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Bhutan has announced its support for Japan's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. This was announced by Bhutan's Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay, who completed his official visit to Japan on July 2.

A parliamentary delegation from the tiny Himalayan kingdom witnessed the log-jam in Indian Parliament on 10 August. The combined Opposition's Rajya Sabha tirade against the government over allegations of corruption involving ruling BJP's ministers was the main reason for the log-jam in the Indian Parliament.

A new leadership has assumed office in Bhutan defying all pre-poll surveys that were predicting an adverse result for the country's opposition party. The People's Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tshering Tobgay won the elections by winning 32 seats out of 47.

Tourism is the worst hit sector in Bhutan. The livelihood of 50,000 citizens depends on this or allied sectors.

As Bhutan prepares for its second general elections this year, the political landscape of the nation has yet to undergo significant change from the first one. While being active, democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom is still State-centric,

Ties of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan with Nepal, Bangladesh and India stand to be boosted. Trade ties with Bangladesh are expected to be intensified with India allowing transit to Bangladesh for trade with Bhutan.

The small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, surrounded by two giant regional superpowers, India and China, is showing the world that simple resolve and strong political will can pave way for a huge change.

The little Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, owing to its strategic geographic location, is turning out to be the new hub for regional cooperation in South Asia. Bhutan's hydro-power prospects are no secret.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck's address to the nation on the 106th National Day function held on 17 December 2013 came as a ready-reckoner for the new government at the helm of the Bhutan's affairs, when the king heavily criticised the poor implementation of policies.

'Election fever' has descended on the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, but it is not inspired by the political class and the masses but by the State. The notification of the Election Commission on limiting the role of religion.

Neighbours India and Bhutan have shared five decades of friendly ties. Using as a backdrop Bhutan’s transition from a monarchy to democracy beginning in 1998, this brief makes an assessment of India’s role in Bhutan’s economic development in the past 20 years.  It looks at India’s contribution to Bhutan in terms of trade, hydropower enrichment, and development cooperation. The brief argues that India and Bhutan’s relations have endured

While India-China competition and Chinese assertiveness have triggered some changes in Bhutan’s foreign policy, recent developments suggest that continuity still looms large in Bhutan-India relations

US Congress passes 4 crucial bills; govt keenly aware of geopolitics in Indo-Pacific.

America needs a strong India in the Indo-Pacific as a partner. And India, too, needs an America that can sort its internal challenges to be able to pay attention to strategic realities

This paper assesses United States (US) presidents Donald J. Trump’s (2017-21) and Joe Biden’s (2021-present) respective records on the India-US technology partnership. During the Trump years, this domain of bilateral cooperation saw the finalisation of foundational agreements, including those on force interoperability, and new precedents on US arms export designations for India. While these agreements pertained mostly to defence technology, t

As far as India’s domestic affairs go, the Modi government will not get the free ride it has got so far even if the Biden administration will not allow its activist impulses to override US strategic interests.

Given the criticality of this partnership for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, India will be keenly watching the Biden-Xi meeting.

Focus will be on making US more competitive, rather than blackballing the Dragon

U.S. defense cooperation with India is one thing Democratic and Republican administrations agree on.

The US is stuck in the Cold War-era thinking on Russia and lacks a road-map on China. Partners will be concerned

Biden has a long list of policy decisions taken by Trump during his term that he will have to work on correcting. Not all of them will be easy to reverse

During a roundtable with a delegation of EU Members of Parliament, the ORF Director pointed out the great chance the international community has today in setting up electricity generating plants in India with green technology.

The crucial unknown in the high-stakes diplomacy is Donald Trump’s idea of what an acceptable ‘deal’ is

This brief examines India’s defence allocations for 2022-23. It outlines the conceptual and definitional aspects of the defence budget, examines defence allocations from the prism of state of the economy and public finance, and explores the potential impacts of the budget announcements on the defence production sector of the government’s self-reliance mission, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The analysis also utilises a comparison of India’s mi

Nitish Kumar is already playing with one hand tied behind his back, by the RJD. Till very recently Kumar and the BJP developed Bihar in collaboration. They are, in fact, conjoined brothers in development. Modi must rise above his personal feelings and go all out to support Kumar.

That the Muslims in Bihar turned to Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) despite his alliance with the BJP could well be another turning point in the country's political history. This confirms the extent of Muslim exasperation with the Congress. Nitish Kumar harnessed this disgust deftly.

