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More than two years after the Government of Sri Lanka and the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) reached an agreement on a ceasefire in their military and para-military operations against each other, with Norway playing the role of a facilitator, and embarked on a process of negotiations in order to find a political solution to the demands of the LTTE for an independent

Sri Lanka¿s worsening security situation under an undeclared war is most likely to persist. Both the LTTE and President Rajpakshe¿s government are violating the four-year-old ceasefire agreement, which, in fact, seldom was honoured seriously, but neither of them is in a position to formally break it and declare an open, all-out war. Both of them are under intense international pressure to desist from doing so.

For both India and South Korea, cooperation in the civilian nuclear sphere is a subject of great importance. Both countries had signed an agreement in 2011 and since then, South Korea has been keen to sell its nuclear reactors to India but without success. Now, Seoul's interest has become stronger as it is competing with Japan.

Your reflection published by Observer Research Foundation brings a complex view between food security, climate change, sustainable agriculture and land use. Is there awareness of this inseparable relationship?

The Observer Research Foundation and Saferworld, UK, with support from the UK Department of International Development, hosted a workshop in New Delhi in August 2014 with the objective of identifying priorities to help secure an inclusive agreement on the SDGs. This Policy Perspective presents a summary of key issues raised by participants from India, China, Brazil, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the African Union.

The African countries are set to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA, the biggest free trade agreement in the world since the World Trade Organization was created in the 1990s. When implemented, the AfCFTA is projected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by 2022, from 2010 levels. In turn, higher trade levels can facilitate economic growth, transform domestic economies, and help the countries achieve the Sustainab

This brief examines the importance of economic integration between India and Sri Lanka in fostering both nations’ growth as well as regional stability. Their deep cultural, historical, and geographic ties support an evolving economic relationship driven by trade, investment, and connectivity. As Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and investor, India plays a pivotal role in its economic recovery, particularly following Sri Lanka’s recent ec

The arrival of vaccines against Covid-19 gives hope in ending the pandemic that has claimed close to 2.84 million lives so far. However, inoculating millions of people all over the world would require the massive production of vaccines, followed by their equitable distribution. An impediment to production and distribution of vaccines is the intellectual property (IP) rights that their developers enjoy. India and South Africa have together propo

Recent geopolitical disruptions and India’s geoeconomic and geopolitical ambitions necessitate the building of new, more reliable multimodal trade corridors. This report examines the strategic importance for New Delhi of the ten-year agreement on Chabahar Port in Iran, and how it aligns with India’s ‘Connect Central Asia Policy’ and historical ties with the region. The Chabahar Port, along with the International North-South Trade Corridor

This study discusses three major mega free trade agreements (the TPP, TTIP and the RCEP) and attempts to develop a strategy for India to navigate the repercussions engendered by these groupings and thereby safeguard India?s trade and sustain its economic growth.

The Maghreb, often considered part of the Arab world, straddles the Euro-Mediterranean region, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula—a location that has given it a distinct history, political landscape, economy, and development trajectory. It is also emerging as an arena for great-power contestations, and is rich in natural resources critical for green transition. Historically dominated by former colonial powers, the countries in the re

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, often hailed as a diplomatic triumph, aims to limit temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius (C), preferably to 1.5 degrees C, compared to pre-industrial levels. However, with the United Nations (UN) having failed to establish a method for putting a price on carbon, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise, and global temperatures increased by more than 1.2 degrees C in 2020. Already, experts warn

The Chinese understanding about the border has changed many times and while a swap agreement would be a feasible solution to the issue, the Chinese have asked for more concessions on the East, says Dr. Manoj Joshi

The failure of global finance to create a bridge between savings that earn low returns in the global north and the projects that would create much-needed infrastructure in the global south has caused a crisis that needs the attention of global regulators. Among the multiple causes of this crisis is the stringent regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis, including new lending norms for banks; the tardy response of institutional investors t

Climate change is a global commons problem requiring concerted actions by all. While recognising this, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has also acknowledged the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,’ which assigns greater responsibilities to developed countries in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reducing their carbon footprint. There have also been deliber

This brief discusses the status of Gorkhas who have joined the Russian Army and the Wagner Group as civilians, combatants, and mercenaries. Would Gorkhas, who otherwise constitute part of the regular armed forces in the United Kingdom and India, enjoy the same status if they join an ongoing conflict without entering into any bilateral agreement between the states? If not, what will the Gorkhas' status be under the prevailing international law reg

Now in its twelfth month, the Ukraine crisis is caught in a protracted winter of war rather than one of frozen hostility or attempted peace. Most prognoses point towards continuing military action instead of dialogue in the near term. This is primarily because Russia and Ukraine have made their maximalist positions clear. But is the door to dialogue completely shut, or is there room for ‘strategic accommodation’ through creative peace diploma

The US-Taliban deal must be subjected to consistent academic scrutiny as an agreement that was designed for a safe exit passage from a theatre of war for the US, not stability for Afghanistan or the Afghan people

