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The renewed hopes on India-China relations comes in the midst of a possible new thaw in New Delhi’s bilateral ties with Pakistan.

In an effort to re-establish communication channels on various issues, recent high-profile diplomatic visits have been undertaken by Washington to Bei

PM Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed are putting in place the building blocks for a prosperous Arabian Sea community

Defence cooperation is the dominant component of the India-US bilateral relationship. India seeks to leverage this aspect in the Indo-Pacific to diversify the scope of nascent plurilaterals, integrate with US frameworks to expand cooperation with regional nations, and consolidate its position as the preeminent partner for extra-regional players. This brief recommends that India take advantage of ongoing development initiatives with the US and ide

Efforts toward a peaceful reconciliation with the Taliban have failed and Afghanistan and the United States remain engaged in a bitter war against the insurgent group. The US has shown willingness and capability to go after Taliban leaders on Pakistani soil, upsetting its relations with Islamabad and ending Pakistan's game of plausible deniability. Under its new leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban continue their onslaught against the

The negative image of the state governors as above all “an agent of the centre” has proved difficult to erase.

The ever increasing importance of States in foreign policy - which is traditionally a preserve of the Centre - is not restricted to India, but in fact has become an important matter of debate in international relations.

As the current government in India completes its second stint in power, the timing is opportune to reflect on the trajectory that the bilateral relationship has taken up in the past decade

This brief outlines a framework for India if it is to play a more proactive role in integrating and reimagining its immediate neighbourhood, in particular with reference to the economic relations with its BIMSTEC partners. The analysis is done in the context of important economic and strategic developments in the Asia-Pacific region in the recent years. It describes how India can navigate between competing economic and geo-strategic imperatives b

What would be crucial to note is whether there is a salving of positions taken towards China by Trump, as US policy towards China still stands to dete

The Philippines has decided to ramp up its defence ties with the US. How will this growing bonhomie impact Philippines-China relations remains to be s

The upcoming visit by President al-Sisi provides an opportunity to boost relations between India and Egypt

President Bill Clinton's five-day visit to India in 2000 followed by a five-hour stopover in Islamabad convinced New Delhi that the world order had changed. Relationships were to be shaped by the new post cold war realities, not old loyalties.

The Egypt visit of Indian External Affairs Minister marks a thaw in India-Egypt relations after years of being in the “deep freeze”

The recent visit by Macron to the US has provided an opportunity for both allies to enhance bilateral cooperation and bolster transatlantic relations.

As the preparations for IAFS IV are underway, there is need to reassess the relationship with the AU.

Even as globalisation has succeeded in creating a closely connected world, its biggest failure may yet be that it could not produce a stable world. Today there is a widely held view that organising the world regionally may be complementary to globalisation, if not serve as a replacement altogether. Other analysts consider the relationship as more tangled, debating whether to view regionalism as a stepping stone to globalisation or as a stumbling

India now has an easier relationship with Kabul and Washington. An India-Pakistan-Afghanistan trialogue this year to try and dispel some of the suspicions Pakistan has over India's ambitions in Afghanistan may be the way forward.

Two broad principles outlined by Jawaharlal Nehru must guide Delhi's current approach to the Asian power rivalry. One is to seek good relations with both China and Japan; and other is Nehru's insistence that postwar Japan should not be isolated or punished because of its imperial past.

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is one of the most vibrant, distinct, intricate mountain systems in the world. An estimated 210 million people live within these mountain systems, and some 1.3 billion people who live downstream of the HKH rely on the freshwater obtained directly or indirectly from the rivers and tributaries of the region. Recent data shows that significant areas of glaciers in the HKH region are retreating at an alarming rat

India’s Northeast has often been described as the region where South Asia and Southeast Asia meet. Indeed, sharing much of its border with neighbouring countries, the northeastern states are economically and culturally integrated with Southeast Asia. This brief examines the role of India’s Northeast in strengthening the country’s relations with its partners in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC

Present-day geopolitics has provided a unique opportunity for both India and Egypt to bolster their relations

Factors like the rise of the Indo-Pacific as a theatre for great power competition and the Ukraine war have pushed Russia and North Korea closer toget

The multilateral order, built on the debris of the Second World War, is no longer fit to address this situation. Global institutions are missing in action just when they are needed the most

The latest SIPRI report indicates the concerning trend of modernisation and growth of arsenals across the globe.

