maldives china Courtesy: Xinhua
15 January 2024

Maldives’ pivot to China

A tiny nation of half a million people, Maldives has drawn enormous attention from the media, diplomats and informed public since Muizzu’s election last September. The interest has only risen after the recent diplomatic row with India and Muizzu’s increased bonhomie with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

carousel-ocean-indian Courtesy: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
2 March 2023

Perceptions of Africa’s Role in the Western Indo-Pacific: An Indian Perspective

The Indo-Pacific is viewed by powers within and outside the region as both a strategy and policy to interpret the changing geopolitical dynamics in Asia and beyond. But the question of its geographical and geopolitical definition has varied. Opinions among governments and academics have traditionally differed, but over the years, a viable consensus for a wider definition of the concept seems to have emerged.

VizagPort Courtesy: Wikimapia
6 September 2017

Innovation’s role in the Blue Economy

The new global emphasis on the Blue Economy is attracting the interest of governments, development agencies, and more recently, social impact investors. A marked change from previous years is the increased participation of developing and coastal economies, which are its very beneficiaries

Chinese_Fishing_Nets_Cochin Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
5 May 2017

Keeping maritime Asia on course

The Oceans Dialogue 2017, held last month in Thiruvananthapuram, devoted itself to aspects of ocean governance, such as security management, combating terrorism, depletion of marine resources and providing disaster relief, serving as a precursor to the UN General Assembly’s Ocean Conference in June

Indian Trade Route Courtesy: Gateway House
4 April 2017

Diversifying India’s trade destinations

India’s global economic engagement, especially with the developing world, has increased in the last two decades, but trade with South Asia has remained low. It holds the potential for building greater productivity and more inclusive growth in India and the region

IORA photo Courtesy: Gateway House
2 March 2017

IORA summit: sharing commonalities

The two decade-old Indian Ocean Rim Association holds its first ever summit next week. Maritime safety and security in the region is a paramount concern as also enhanced trade, but will the Blue Economy be included as a priority? Another area of concern is devising modalities for cooperation with dialogue partners, such as the United States, China and Japan