asiapng Courtesy: Verité Research
19 October 2023

Lessons from Sri Lanka’s Debt Default

The Sri Lankan economic crisis was the result of years of weak fiscal performance and lack of consistent development strategies. While economic recovery has picked up pace, addressing macroeconomics issues and implementing structural reforms to promote inclusive and sustainable growth is the key to its success

netanyahu-gallant Courtesy: The Jerusalem Post
19 October 2023

The unprecedented days of October

The October 7 intrusion of Hamas into Israel has exposed a respectable military institution and one of the most influential intelligence agencies, impacting their image in a contest where prestige is crucial. It weakens the Palestinian Authority internally and abroad, diminishes any peace processes, buries hope of a two-state solution, and marks the beginning of an unprecedented phase of war with repercussions far beyond the region.

GettyImages-1272675620 Courtesy: The Intercept
18 October 2023

West Asian quagmire

There are multiple threads running through the Israel-Hamas conflict, and multiple interests. The long-running cast of the Arab and Western worlds are on site, but now so is a newly-assertive Qatar. Two others are potential players: the expanded BRICS grouping and India, which will soon co-invest in the India-Middle East Europe Corridor. Will they be drawn into the West Asian quagmire?

Screenshot 2023-10-12 at 3.12.30 PM Courtesy: The Independent
12 October 2023

Multiple mediators for the Middle East

The Israel-Hamas conflict can further destabilise a world already weighed down by the Ukraine war and U.S.-China tensions. Escalation is inevitable, unless Europe recovers its traditional mediating role of advocating for ceasefire, dialogue and negotiated solutions, the Axis of Resistance desists, and the BRICS-11 play balancer. For the first time, there are many actors in an arena where the US was accustomed to being a soloist.

Screenshot 2023-10-11 at 2.20.44 PM Courtesy: Voice of America
12 October 2023

Maldives: a democracy evolves

The recent presidential election outcome in the Maldives reflected a thriving democracy driven by voters' concerns for key domestic issues like employment, housing, education and healthcare. To portray the election as a football match between China and India resulting in the latter’s defeat is to ignore how South Asia's smallest state functions.

G20-summit_1694162173461_1694162174049 (1) Courtesy: Mint
5 October 2023

The Geopolitics of G20

The G20 summit in India and developments on its sidelines like the announcement of the IMEC, multiple bilateral meetings held by Prime Minister Modi, will all have long term geoeconomic and geopolitical impact. These, along with the summit deliberations and outcome are key to assess the future prospects of great power relations.

PTI06_24_2023_000252B Courtesy: India TV News
28 September 2023

Indians in Egypt: Reviving Connectivity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Cairo on 24-25 June en route home after a successful state visit to the U.S., has highlighted the presence of the small but flourishing Indian community in Egypt. Comprising just 4,300 today, these Indians built businesses over the decades when Egypt was a British Protectorate, and after, and are important to the current upswing in the bilateral

ASEAN summit Courtesy: ANI
22 September 2023

ASEAN’s uphill diplomatic challenge

The recent ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summits stressed the region's centrality and unity while also revealing its principal challenge: managing strategic contestation between the U.S. and China. The outcomes of both summits are reflective of ASEAN's diplomatic and strategic dilemmas in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

Screenshot 2023-09-20 at 1.54.47 PM Courtesy: Indian Express
21 September 2023

Assessing outcomes of the G20 summit

The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration breaks new ground key areas like climate finance, digital public infrastructure, trade, and multilateral reform. While the declaration is backed by unanimous consensus and outlines ambitious and wide-ranging goals, the actual extent of its implementation can only be assessed in the medium term.