India at 76 is showcasing greater confidence to push back against Chinese designs by forging partnerships with like-minded countries

What is interesting for Russia is how greater cooperation with Iran will affect its ties with other Middle Eastern nations, such as both Saudi Arabia and Israel, which has been a vocal opponent of a nuclear deal with Iran. Israel however does not occupy a special position in Russia's foreign relations as it does for the United States.

As Russia embraces China to relieve the pressures from the West, India's room for geopolitical manoeuvre in Asia and beyond is bound to shrink. Earlier, though both India and Russia had begun to normalise bilateral relations with China in the 1980s, they remained wary about Beijing.

The development is the latest indicator that the bilateral relationship is getting stronger.

The election of Trump in 2016 struck yet another blow to an already struggling US-Russia relationship, which has today reached the lowest point since

If the Indian government appropriately leverages Russia's goodwill, Russian Far East could turn out to be a growth area for Indian business. Innovatively implemented, India's ties with the Russian Far East could help cement Indo-Russian relations as well as bolster its ties with Central Asia and East Asia.

Although Russia plays an important role in Africa, it still falls short of exercising a wider influence

Africa has become essential to Russia’s geostrategic posture as Moscow seeks to overcome the backlash to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, in the face of isolation and a contracting economy, Russia has realised that cultivating an entry point in Africa through conventional means such as foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, development assistance, or cultural and educational exchanges may not be its best option. Instead, Mosc

It is not yet clear how the U.S. will respond to India’s receipt of Russia-made S-400 air defense systems.

Hard-nosed realists around the world are impressed with Modi's diplomatic flair seen during his visits to Nepal and Japan. But they ask if Modi can go beyond the atmospherics and bring about a substantial change in the relationship with China. Here again, Modi has the opportunity to introduce change.

Saudi Arabia’s hedging strategy to bring equity to its relations with the US allows China to have a larger footprint in the region

Even as the 'Arab Spring' confrontations develop a sectarian character, the Saudi-Iranian relationship cannot be perceived through the dichotomous lens of sectarianism or of pragmatism. The evolving relationship between the two states incorporates both elements

Normal relations and peace with Pakistan are not possible unless Pakistan stops supporting terrorism and there is verifiable evidence. Even then, what the Shiv Sena goons did to Sudheendra Kulkarni preceding Kasuri's book launch was a national shame. This action does no credit to any Indian.

The revoking of the Budhi Gandaki agreement also heralds a shift in Nepal’s bilateral relations with China.

This paper looks at debates from the days of the British Raj until now that have shaped India's strategic thought on Afghanistan. It highlights the impact of India's territorial construct on its strategic imagination and argues that India's Afghan policy is determined by its political geography. Afghanistan has proved to be a security lynchpin in South and A Central Asia over the last two decades. Home to a variety of militant networks with regi

In light of the close relationship between India and with Middle East and GCC nations, Islamic finance offers an alternative finance vehicle providing

East Asia has become an increasingly volatile region amid China’s posturing and territorial claims on land and in the sea. The US pivot to Asia, meant to contain China, is based on a slew of strategic partnerships with its regional allies and partners, such as South Korea. The US-South Korea relationship is an important pillar in checking China’s rise, but in recent years, Seoul appears to be gravitating towards Beijing. This brief se

Putin’s recent visit to Vietnam is driven by his intention to establish closer ties with the ASEAN member states, especially amidst West-imposed san

India and South Korea stand as important middle powers whose influence in the Indo-Pacific region is expanding in their own ways. At the same time, their bilateral partnership today has even bigger potential to serve as a stabilising factor amid shifting regional geopolitical equations. The current year—the 50th since the two countries established formal diplomatic ties—is an opportune moment for harnessing their converging interests. This br

For all the right statements and claims of the unbreakable, iron-clad relationship between Beijing and Islamabad, there was very little substance to Sharif’s trip.

The urgency of  Sharif’s recent visit to China highlights Islamabad’s increasing dependence on China amid a deepening debt crisis and growing int

In its bid to dodge the American economic bullet, Uganda is seeking new strategic and trade partnerships beyond Beijing. In India, it may see one such opportunity