Courtesy: United States Trade Representative
Amid the debate of a U.S.-centric TPP template or a China-led RCEP model, it is important to consider if such trade agreements are building blocks or stumbling blocks to global free trade. With the passage of the TPP still uncertain in the U.S. Congress, and the RCEP unlikely to be acceptable to the U.S., the more likely global trade scenario will be fragmentation
Courtesy: Gateway House
Aung San Suu Kyi paid high-profile visits to both Japan and India recently; economic cooperation would have been high on her agenda. But what could also emerge from such overtures is a diplomatic threesome
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
Brexit has put Prime Minister Modi in the driving seat for negotiating a better trade deal for India with the UK--and the EU
Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr
Perhaps South Block did not gain as much as it had hoped to: there was a gulf in member states’ perceptions. One takeaway, therefore, for policy makers was that while noise has its uses, it is now time for some quiet diplomacy
Courtesy: India.com
The Indian defence minister spoke – unexpectedly – of a doctrinal change in stance.
Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr
India has remained connected with the African nations in the course of the last one year through high-profile events and well-publicised visits by top leaders. This momentum in bilateral cooperation needs to be sustained on all fronts
Courtesy: Wikipedia
There has been a strengthening in the India-U.S. bilateral, which reached new heights with the signing of the LEMOA agreement in August, 2016. However, this strengthened bilateral has not resulted in a strong response to Pakistan by the U.S. Government.
Courtesy: Gateway House
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
Courtesy: AP
India’s new focus on Balochistan has more to do with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) than with Kashmir. China understands that CPEC may not be achievable. But there are real dangers in reviving Pakistani fears of secessionism and in broadening the field of Indo-Pakistani conflict beyond the confines of Kashmir.
Courtesy: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
Russia's decision to go ahead with joint military exercises with Pakistan is the latest move in Putin's flexible and pragmatic Asian foreign policy playbook. However, whether it will be worth having provoked Indian ire remains to be seen.