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Modi does it again.

India and China will need each other's markets and labour in the future. With rising wages, India can become an important outsourcing partner for China and more Indian finished goods can be sent to China. It could mean faster poverty reduction in India if growth with equity is the chosen path.

Like several other countries in the Indo-Pacific, India is also hardening its policy posture vis-à-vis China.

Countering China may be harder than India imagines. For one thing, regional countries aren’t willing to support any Indian moves to balance China in the Bay.

India has embarked on a large-scale infrastructure development program, ranging from highways to airports, a critical government-led push to provide the economy a strong base to build upon.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in January 2010 and the Joint Communiqué issued jointly by both the countries infused a renewed vigour in the bilateral relationship which, till then, was floundering.

PM Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Kabul and India's initiative to develop long-term strategic partnership will redefine India's relations with Afghanistan by giving it leverage in Kabul that it has not enjoyed in the past.

US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s visit, a mere formality, should act as a wake up call for Delhi.

India-Africa science and technology cooperation offers a unique opportunity for agricultural growth in Africa. The case for greater agricultural cooperation between India and Africa is stronger because of the similar agro-climatic conditions in India and Africa. African agriculture suffers from low productivity and limited use of technology.

At the second Africa-India Forum Summit held in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on May 24-25, notable points for cooperation were established with hopes of further strengthening the longstanding relationship between India and African nations.

In an increasingly multi-polar world, Africa is an important partner for India on all global strategic issues. Africa is one of the fastest growing regions with huge natural resources. It offers not only resources to India's increasing needs but also a huge market for Indian firms for trade and investment.

With the upcoming 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) this month, Prime Minister Modi is set to prove a point to the country that he indeed follows a proactive foreign policy with exuberance and austerity. IAFS-III seems to be critical for reshaping and nourishing historical India-Africa ties and is considered as not just another diplomatic event.

It has been a cliché to refer to India and Africa as natural partners. With the recent India-Africa Summit in Delhi, there is a chance to make it a reality. But for this, concerted action is needed on the parts of the governments, private sectors, civil societies, think tanks, academics and the media on both sides.

The Western Indian Ocean connects North America, Europe and Asia, and as such is of global strategic importance. Its rich natural resource profile has pushed global players, including India, to view the region with increasing interest in recent years. Although for a long time, much of India’s political attention was directed towards its eastern neighbourhood, in recent years, the country has begun giving more attention to maritime security in i

Amid rising challenges such as food insecurity and climate change, the India-Africa partnership in agriculture and food security has become increasingly vital. But what is India’s “3A” framework, and how does it provide scalable, cost-effective solutions tailored to African realities?

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

India and Southeast Asia share a long cultural history, which over the years has helped shape economic and commercial relations between them. This partnership garnered an impetus following the launch of India’s ‘Look East Policy’ in the early 1990s, rechristened ‘Act East’ in 2015. This brief analyses the trade and investment relations between India and the member states of ASEAN. It highlights the various challenges in the relationship

With both the goods FTA and services FTA in place, India is well set on the path of a comprehensive economic partnership with ASEAN. India, whose services sector contributes about 55% to the country's GDP, has been keen to sign the services FTA with ASEAN as it will help the Indian companies tap the ASEAN markets easily.

The potential welfare gains arising from the services agreement appear to be in India's favour as well as for member economies of ASEAN. The policy focus of both ASEAN and the individual member nations has been on merchandise trade liberalisation, and on inducing foreign investment-led transfer of technology, which has so far resulted in low regional integration in services.

Amidst the challenges like less liberalised service sector of certain ASEAN members, there exists an opportunity for India to harness the gains from trade in services in the wake of the comparative advantage that it enjoys in certain services.

India holds a primary interest in the Freedom of Navigation through the South China Sea. It also has an economic interest in exploring hydrocarbon resources in the area. But how effective are India's role as the balancing actor that the ASEAN nations seek?

India-ASEAN relations have traversed a long, dynamic path interspersed with multiple achievements to reach the year 2017, when the two are celebrating 25 years of their partnership. India and ASEAN uphold each other’s centrality in shaping the evolving regional architecture. In pursuit of this objective, India’s ‘Look East’ policy had morphed into ‘Act East’ by 2014. Common concerns and aspirations bind the ASEAN countries and India a

It’s fashionable to be pessimistic about the India-Australia partnership, but in fact it is steadily improving.

Experts at a seminar in Chennai felt that 'rogue Sates' like North Korea could alter the security architecture as well as the geo-strategic approach in Asia. And, in light of this uncertainty, evolving ties between nations like India, Japan, South Korea and Australia gain significance. It also stressed the need for Australia-India ties to be treated as a stand-alone development.

Deeper people-to-people and economic ties and shared strategic concerns are driving the cooperation

India and Australia’s relationship has progressed remarkably, underscoring shared concerns in the Indo-Pacific.

Keeping in mind the historical and civilisational ties of India and Bangladesh and their geographic proximity, ORF-Kolkata undertook a year-long study on India-Bangladesh connectivity, using extensive field visits and interviews with relevant stakeholders. The findings of the study were collated in a report, titled, India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges, and released just before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Participants at a Consultative International Workshop on India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges, organised in Kolkata, emphasised the need for a common transport policy for the entire region.

At the release event of the report on India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges, participants stressed the need for leveraging the positive political climate and emphasised pro-active role of state governments in cross-border connectivity.

This brief analyses the efforts of India and Bangladesh to strengthen their defence cooperation, in the context of the series of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in April 2017. Some quarters in both countries are sceptical about the agreements, citing the ineffectual Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace—often referred to as a ‘defenc

The main objective of the Dialogue was to explore the security perspectives of India and Bangladesh, with special focus on the threat of terrorism in the region

Indian diplomacy seems to be drawing a blank when it comes to regional cooperation involving fine diplomacy and seasoned statecraft. The recent events relating to India's attempts towards getting natural gas from Bangladesh and Myanmar and the negative response from Bangladesh suggest that it is unlikely to obtain any gesture of

This Issue Brief seeks to highlight key issues which the Narendra Modi government should prioritise in its relations with Bangladesh. It also suggests some additional steps that can be taken to strengthen relations between the two countries.

India has a stake in Bangladesh not only for the security of its eastern borders but also for other strategic advantages. Therefore, it cannot afford to let go of the recently achieved opportunity to break away from the past trajectory and establish new contours of engagement with Bangladesh. In many ways, this is a rare opportunity for both the countries to talk with each other and resolve differences.

Considering the great improvement in India's relations with Bangladesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to Dhaka, should unilaterally offer to convert half of the $1 billion soft loan given to Bangladesh earlier into a grant and make the rest interest-free as a gesture of goodwill and friendship.