Former Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Mr. M Ganapathi, has emphasised the importance of the Indian Ocean in global developments in the 21st Century and the importance now given to the region by the government.

Bangladesh and India are standing at a take-off stage in their relationship despite anti-Indian groups and political parties trying to find fault with Hasina's moves. The Chinese and Pakistani lobbies are unhappy with this growing engagement.

Mr. Manish Tewari, Member of Parliament, has introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to regulate the functioning and use of power by the Indian intelligence agencies within and outside India and to provide for the coordination, control and oversight of such agencies.

The winter session of the Parliament, which has just commenced, is of critical significance to the country and its economy. While some may link the importance of this session to the much awaited Lokpal bill.

The BIMSTEC region is among the most vulnerable in the world from increased threat due to climate change. In the foreseeable future, climate change is projected to affect each BIMSTEC member country with greater severity and frequency, thereby impeding their response capacity significantly. This brief explores the vulnerability of the region from climate change and the BIMSTEC-level initiatives that have taken place to address the issue. Although

The Bay of Bengal is highly prone to extreme weather events, many of which result in massive disaster. The sub-regional grouping, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation), took a long time to begin nurturing their collective capabilities in disaster mitigation. It was only after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which caused overwhelming devastation in the region, that BIMSTEC identified the area of ‘Envir

As the Bay of Bengal region continues to rise as an economic and strategic hub, there is increasing awareness of the role to be played by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in promoting growth, development and stability in the region. Having kept a low profile in its 20 years of existence, BIMSTEC is now being seen as a potential driver of integration between South Asia and Southeast As

After a hiatus of almost two decades, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) appears poised to once again assume significance in regional affairs. The renewed vigour has already resulted in a fresh agreement on tangible areas of cooperation and ways of resuscitating the organisation. This brief examines the role that will be played by technology and digital skilling in BIMSTEC’s goals toward

This brief discusses the climate change challenges facing the member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the initiatives taken by them to mitigate the effects. The South Asian countries within BIMSTEC are particularly vulnerable to global warming-induced weather variations that cause economic damage and loss of lives. At the same time, BIMSTEC economies have achieved impressiv

This brief is an experienced journalist’s view of how the media should regard the relevance of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation; and, in turn, how BIMSTEC can utilise the media in making its issues known to the public and the policymakers, in its immediate region and beyond. The brief argues that if BIMSTEC is to become an effective forum for regional cooperation, it should be more o

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is standing on the threshold of a new inning, as it marks its 25th year in 2022. The past months have been momentous for BIMSTEC, as it adopted a charter at the fifth Summit Meeting in March to outline a clearer purpose for the organisation. During the summit, BIMSTEC rationalised its 14 diverse sectors of cooperation into seven core areas of inte

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has gained more importance recently because of the many hurdles that have come in the way of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) since 2016, mainly due to issues between India and Pakistan. This brief explores the possibilities of stronger trade and investment ties between the BIMSTEC nations by expediting the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (F

Two decades since its inception, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has yet to truly succeed as an instrument of regional integration. The primary reason for the group’s slow progress is general inertia, or lack of interest amongst its members. There have also been more pressing national and regional issues that have overtaken the group’s development. This is set to change under the im

As BIMSTEC pushes for transport connectivity, it stands to gain from other, complementary transport connectivity projects that are emerging in the region. BIMSTEC can also take advantage of extant policy designs, and aligning its projects with the various national, bilateral and multilateral projects either ongoing or being planned. Given India’s key role in BIMSTEC — owing not only to its geographical location but also its capabilities — i

An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden was aired on the Arabic network Al-Jazeera on January 3,2004. This is the third message exclusively relating to Iraq attributed to him since before the US-led invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces. The first, called a special message to the Iraqi people, was aired on February 11,2003, and the second

There was a massacre of hundreds of Shias of Gilgit in the Northern Areas (NA) of Pakistan (before 1947 called the Northern Areas of Jammu & Kashmir) in 1988 following a demand raised by them for the creation of an autonomous Shia state to be called the Karakoram State, consisting of the Shia majority areas of the NA, Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

It is not difficult to imagine that the Chinese will be uncomfortable with the current scenario. China is against any "outside power" being involved in the South China Sea, though its own forces are regularly operating in the Indian Ocean region.