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Text of the keynote address delivered by Prof. K. V. Kesavan in the symposium Changing Perception of Japan in South Asia in the New Asian Era: State of Japanese Studies in India and other SAARC Countries

It appears that the Modi government is beginning to recognise the need for greater synchronisation between the different arms of the government and appreciate the need for better space utilisation in the realm of foreign policy and national security. This new approach needs to be strengthened and sustained for India to tap its full potential in outer space.

Goal seven of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits the international community to providing access to clean cooking fuels and technologies to all by 2030. Progress has been slow, however, and in about 40 of the UN’s 189 member countries for which data is available, more that 80 percent of the populations continue to lack such access. Using case studies, this brief analyses the role of a country’s policies, i

A common thread that runs through TPP, TTIP and CETA deals is the Investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS), an opaque supranational court that decides disputes, bypassing the domestic courts and national laws. Now, the fear is that these trade deals might just end up producing managed rather than free trade.

This paper creates an index to track the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation) across India’s states. The SDG 6 index incorporates both supply-side indicators and demand management variables, as well as institutional interventions. In this paper, state-wise indices are constructed to identify their respective performances in the domains of access to clean water and provision of sanitation facilitie

The achievement of global sustainable development goals (SDGs) depends largely on India’s progress, given the country’s massive size and its moderate historical success in key health and nutrition outcomes over the last several years. This further increases the relevance and need for effective monitoring of India’s performance, through timely and disaggregated data, which ensures systematic assessments and course-correction. As India will b

Indian and Pakistani governments have realised the necessity of better connecting provinces on both sides of the border as a possible means of improving broader relations between the two nations.

Speaking on India-China relations Dr Yiwei Wang gave a Chinese perception of this relationship. The basic theme was that there was need to look at three T's (Trade, Tibet and Territory) to improve the bilateral relations.

With both India and the US having differing domestic and national priorities, these countries are bound to compete and conflict on trade issues. But these must not be allowed to overshadow the larger gains that bilateral trade has brought to each country.

India?s improved relations with Bangladesh have brought new opportunities for economic development in the North East region. To maximise the benefits, there is need for identifying the factors and the issues that might hinder the growth of economic ties.

The Saudi monarchy is facing challenges on many fronts but will brazen it out, fully confident of the unstinted support of its powerful patrons in Washington. Some changes, however, may occur in the Saudi government as a sop to the growing clamour for accountability.

For starters, trade talks between the two countries resumed after a hiatus of nearly three years. The talks were suspended following the Mumbai attacks. But the thaw emanating from the latest bout of 'cricket diplomacy' has paved the way for cooperation in the sphere of trade.

By using the markets, developed countries still have a lot to offer the international community, particularly the developing world. However, this would involve a fundamental recast of traditional aid into a wider framework.

Three main issues were discussed in the 40th Munich Conference on Security Policy held on 6-8 February 2004: prospects of transatlantic relations, future of NATO, and future developments in the Middle East. As usual, several Defence and Foreign Ministers, representatives of think tanks, academia, media and the defence industry attended the conference.

The 2014 general elections are all about the economy, jobs, good governance and rising aspirations. Survey after survey conclusively agree that for most voters what matters is stable employment, steady income, corruption free governance and a decisive leadership.

Information security has to move beyond its traditional concepts if it needs to cater to the special demands of governance. Knowledge is for cutting. For long, it has been in the hands of the bureaucrats. It?s time that we snatch it.

The run-up to the upcoming presidential polls in the Maldives will determine the shape of things to come in the future, with far-reaching implications for India, for bilateral relations between the two countries and the Indian Ocean region. This became evident at the end of a candid discussion that a high-level team of the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had with a section of Indian intellectuals at Observer Research Foundation (ORF),

Discussing Dr. C Raja Mohan's book 'Modi's World: Expanding India's Sphere of Influence' in Kolkata, former Foreign Secretary K. Srinivasan said foreign policy has to be a combination of aspirations and capabilities. He said translating aspirations into policy would be a key challenge for the government.

A free and fair election is critical for Pakistan to face the mounting challenges the country is grappling with, according to Mr Saad S Khan, a bureaucrat and scholar from Pakistan.

