V care Varsity

The United States-Russia agreement to provide a “framework” for the inspection, removal and eventual destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons proves diplomacy is not a spent force in international politics: it has been creatively deployed in this case to not only stave off potentially disastrous military intervention, but also break new ground in troubleshooting the Syrian crisis politically. The deal — signed Saturday in Geneva by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov...

Myanmar is open for trade and investment but the response from Indian business has not been adequate despite the growing political ties between the two countries

A message coming out from our neighbour Myanmar that is transforming itself after 50 years of military rule is ‘we are open for business.’ Are our commercial establishments listening and are they ready?

Our bilateral relations with Myanmar have gathered momentum in recent times. We ha...

Long reviled as an artificial grouping of countries with little in common other than a sense of exclusion from the command structures of the international system, the BRICS forum has finally come up with a decision that has the potential to be a global game changer: the establishment of a “New Development Bank.” The absence of specific details in the eThekwini Declaration issued at the end of the fifth summit meeting of the forum in Durban has led western sceptics to conclude that...

India is adopting a cautious policy on the disputes involving China and some of its neighbours in South-East Asia. It has a lot to gain by keeping good relations with both China and ASEAN countries. ...

It was the hysterical campaign by the electronic media that led the Prime Minister to change course on the India-Pakistan dialogue after the LoC hostilities

“We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality.” Macaulay’s words aptly describe the fits of chauvinism that seize Indians. But this time it has exacted a toll of consequence, the result of a pathetic surrender by a man of vi...

Many eyebrows were raised in Delhi and around the world when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that ?it cannot be business as usual? with Pakistan after the recent incident on the Line of Control (LoC). Merely because these remarks came after the National Security Adviser briefed Opposition leaders about the government?s approach to the issue, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha took credit for the Prime Minister?s tough stance, while welcoming it. That Dr. Singh adopted a mor...

The French military intervention in Mali, which started on January 11, has predictably caused international shockwaves. President François Hollande has increased his forces from 1,700 to 2,000, and French warplanes based near the capital, Bamako, have attacked the central towns of Konna and Diabaly, retaking the latter according to latest reports. Several European countries have offered logistical support, and the EU plans to help an African force under United Nations auspices. The Frenc...

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was in New Delhi for the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, tells that the Southeast Asian region is keen on a constructive partnership with India.

Hasn’t ASEAN’s task become more difficult in terms of balancing the different priorities of nation states with the joining of the US and Russia as Dialogue Partners? Wha...

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, addressing the country on national TV on January 6, has denounced his opponents as “enemies of God and puppets of the West,” but has for the first time put forward his version of a political approach to the Syrian civil war, which has already lasted 21 months and claimed some 60,000 lives. Mr. Assad, in his first public statement since he spoke to Russian television in November 2012, and his first in Syria since June, said the army would ha...

Japan has announced plans to end its reliance on nuclear power within 30 years, in a historic policy shift prompted by the triple meltdown at the Fukushima power plant.

The move to close all 50 of the country’s functioning reactors by around 2040 marks a dramatic change of course by a country that had previously championed atomic energy, putting Japan alongside Germany and Switzerland, which also turned away from nuclear power following the disaster.

Japan, the world’s...

The British ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, the first Jewish envoy to Israel from Britain, warned the Israelis in a recent television interview that anyone who cares about Israel should be concerned about the erosion of international support for the country. “Israel might wake up in 10 years’ time and find out that suddenly the international community has changed, and that patience for continuing status quo has reduced.”

vikas

The historic Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation India and the Soviet Union signed on August 9, 1971 sprang from a convergence of national interests and shared perceptions of security risks posed by the United States and Chinese role in the region. Forty years on, the same centres of power are at play in the region but security perceptions have changed, creating new challenges and opportunities for India and Russia, say Russian academics.

The 1971 treaty...

vikas

South Block often faces criticism for neglecting the neighbourhood but, ironically, when it shows pro-activism to cultivate neighbours, critics tend to ignore its endeavours. A case in point is External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's painstaking work. In recent months, he has helped in extending the arc of dialogue and cooperation through systematic visits to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. His recent trip to Maldives deserves attention because the skilful management of...

vikas

The recent visit to Dhaka by Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress and leader of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, came in the backdrop of intense rounds of Dhaka-New Delhi interaction in recent months. These developments hold the prospect of a new era in bilateral relations in the period since 1971 when Bangladesh was born.

Ms Gandhi's July 24-25 visit, ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scheduled visit to Bangladesh on Septemb...

vikas

The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, will be in Dhaka on September 6, as part of a two-day official visit to Bangladesh, to cement the historic ties that were initiated by his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, during her visit to New Delhi in January 2010.

It would perhaps be no exaggeration to say that the two countries, with a few hundred kilometres of common border, have embarked on a new journey to rejuvenate their ties — as was seen when I...