After a remarkable recovery from a very deep crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka’s recent budget for 2026 consolidates economic stabilisation and introduces a few markers for further growth. But more needs to be done to embed a growth strategy and transform its economy to avoid further IMF austerity programmes.

The rise of Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister with firm conservative credentials, carries both symbolic weight and political controversy. Her early decisions suggest clarity of intention but also highlight the structural weaknesses and diplomatic sensitivities that will shape her tenure. To keep her ratings high, she has to stabilise her minority government at home, and manage the China, U.S. and ASEAN relationships with tact.

There’s growing speculation about a power struggle in China and whether President Xi Jinping is losing control. Amid reported internal rifts within the Communist Party of China, Xi has launched a military purge, removing several top officials, while Chinese companies face mounting internal issues. Lt Gen S. L. Narasimhan, Adjunct Distinguished at Gateway House, analyses these rumours and reveals China’s internal dynamics.

On October 22, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil. The move has clear geopolitical motives—to remove a major supplier from an oversupplied oil market. Indian oil companies, key buyers of Russian crude, now face pressure to cut imports, undermining India’s energy diversification and shaking global oil markets, including the U.S. economy.

The currents shaping the relationship between the Indo-Pacific’s two largest democracies are not trade winds but terabits flowing through fiber-optic cables and the instant signals of digital payments. Jakarta and New Delhi are forging a landmark digital alliance—one that goes beyond technology. At the heart of this digital handshake lies the plan to link Indonesia’s BI-Fast with India’s Unified Payments Interface.

The world is undergoing a profound transformation - not driven by the U.S., China, or Russia, but by small and medium states carving out their rightful space in the emerging order. With UN reform stalled, middle-power cooperation must organise effectively to push for a responsive multilateral system that works for all, ensuring institutions are reformed and made fit for today’s world.

A slowdown of the Chinese economy, and the shift, particularly by MNCs, from China to other more competitive locations has opened up business opportunities for latecomers to supply chains in the developing world. Evidence suggests that Southeast Asia and some South Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, could be beneficiaries of the supply chain shift, particularly in labour-intensive segments.

As part of India’s diplomatic outreach after Operation Sindoor, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri and his delegation visited Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia and Russia. He spoke to Gateway House on how the thinking of countries needs to coalesce so that the global gaze is not just on terrorism but on Pakistan, which should be pressured to understand that the price for terrorism is far beyond what it can afford.

In the current era of geopolitical uncertainty, the Middle Power states are deepening engagement with countries of the Global South while reducing their exposure to the U.S. and China. Manjeet Kripalani and Carlos Coelho spoke to Eric and Cobus from The China-Global South Podcast, on how countries like India and Brazil are navigating this increasingly contested world.

India and the U.S. are now on the verge of establishing a comprehensive trade agreement, overcoming a long history of bilateral trade challenges. This is a pivotal moment that could lead to mutual benefits and a deeper partnership. It will also illumine the path for other modern trade agreements that India is currently negotiating with multiple countries.