After the United States and its allies left Afghanistan in 2021, analysts expected Russia to fill the vacuum caused by the withdrawal. As far as Moscow itself is concerned, it would like to establish full diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime while it urges Western countries to take accountability and fulfil their responsibilities towards the Afghan people. Indeed, Russia’s desire for security and regional hegemony compels it to selectively e

The size of the Indian Diaspora is a force to reckon with. Though 'brain-drain' is the main problem flowing from migration, the migrant talent has been very successful in promoting the nation's image in the host countries.

Speaking at an interaction on 'Trends in Indian Foreign Policy', organized by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), ORF Mumbai Chapter, Prof. S D Muni of Jawaharlal Nehru University, ... more

It¿s not the first time, nor will it be the last time. The Press and Television coverage of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati¿s arrest in the ¿Sankararaman murder case¿, has revived the eternal debate on trial by the Indian media. If on occasions in the past, the media may have substituted fact with fiction or thereabouts, this time again, it cannot escape the opprobrium of partisan sensationalism in the name of extensive news

Given Kenya's recent diplomatic, financial and trade advancements in the international community, observers anxiously await the verdict in the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto at The Hague and the reactions of Kenyans to it.

Two months back an observer had noted that "without India wanting to make it so, an impression is gaining ground that our American commitments seem to insist on intruding on India-Iran relations."

The revival of the trilateral mechanism between China, Japan and South Korea only forms the first important step in the long journey to reconciliation in Northeast Asia which calls for mutual understanding and accommodation of each other's interests, and statesmanship of the highest order on the part of the leaders at the helm.

Most Indian Ocean economies such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar have maintained a balanced diplomatic stance while dealing with China, on the one hand and with the US and India on the other. The key potential of the Maritime Silk Route, as touted by Beijing, would be to harness the economic strengths of littoral countries and create a thriving maritime economics.

After the arrest of Vice President Ahmed Adheeb following the bomb blast in the official speed boat of President Abdulla Yameen, the police have clamped down on Male gangs that were supposedly connected to him. It will do Maldives a lot of good if the Yameen leadership gives the police a free hand in the matter so they crack down on the gangs. It would also give democracy a boost, and with that a possible reduction in drugs availability as well.

Since the Telangana Rashtra Samiti is likely to win most of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region on its own, its unwillingness to share the seats with the Congress party is understandable. In such a scenario, the Congress party's prospects in the general elections in the whole of Andhra Pradesh, including Telangana, are indeed bleak.

It is not clear what External Affairs Minister's visit to Pakistan in mid-July can realistically achieve in bridging the trust deficit between India and Pakistan. This distrust spans sixty three years.

Bangladesh isn’t a less economically developed country; its per capita income has recorded significant growth. — Hossain Toufique Imam

The US's plan of reducing troop strengths abroad would be counter balanced by the new kinds of deployments. The trend now is towards intelligence weapons systems with precise missions that are network centric, capable of swift decision and superior performance in all echelons with fewer casualties.

India and Pakistan held secretary level talks in Islamabad on the Tulbul Navigation Project/Wullar Barrage, after a hiatus of nearly three years, on May 12-13. The talks on the Wullar barrage-Tulbul navigation project are part of the bilateral dialogue process that was revived only recently, after a gap of over two years.

Just as Europe is beginning to look economically desperate, Turkey next door looks like the very picture of economic, political and strategic stability. The ultimate irony, ofcourse, is that after having prepared itself on every possible count for eligibility to enter Europe.

Turkey, which played a role in raising the stakes in Syria and now lowering it, deserves a close look. A mildly Islamised democratic Turkey ruled by its most charismatic Prime Minister ever, Tayyep Erdogan, was incorporated in the management of what had at one stage acquired the label of Arab Spring.

The Alevi issue in Turkey can be a potential de-stabilizing factor for the country's social and political integrity. The Alevis' common theme of Sunni hegemony with other minorities of the West Asian region is likely to perpetuate sectarianism and further polarise Turkey and neighbouring countries along this dimension.

November 2003 was a black month for Turkey, which has been grappling with problems arising out of its geo-strategic location in the Middle East and its Islamic identity and its close proximity to the Western world. Even before the country could recover from the terrorist blasts outside the Beit Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 innocent civilians and wounded