform is also crucial to India's efforts to create a peaceful Bay of Bengal community through economic and cultural linkages.

GH_EcoSummit-4x6 Courtesy: Gateway House
6 October 2016

BRICS: expectations from the Goa Summit

The 8th BRICS summit in Goa comes in the midst of major geopolitical events; Brexit, the U.S. elections, the South China Sea dispute, and the terror attacks in Uri. There is much need for BRICS to demonstrate to the world, its capability to manage internal differences and showcase a collective sense of cooperation

Modi and Sisi Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs / Flickr
31 August 2016

India-Egypt: renewing old ties

Egyptian president, Abdul al-Fattah al-Sisi, is set to arrive in New Delhi on 1 September 2016 with a delegation of important ministers and business leaders. This marks an important opportunity for the two countries to connect on a much wider range of regional and international issues than earlier.

nice-attack-1 Courtesy: The Independent/AP
20 July 2016

Islamic State and France: mortal enemies

France's state policy of 'laïcité' (secularism) and its military interventions in Islamic countries has made it the prime target of IS in the West. The hardline French response to step up bombing campaigns against jihadis in Syria, Iraq, and Mali will likely continue, but conversely feeds IS strategy, which is to foment anti-Muslim sentiment among the non-Muslim French population.

indiaAfricalLogo Courtesy: India Africa Forum Summit 2015
7 July 2016

India-Africa ties: pitching higher

Prime Minister Modi’s tour of four African countries will seek to build upon recent high-level visits to the continent, providing fresh impetus for the reinforcement of India-Africa relations in matters of diplomacy, business, security, and energy while putting to rest criticism of India’s visibility deficit in Africa. However, the onus to harness this momentum now lies with other stakeholders.

Pranab Mukherjee meeting the President of the Republic of Ghana_122907 Courtesy: The First Mail
30 June 2016

A new trajectory for India-Africa ties

India now sees Africa as a promising market for Indian goods, services, and investments. This is evident in the government’s recent concerted focus on the India-Africa relationship—high profile visits by top leaders to African countries, a recasting of India’s development diplomacy, and an attempt to match action to past promises