A view of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock. Source: Sifra Lentin Courtesy:
20 February 2025

A ‘ceasefire’ visit to Israel

A visit to Israel in the last week of January coincided with the six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War. It revealed a country at war and in mourning, yet one whose natural resilience looked to the future with optimism.

20FEb Breifing- event Courtesy:
20 February 2025

A new gateway in the Northeast

Japan's growing influence in India’s Northeast and Bay of Bengal region is proving to be a gamechanger, with the potential to transform its economic and geopolitical landscape. With cultural ties and strategic investments, states like Assam and Meghalaya hope to enhance development while fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with Japan. Additionally, the latter could help ensure wider regional stability given the tensions with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Reuters Courtesy:
20 February 2025

Twenty Five years of Vladimir Putin

The 18 February bilateral negotiations between Russia and the U.S. to end the war in Ukraine, will take Russia out of western isolation and put it  back into the global mainstream. This is a success for President Vladimir Putin, who has now been ruling Russia for 25 years, by focusing on domestic stability and development and a revival of relations with the West, China and India.

BERNAMA Courtesy:
13 February 2025

High expectations of Malaysia as ASEAN chair

Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025 is pivotal. It will have to steer ASEAN toward regional peace, stability, and prosperity while reinforcing its centrality. All this during a time of heightened geostrategic rivalry, economic deglobalisation, rising protectionism, and nationalist trends.

Quad meeting Courtesy:
13 February 2025

Where is the Quad heading in 2025?

The first plurilateral meeting attended by new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the Quad, a day after assuming office. The meeting reinforced the commitment to the Indo-Pacific but with the change in government, the Quad's trajectory in 2025 remains a question. Part of the answer lies in its past interactions, while the rest depends on how the U.S. and India will approach China.

Reuters Courtesy:
11 February 2025

Modi negotiates with Washington

India and the U.S. have a big agenda, bilaterally and geopolitically, to discuss when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump meet in Washington on Feb 12-13. Trade, China and migration are central points of discussion. So will ensuring that Trump allies with India on its neighbourhood as an area of common concern. The big election win in New Delhi will strengthen Modi’s negotiating hand.

AFP_36WT3X2 Courtesy:
6 February 2025

Myanmar, four years on

February 1 marks four years of the military coup in Myanmar, which plunged the country into a bloody civil war, still on-going. The crisis is deepening, as the struggle between the Junta forces and a fragmented resistance wages on with no resolution in sight. A stalled mediation by ASEAN, and lack of consensus amongst neighbouring countries on how to help, leaves Myanmar’s future uncertain.

Ruchira Podcast Thumbnail 2 Courtesy:
6 February 2025

Unfolding Geopolitics Episode 18 | 80 years of United Nations

The UN turns 80 this year. How is it being judged? Both disparagingly and with admiration says Ruchira Kamboj, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. In this podcast with Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House, she explains the now-diminished U.S presence, the growing influence of China, the scope for reform and India’s position as an emerging global power.

News 18 Courtesy:
6 February 2025

India-Australia FTA: pragmatism wins

The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will be signed this year. It will complete a unique, two-part trade agreement that will bring India into global trade regimes in a calibrated manner, and with a helping hand. For Australia, with its deep global trading knowledge and pragmatic approach to such agreements, gaining it first-mover advantage in India’s large market is a major win

Turkstreampipe Courtesy:
30 January 2025

LNG: winners and victims

Europe has reduced its reliance on Russian gas following the war in Ukraine, and its chief supplier Russia is mired in western sanctions. What does it mean for Russia? It has certainly changed the fortunes for American gas to be sold to Europe: as of 2023, the US had become the world’s top exporter of gas.