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Contemporary India–Australia relations can be best described as being loaded in intent but limited in action. Over the years, pledges of “common destiny” have repeatedly been made, only to remain unfulfilled. The 2018 release by the Australian government of its India Economic Strategy 2035 is an attempt to lay down a vision for capturing the opportunities offered by India’s market. Among these opportunities is mining. This brief discusses

Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with BRIDGE TO INDIA and Solar Energy Society of India, organized a round-table discussion on "Financing the Solar Projects under JNNSM" on 9th Aug, 2011.

Aiming to secure their marine resources in the Bay of Bengal, India and Bangladesh settled their maritime boundary in 2014. Despite the delimitation, however, fishers from both countries continue to commit unlawful forays into each other's sovereign waters, leading to the enforcement of punitive measures against those accused or convicted. Such incidents not only jeopardise the fishers’ livelihoods, but repeated occurrences also nettle relation

As global food production faces the negative consequences of climate change, best practices in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) must be promoted to achieve food security. This requires adequate financial and human resources to be channeled to the upscaling of CSA activities in high-impact, priority areas. Considering India and Africa’s complementary sectoral priorities and their similar roles in evolving global food markets, various opportunitie

Public health is identified by BIMSTEC member countries as one among its fourteen priority areas for cooperation. Such collaborations, however, have been limited around traditional medicine. This year’s launch of the JIPMER-BIMSTEC Telemedicine Network (JBTN) which combines public health, communication, and technology, is bound to change the status quo. In per-capita terms, three BIMSTEC members are wealthier than India, while three are poorer.

The U.S.-India strategic relationship looks to be set on firm footing, with both sides keen to materialize deeper collaboration across defense and critical and emerging technologies.

BIMSTEC member states have issued, on occasion, joint statements recognising the importance of holistic public healthcare and the need for alliances. Yet, intra-BIMSTEC collaborations so far have been limited, mostly focused on traditional medicine. Amidst COVID-19, the region’s states have an opportunity to take their health-sector partnerships to a “new normal”.  Given the highly endemic nature of communicable diseases and the porous bor

India’s engagement in the Arctic has evolved from a primarily scientific focus to one increasingly shaped by geopolitical and strategic considerations. However, this shift highlights an inconsistency in India’s strategic decision-making: while New Delhi seeks to help shape a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific by working with like-minded democracies, its Arctic strategy remains largely anchored in cooperation with Russia, whose actions in U

The global shortage in semiconductors that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, resulted in heavy losses for many economic sectors. The fragility of the supply chain and the innate dependencies within, have made semiconductor collaboration essential to maintain the industry’s efficiency. This brief examines how semiconductors have become a fulcrum for building potential technology alliances. It outlines ongoing diplomatic initiatives

With trade wars and financial realignments looming, India's success in this evolving landscape will depend on its ability to balance collaboration with autonomy

India has long used its navy to build ties with maritime nations in the Indo-Pacific, but this exercise steps up collaboration by tying up with ASEAN as a group.

India and Africa’s complementary sectoral priorities and similar roles in the evolving global food markets present numerous opportunities for collaboration in the agricultural sector. This paper analyses the potential for India-Africa cooperation towards food security and capacity building. It makes an assessment of Indian partnership with African countries in the areas of agriculture and food security, outlines current initiatives in both regi

India has made significant strides in agricultural production since the days of green revolution and has valuable lessons to share with its development partners, including countries in the African continent. This paper argues that there is a strong rationale for India-Africa collaboration on food security, given their common challenges of hunger, undernutrition, and low productivity. The paper finds that India plays an important role in augmentin

Once again, the pending visit of a Chinese research vessel to Sri Lanka has touched off Indian objections.

Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with RAND organized a two-day Indo-US Strategic Dialogue at ORF Campus, New Delhi, on December 10 and 11, 2003.

China and India, sooner than later, must assume regional leadership, which must be inclusive, allowing for not just coopera-tion and collaboration but the accom-modation of all stakeholders in energy. Despite their burgeoning share in energy market, both countries remain price takers rather than price makers now.

Poll analysts in J&K seem certain that the BJP will sweep Jammu and the PDP will emerge as the largest party in Kashmir. But this remains to be seen. Without a clear majority, their collaboration will be interesting to watch; both represent competing nationalisms.

After the marginalisation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) since 2016 owing to tensions between India and Pakistan, a search for alternative regional collaborations led India to Bimstec.

Amongst India’s stated priorities in its G20 Presidency are reforming multilateral institutions, climate action alongside energy transition, digital transformation and governance, sustainable economic growth, and women’s empowerment. In many of these concerns, countries in the Global North and Global South have serious divergences, thereby hampering progress towards consensus and unified action. To remove some of the deadlocks

The Indo-Pacific, often regarded as the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, has emerged as the world’s economic “centre of gravity”. The home of vast geo-economic opportunities, and facing manifold security challenges at the same time, this maritime domain has attracted the keen attention of global powers in recent years. This births prospects for multilateral collaborations in maritime security, and justifies the significance of a �

This paper examines security collaboration in the Bay of Bengal. It argues that despite increased cooperation in the maritime domain, the security perceptions of Bay states differ significantly, arising primarily from disagreements associated with China’s presence in the region. Crucially, the Bay states are wary of being seen as siding with India to counterbalance China. Even in nontraditional security areas where cooperation is readily possib

In search of saliency in the Obama visit, pundits have missed out on "Indo-US" co-operation in Afghanistan, a major shift since the narrative so far has been about US-Pak collaboration in the Af-Pak theatre.