If the stalemated war produced a truce, the stalemated peace ever since the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers Tamil Elam signed a ceasefire agreement (CFA) in February 2002 has contributed to the revival of violence in the island-nation. The deteriorating ground situation has been accompanied by repeated calls from the Sri Lankan parties for greater Indian involvement in the peace-making efforts. This report is a summary of an inter

The recent Wuhan summit between India and China has been called many things: from a “game changer” to a much needed “reset” in Indian-China relations. It has generated expectations in the two countries that they will avoid any clash due to miscalculation and error. This has strengthened the tradition that India and China have maintained since the Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement of 1993, of resolving problems bilaterally through dia

The 2021 Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) propelled nations to ramp up their climate targets and the concomitant Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the updated NDCs and the announced pledges for 2030 remain insufficient and poorly aligned with the targets of the Paris Agreement. The reduction in projected 2030 emissions is estimated to be 7.5 percent—far lower than the 30 percent requi

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

A number of important treaties of immense strategic significance have been signed during Prime Minister Vajpayee's first ever visit to Tajikistan on November 14. The agreements signed were related to setting up a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, a bilateral extradition treaty and military ties.

Trump's belligerence towards the Paris accords may ironically become its undoing.

Under President Trump, the United States seems to adopting an unprecedented antagonistic stance against the institutions, commitments, and unpronounced precedents alike, of the liberal world order that the US itself put in place in the aftermath of the Second World War.

How South Asian countries will cope with the Trump administration, even as they balance China and India, is yet to be seen

Despite disagreements over trade, relations between the US and India are poised for further consolidation. Defence ties continue to remain strong

Rising nationalism and fortifications along the disputed China-India border make deadly clashes inevitable, and both sides should strive for border agreement

At an ORF discussion on advertising regulation on television, while there seemed to be agreement that some regulation is necessary to prevent excessive advertising and harmful or offensive content from airing, the TRAI's notification was badly timed and not adequate to the needs of the industry.

Countries in the Gulf region are facing a proverbial perfect storm: oil demand falling to its lowest levels in decades, disagreements within the group of oil-exporting nations on supply cuts, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The plummeting of oil prices is affecting these countries’ fiscal positions, business sentiments, and economic growth. India has stakes in all this; after all, the country has strong economic, commercial and diaspora ties with th

President of Germany's Green Party affiliated Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Ralf Fuecks, thinks that Ukraine has to "return to sovereignty within certain safeguards" and that "an agreement with Russia is possible". He hinted this could be in the form of a free trade zone and a more comprehensive economic cooperation.

After the Ladakh intrusion, Delhi has sensibly stepped up the conversation on LAC management with Beijing. The recent violence on the LoC demands the same with Islamabad. When he meets Nawaz Sharif in New York next month, Manmohan Singh must seek Pakistan's renewed political support for the LoC ceasefire and an agreement to translate that commitment into a military reality.

The United States-India relations reached a high point when the two countries signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2005. But since then, relations between the two countries have drifted. Both the countries must move ahead to build trust and cooperation in other areas.

While Dr. Manmohan Singh must necessarily wait for Nawaz Sharif to determine the pace at which he might be comfortable moving forward with India, in the case of Bangladesh, the burden is entirely on Delhi to implement the historic agreements it had negotiated with Dhaka.

The Taliban’s return will lead to geopolitical realignment. India’s ties with major powers will also be readjusted to manage terrorism coming from the Af-Pak area

China seems willing to assume the climate leadership mantle but there are several factors affecting its acceptability at the global high table on climate.

Under a bilateral agreement water data on the Brahmaputra is shared by China with India on the Brahmaputra, but a weak understanding of hydrology means that the data is coming from the wrong places

The author argues that to revitalise and strengthen their relationship Germany must meet India eye-to-eye at a time when democracy is threatened globally by authoritarian diplomacy.

The non-signing of the Teesta agreement has become a point of embarrassment for her government. The treaty was supposed to be signed during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in 2011 but it was suspended at the last minute due to objection by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

In Japan, obtaining the consent of the people to run a nuclear power plant has now become very difficult. Prior to the Fukushima tragedy, local people's consent meant agreement of the towns and the prefecture where the plants were located.

Whether Japan and India could find an acceptable compromise formula for civilian nuclear agreement that would address their respective concerns will be the main subject of discussion at the India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on December 27-29.

In a first of the kind, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata organised an inter-university debate competition on 'Panchsheel and its Relevance' on January 17 to commemorate completion of 60 years of signing the agreement.

The 9th India-Japan bilateral is taking place in New Delhi this week-end. PM Abe is reaching Delhi on December 11. Two of the main issues that need to be resolved to take the partnership to new heights are the civil nuclear agreement and the supply of Japan's indigenously made US2 amphibious aircraft to India. Will Abe and Modi be able to achieve this?