Courtesy: PTI
The visit of Taliban foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi to India has resulted in the reopening of the Indian mission in Kabul, and the resumption of stalled projects, mostly in the development sector. India now needs a long-term strategy for Afghanistan – starting with an outreach to the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, the dreaded Haqqani network, even the anti-Taliban groups – to secure its position in that country.
Courtesy: Reuters
Despite over a decade of negotiations, the EU-India FTA remains stalled. The New Strategic EU–India Agenda released in October 2025 seeks to elevate ties, positioning India as central to Europe’s multipolar vision. Yet contradictions persist: Europe’s normative approach and India’s multi-alignment strategy diverge. Connectivity and infrastructure remain conceptual. Now, success depends on the EU’s ability to match rhetoric with resources, flexibility, and strategic patience.
Courtesy: AFP
India and Indonesia sit at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, and participate in multiple global and regional frameworks that ensure developing countries remain part of governance debates. The two countries can use these platforms to craft a southern consensus, a framework for cooperation that prioritises resilience, equality and cooperation over competition and coercion. This can reduce vulnerabilities among developing countries and strengthen them against future disruptions.
Courtesy: Getty
The labour movement in the India-Russia corridor is a new element in the bilateral. It is already visible in the Delhi–Moscow flights. The usual students and tourists now share the cabin with welders, salon workers, and builders, many on their first overseas assignment. The trend signals a shift in Russia’s migration geography and opens a corridor linking India’s skill base with Russia’s industrial demand.
Courtesy: ANI
The Quad summit is expected to be hosted by India in the second half of 2025, possibly in November. However, the grouping faces turbulence that transcends the current flow of India-U.S. relations. The relevance of Australia and Japan, too, needs to be factored in. Beijing considers the Quad as “the Asian NATO” that aims to contain China. Since the commencement of Trump 2.0, the grouping has been struggling to redefine its role and mandate.
Courtesy: Gateway House
India and Indonesia are bound by history, culture, trade, and shared values. Their relationship must now add a new dimension — higher education and research. Both nations have long relied on outdated Western models. With a tech-savvy generation and receding colonial memory, the two largest democracies must build research bridges and empower students to become the leaders, innovators and humanitarians of tomorrow.
Courtesy: Koerber Stiftung
While the Bandung Conference’s vision remains unrealised, its spirit can be an inspiration to reform and innovate in the international system as well as to ensure the survival of multilateralism – not only for today’s multi-aligned descendants of the conference participants but also for countries in Europe and beyond.
Courtesy: Metro Vaartha
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in India Oct 8-9, to discuss geopolitics with his Indian counterpart and also to boost bilateral trade. The UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed in July 2025 marks a milestone in the relationship. The deal, however, omits reference to the creative industries which contribute significantly to UK GDP and play a vital role in the UK-India corridor.
Courtesy: The Tontine Coffee House
In the late 19th century, Bombay was a key import and transshipment port for Russian kerosene. The city’s market was dominated by the Russian product, with American kerosene in a distant second place. The jousting for Indian market share between the two nations unfolded amid geopolitical tensions between Great Britain and Imperial Russia – and gave the U.S. a decisive edge.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The September announcement from the White House that H-1B petitions would carry a fee of $100,000 per employee, hit India hard. India’s IT services companies are heavy users, capturing 71% of the 65,000 H1B visas issued annually. This shock move is a chance for Indian IT services companies to update their outsourcing model and invest at home, where their R&D-to-sales ratio remains abysmal.