Courtesy: European Parliament
Artificial Intelligence is a transformative technology offering developmental opportunities for marginalised communities across developing and emerging countries. However, the costs of AI access through private platforms are becoming exclusionary, negating these opportunities. It is critical to make the advantages of AI available to all. The G20 nations can invest in open source technology and create an AI Stack similar to the India Stack, for public benefit.
Courtesy: India Today
Just as September 11, 2001 unfolded a new chapter of the world order, as December 17, 2010 awakened the "Arab Spring," so October 7, 2023, has become a date that has unforgettably changed the Middle East's foreign policy and geopolitical dynamics. The existential paradigm of Israel and Palestine has adopted a war axis without turning back but has necessitated reevaluating diplomacy and recalibrating priorities.
Courtesy: World Trade Organisation
The ongoing WTO 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi is a critical one. Apart from reform of the existing system, negotiations on e-commerce and digital trade should be finalized, as it represents the human capital of growing digital services economies in developing and developed countries. Cooperation will demonstrate that members can produce results and chart a constructive path for the WTO system.
Courtesy: India Today
Ameen Sayani was India’s most favourite and recognised voice on the radio. He upturned post-Partition Indian bureaucratic orthodoxy with his shows on Hindi film songs, delighting his listeners for decades. His was also a mission in nation-building. To Gateway House, he was a fellow traveller, friend and loved neighbour.
Courtesy: Global Times
China’s world vision has entered its next phase. After the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), come the Global Initiative on Data Security (GIDS) so Chinese tech standards can lead, Global Development Initiative (GDI) so China leads the development dialogue, and Global Security Initiative (GSI), so China’s security is ‘indivisible’ from other countries – all in time for China’s 2049 goal of becoming a global power.
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
South Asia requires resilient and cost-effective regional supply chains. This can be achieved through Indian investment, fostering local linkages while reducing dependency on Chinese financing of regional partners. A new approach enhances India's regional influence, creating a win-win scenario for the entire South Asian neighbourhood in a changing global landscape.
Courtesy: Reuters
The Italy-Africa summit, held on January 28-29, followed Prime Minister Meloni’s Mattei Plan for greater engagement with Africa and the Global South. It gives Italy’s ongoing G7 presidency an edge and a means of addressing immediate concerns like energy and illegal migration. Italy must now follow through on its commitments by coordinating with partner countries, organisations and private sector.
Courtesy:
When the 154-year-old man-made Suez Canal became operational, it reduced the voyage between Europe and India from four months to 30 days. It made Egypt the centre for the development of modern tourism in the mid-19th century, attracting entrepreneurs from across empires. A brisk business grew with the Sindhis from the Bombay Presidency, who made the Egyptian free ports and Cairo as their first overseas bases.
Courtesy: Sputnik India
Tensions in West Asia have disrupted global shipping and revived interest in the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor. Better freight and passenger connectivity between Southern India and Russia’s Far East will open new areas for bilateral cooperation such as the export of machinery, auto parts and engineering goods from India, and progressively integrate the economies of the two countries.
Courtesy: Bloomberg
Two climate and environment conferences in December 2023, one with global attention in Dubai and the other with a hyper-local focus in the Eastern Himalayas, highlighted the need for a more nuanced conversation on climate and forced population displacement. They both point to a need for a multi-factored model in the analytical approach to forced migration.