Courtesy: wikimedia
The fall in oil prices is creating new complexities for the energy exporting economies of West Asia. With smaller profits, these countries may not be able to buy off political dissent at home and fund client governments and rebels abroad. Lower energy prices could also mean a renewed chance for peace
Courtesy: RajniBakshi
Rajni Bakshi, Senior Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House, was recently invited to Brazil and Colombia to speak about Gandhi, her book ‘Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom’ and her forthcoming paper on Trusteeship. She reports on the longing for non-violence in these societies and the groups working to make it real
Courtesy: wikimedia\commons
Brazil follows a more decentralised form of federalism and gives special importance to the municipalities. Porto Alegre’s successful 'participatory budgeting' is a role model for the world. India can learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the Brazilian system
Courtesy: news.yahoo.com
The sharp Latin American response to the Israeli bombings in Gaza, on the back of solid support from the U.S., is attributable to the memory of the atrocities committed by past Latin American military dictators with similar U.S. backing. Their strong response is also a sign of the increasingly independent and assertive Latin American voice on the global stage
Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
Looking back at the 2008 financial crisis, when governments had to resort to bail-outs to keep economies afloat, the BRICS member countries have decided to set up a New Development Bank which will provide for a contingency fund. This initiative aims at building an alternate financial structure in terms of trade among the member states as well as creating a safety net
Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
The launch of the BRICS bank can now give the member countries confidence to experiment with other geoeconomic ambitions. Incubating a non-dollar financial architecture can be the next goal. There are existing models to build upon but India will need smart economic diplomacy to secure its interests
Courtesy: Gateway House
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brazil for the BRICS summit is an opportunity for India to intensify its engagement with South America and reactivate the long-dormant IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) grouping. This grouping is a promising partnership comprising of different models of democracies spread over three continents
Courtesy: idevie.com
The New Development Bank was formalised at the just concluded meeting of the leaders of the BRICS nations in Fortaleza in Brazil this week. The location is to be Shanghai. The more appropriate and natural choice for locating the bank would have been Mumbai. There are several reasons why
Courtesy: wikimedia/commons
Brazil is all set to host the 6th BRICS Summit from July 15. In light of the fact that most developing nations have concerns over the pro-western bent of the World Bank and the IMF, the BRICS initiative of setting up of a Development Bank needs to gain momentum and the nations should finalise the mandate on a priority basis
Courtesy: wikimediacommons
Even small Indian IT companies have managed to succeed in the Latin American market. Understanding the local culture is one of the main keys to success as illustrated in the case of Mann India Technologies, which was one of the earliest Indian entrants in the Latin American IT market.