Both India and France are guided by fiercely autonomous foreign policies that are paying their dividends in today’s transactional and volatile world

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, there has been a surge in cases of online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSAE) in many parts of the world. This brief discusses the cases of India and Australia. It examines their efforts to combat the increased incidence of OCSAE resulting from greater use of the internet as movement was restricted in response to the pandemic. The brief focuses on India and Australia as bo

As part of this effort, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) launched a report, Health Equity and Inclusion in Action, which seeks to examine the ways different health initiatives in six countries across Asia and Africa are exploring to address this complex problem. The report, created by the ORF in collaboration with Gilead Sciences who commissioned it, examines case studies from Bangladesh, India, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa and Vietnam to

Biden hosted the Quad Leaders’ Summit, emphasizing Indo-Pacific security and cooperation, but faced criticism for vague military strategies and unclear outcomes.

Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin organised a conference on "Fragmentation in a Democracy: The Role of Social Movements and the Media". Here is a report.

To understand the different aspects of the Iranian nuclear programme and its impact on the region, especially India, Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), organised a workshop on March 4, 2013.

Countries such as India and Australia are redefining their Indo-Pacific policies amidst the growing belligerence of China in the region. The two have a common interest in stability, while standing firmly against any militarisation. Their willingness to partner closely with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific lays the foundation for stronger defence and security cooperation between the two middle-power democracies and Indian Ocean li

At the Galle Dialogue 2016, Sri Lanka sought not only to stress its critical geographical location at the crossroads of important Indian Ocean sea lines of communication, but also to display a catalytic ability to spur regional collaboration in securing the vulnerable commons.

The COVID-19 pandemic, in India, illustrated the need to enhance the country’s capabilities in confronting biological threats, particularly through early detection and timely intervention. Although the pandemic has ended, the threat of new and re-emerging zoonotic viruses remains, the most recent cases being the Nipah virus (NiV) and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) outbreaks; there is also the risk of accidental or intentional biological threats

By all accounts, the new Taliban is more aggressive, well armed and trained, in collaboration with Al Qaeda and other terrorist elements, determined to take over, to begin with, southern Afghanistan, despite the presence of coalition forces.

The Seychelles’ geographical advantages have given it economic gains from its main Blue Economy (BE) sectors—fisheries and tourism. However, overexploitation and unsustainable management practices have placed undue pressure on these resources. In 2018, the country conceived a sustainable ocean-based development pathway—the Seychelles’ Blue Economy Strategic Framework and Roadmap. Various socio-economic and environmental challenges threate

Critical minerals have emerged as a vital resource for a state’s national security and strategic calculations. Consequently, like-minded states have attempted to establish alliances for mineral security to mitigate their vulnerability arising from overreliance on a single country, notably China. In the Indo-Pacific, the Quad has taken the initiative to work together on critical minerals. The Quad’s strategy aims to combine available resources

The dark web and terrorism have become closely intertwined, presenting new challenges to existing security frameworks globally. This brief examines the role of the dark web in enabling terrorist activities, from communication and recruitment to radicalisation and propaganda dissemination. It reviews current literature to highlight the ecosystem of the dark web and its ramifications on national security. The analysis describes the strategies adopt

India and Germany embark on a path of cooperation leading with trade and security

The adoption of digital payments has risen exponentially over the past decade in many countries including India and those in the African continent. In India, the growth has run parallel to rapid mobile penetration, aided by initiatives like Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and IndiaStack, as well as the unintended push factor created by demonetisation in November 2016. This brief discusses the landscape of fintech—‘finan

The G20 Digital Agenda: Cross-Presidency Priorities white paper, co-authored by the World Economic Forum and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), underscores the importance of a cohesive digital strategy within the G20.

India, currently the chair of IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), is responsible for steering the agenda for trilateral collaboration. In its capacity as chair, it is incumbent upon India to revitalise the geopolitical group, which has been so central to the construct of "South-South Cooperation" that engages most political thinkers today.

As United States (US) President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January, a critical assessment of the legacy of the Joe Biden administration may help inform the India-US bilateral relationship. Under President Biden, the bilateral ties between India and the US progressed steadily, gaining momentum through big-ticket sales and reinforced by structural continuities. Bilateral defence relationships were strengthened, and a technology-l

This is a partnership that has been forged amid common challenges and shared strategic objectives

Energy storage is key to both effective integration of renewable energy systems with the electricity grid, and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). This brief discusses the technological trends in lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, and assesses the energy storage needs of the Indian power and transportation sectors. It looks at the geographic distribution of lithium and cobalt in onshore and offshore locations across

Terrorism, water and Afghanistan form facets of the wide range of issues which allow possible collaboration between India and Pakistan. These include trade and commerce, energy sharing, increased transport, communication links and simplified visa procedures.

A new exercise has reinforced the trend of deepening defense collaboration between the two sides.

The relationship between India and Sweden has always been low-key. But it's also mature one with immense possibilities for cooperation and collaboration.

There is widespread hope that the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow will deliver decisive action on the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This report gathers different perspectives from analysts in South Asia, Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and the UK on regional priorities and positions on key issues related to the global fight against climate change. Certain threads bind these analyses regarding what the