Rajni Bakshi, Senior Gandhi Fellow, Gateway House reports from People’s SAARC, a motley gathering of NGO workers and members of the village communities they work with. PSAARC will compile a memorandum – a wish-list of demands and aspirations – on November 24 and present it to the heads of SAARC nations
Courtesy: pmindia.nic.in
The 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu next week is an opportunity for member countries to start shaking off the shackles of distrust. Instead, SAARC must robustly move forward on such issues as regional connectivity, SAFTA, climate change, and security—and India can be the prime mover in building this renewed cooperation
Courtesy: Wikimedia commons
The 18th SAARC Summit will cover a wide range of issues, including connectivity, climate change, and SAFTA. A number of similar issues were discussed at the last summit—what’s been the progress since then? Given its constraints, does the association have a future? Gateway House asks and answers five questions on SAARC
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The UN and the global finance industry are making gradual but concerted efforts to align business interests and ecological sustainability. A growing number of companies are combining profit-making with social responsibility. There is still a long way to go, but the UN system has created useful mechanisms of change
Courtesy: europesworld.org
India's inclusion as a full-member will lend credibility to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which until now has been dominated by China. However, until the strong differences between member nations are resolved, it will be a while before the SCO can become a multilateral force to be reckoned with
Courtesy: wikimedia\commons
An Afghan electoral official recently announced that the UN-supervised vote auditing in Afghanistan’s presidential election has been finished. In an election marred by fraud, can a power sharing agreement enabling the formation of a government be reached?
Courtesy: Synthesio.com
Many Arab Republics are mired in political discord after the departure of the old tyrannical regimes opened up spaces for new struggles. In Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, attempts to address the turmoil through constitutional reform are facing challenges. Will a democratic federalism be attained when the battles are done?
Courtesy: Joshua Martin
U.S. defence secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit is the third in a flurry of visits by top American officials before the scheduled Modi-Obama meet in September. Hagel’s visit will aim to enhance an already well-established defence-trade partnership and allay fears of the Pentagon’s bias towards Pakistan
Courtesy: Wikimedia\commons
Squabbling over Afghan election results still continues but the collapse of the process has been averted for now. More than 700 international election observers are in Kabul ready to conduct the 100% audit of the Afghan runoff election. India has always supported a peaceful transition but the situation in Kabul remains as unpredictable as ever
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The World Bank report highlighting the need for far-reaching reforms in the power sector underlines the necessity for the centre and state governments to arrive at a political consensus. The model of cooperative federalism advocated by Prime Minister Modi has the potential to transform the electricity scenario