International organizations

Context On July 4, 2023, India successfully hosted the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The world witnessed another “SCO moment”. Way Foreword Leaders of the SCO member-states signed the New Delhi Declaration, and issued the statements on countering radicalisation and …

If Southeast Asia is the heart of the Indo-Pacific, the 56th Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the post-ministerial conferences and other related regional meetings, held in Jakarta, Indonesia in mid-July, 2023, are the best barometer to check on the region’s latest dynamics. An …

The defining global authority for all things colour-related chose Viva Magenta (Pantone 18-1750) as its shade for the year, saying it “acknowledges our gravitational pull towards natural colours as movements swell around climate change, sustainability, and land protection”. Viva Magenta is described by Pantone as a “nuanced crimson red tone” …

The Government of India is paying special attention to the development of border villages, especially from a security perspective. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on December 29 that borders could be permanently secured only when border villages are populated by patriotic citizens who are concerned for the country. Shah …

As 2022 comes to an end, the world is embracing a ‘new normal’ where new fault lines are being reconfigured in the Indo-Pacific. The Indian Ocean and South Asian regions are at the heart of this contestation, considering their geo-political and geo-economic prominence and India’s emergence as a major power. …

National campaign sets out six scenarios for holding another referendum The national campaign for a second referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU on the terms being negotiated by the government set out six scenarios in which such a vote would be possible, as it sought new momentum to …

BIMSTEC suffers from a “lack of visibility” in the region, said the envoys of seven member countries who form the “Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation,” who also called for the speedy conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement within the group comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, …

China has blasted U.S. tariffs on solar panel imports, filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the latest salvo of the trade battle between the world’s two economic giants. U.S. President Donald Trump approved steep tariffs on solar panel imports in January to protect U.S. producers, triggering …

Going by government data, assistance fell from Rs. 5,928.6 crore for 2013-14 to Rs. 3,483.6 crore for 2017-18; but Maldives has been an outlier, despite the dip in ties India’s financial assistance to SAARC neighbours declined considerably in the past five years, a reply by the government in Parliament this …