Courtesy: vicepresidentofindia.nic.in
India hosted the SCO summit on 30 November. Fueling its diplomatic drive is the region’s strategic importance and an enhancced focus on Central Asia with its strong civilizational, cultural and emotional bonds with India. Despite the daunting regional challenges, old and new, a seat at the SCO table strengthens India's hand in shaping the grouping’s - and region’s - future.
Courtesy: Twitter/Arctic Council
India’s pledge to the Paris Agreement gives it the flexibility to confidently place its climate action policies across various multilaterals. Although an observer of the Arctic Council, India can collaborate with the body's upcoming chair, Russia, to alleviate climate change concerns stemming from the Arctic. It is time for India to use its goodwill with the Arctic Council members to develop a national Arctic policy.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Cross-border infrastructure has been influencing the geopolitics of Asia, specifically South Asia. Since 2014, India has been investing in trilateral and multilateral infrastructure projects, in its coastal and inland neighbourhood. This paper argues that making environmental security a parameter for developing cross border sustainable infrastructure, will provide a unique opportunity for India to develop norms for environmental and social security policy, training assistance, and capacity-building in the projects it funds abroad.
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India will be hosting the Heads of Government Summit of the SCO on 30 November -the first time as host to a major SCO meeting, which it joined as a full member in 2017. The goal will be to connect the past of Central Asia and India to their present and future. The sweep of medieval history will then join the 21st century to bring prosperity to both regions.
Courtesy: Twitter/Narendra Modi
The India-Italy bilateral is looking up again, after a hiatus. A digital summit of the two leaders was held on 6 November 2020, and assumes greater significance in light of the pandemic, and Italy’s upcoming presidency of the G20. The most promising outcome of this energetic diplomacy and summiteering, is that Italy is slowly being weaned away from its close economic embrace with China. Its trade and investment are unlikely to decouple soon, but Italy is now more in line with the EU initiatives on 5G and quality infrastructure - the right time for Italy and India to derive advantage from it.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The 20th meeting of the Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of States was held virtually on 10th November, 2020. The meeting precedes the SCO Summit to be hosted by India at the end of this month, and for which preparations have been on through the year. In this compendium of three essays, Gateway House assesses the potential for deepening economic cooperation between India & SCO, asks whether the SCO Charter needs dynamism and revision, and traces the roots of the regions's Buddhist presence, back to India.
Courtesy: Shutterstock/Gateway House
Now that the India-U.S. 2+2 meeting has ended, Indian officials are preparing for a hectic season of summiteering in November, from the SCO to the BRICS and the G20. All will give India global attention, and help the country prepare its positioning at home and abroad.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
As part of our weekly series of podcasts in the run-up to the U.S. elections, in this episode on the last 2020 presidential debate, Ambassador Neelam Deo, Director and Co-founder of Gateway House, on U.S’ national security, opposite views of Trump and Biden on the Paris accord and climate change and if South Block needs to pay attention to President Trump’s statement on our air quality.
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The Space20 is the newest sub-forum of the G20 initiated by Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. India, on its way to the G20 presidency in 2022, should set a comprehensive Space20 agenda for the democratization of outer space, whereby it can share its space growth story with the developing world and achieve its goal to become a global knowledge epicenter.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
The UN turned 75 this year but instead of grand celebrations, the world witnessed an empty UNGA with world leaders addressing it via video screening because of the pandemic. The UN is under unprecedented stress and being shown up for its inability to tackle the challenges of today like the pandemics, climate change, terrorism or global peace and security. The institution's key governing structures, especially the UN Security Council, are inadequate and demand reform. India must now use gritty resolve to ensure its place in these governing structures.