Courtesy:

22 February 2021

BIMSTEC: Potential and Opportunities

During the Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2021 on, Post-COVID Challenges in the Bay of Bengal Region, Amb. Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House addresses the staggered growth of BIMSTEC, whilst also highlighting its potential as a regional grouping. He identifies the lack of political commitment, bureaucratic inertia and insufficient engagement of the Third Space and disregard for the region as a community as the chief obstacles to a successful initiative.

Courtesy: MEA/Flickr

9 April 2020

A fair chance for SAARC 2.0?

BY Rajiv Bhatia

The first-ever virtual summit of leaders from member-states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on March 15 was an innovative exercise in showing solidarity in containing a pandemic. Here is an assessment of its tangible outcomes – and longer-term ways to prepare for SAARC’s revival

Courtesy: Shutterstock

28 November 2019

Strengthening democracy in Bangladesh

BY Pratim Ranjan Bose

Bangladesh fulfills an important stabilising role in South Asia. It has been able to perform this function in the last decade because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to fortify the domestic scenario by first cracking down on terror outfits – and their political fronts. The clean-up was necessary, but a robust Opposition and democratic institutions need to be nourished too

Courtesy: Twitter/@MaithripalaS

12 June 2019

The importance of being neighbourly

BY Rajiv Bhatia

India is subtly adding four new elements in the policy matrix

merlin_155315436_159aa613-01d1-4b5e-8c01-f33ad69d0626-superJumbo

Courtesy: NY Times

30 May 2019

Foreign policy continuum with the BJP

BY Rajiv Bhatia

India’s foreign policy is increasingly blended in with its domestic agenda – and vice versa. Prime Minister Modi’s past proactive foreign policy has paid dividends in bringing global attention to India, a fact young voters have noticed and approved. In his second term, what will India’s foreign policy look like? A continuum of the past, but also new frameworks for the future

Courtesy: The Daily Star

7 March 2019

Bangladesh’s India-China balancing strategy

BY Rajiv Bhatia

Bangladesh faces several major challenges in its external relations. It showed humanitarianism in receiving the fleeing Rohingyas, but its diplomatic efforts to repatriate them have not succeeded. It must also maintain a balance between relations with India and China and show proactive leadership in garnering regional cooperation

Courtesy: MEA/Flickr

16 November 2017

Is dialogue in South Asia on pause?

BY Rajiv Bhatia

Regional groupings in South Asia have turned out to be like diligent pupils whose report cards show performance below par. The reasons for such an impasse range from political divergences to the economic downturn and the much talked about China factor that has many implications for India

Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr

27 October 2017

Building consensus for BIMSTEC

BY Rajiv Bhatia

This regional grouping has to deliver on promises in collaboration with governments and corporate India so that neglected issues – from the Rohingya crisis to the scheduling of the next summit, and arriving at an agreement on the Free Trade Area – enter the national discourse

Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr

5 June 2017

Brighter prospects ahead for BIMSTEC

BY Rajiv Bhatia

This regional grouping, which was envisioned as a potential bridge between SAARC and ASEAN, turns 20 on June 6. It achieved very little until last year, when efforts to revive its original mission began quite by accident. It has the potential to make greater strides if member states adhere to their commitments.

Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr

27 October 2016

BRICS/BIMSTEC: activity or achievement?

BY Rajiv Bhatia

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