Japanese economy is still faltering in a new way which is causing lot of concern that whether Japan will ever be able to come out of this crisis and regain its place as world’s second largest economy. The tragic story is its currency Yen is losing its stem and it is deliberate as the government wants to keep Yen at a low height to boost sluggish economic recovery. If the items you purchase these days… Read More »Yen’s decline
Now that the P5+1 countries have struck an interim nuclear deal with Iran which has limitedly eased off sanctions against it, India feels relieved from the frustrated pressure of Western sanctions that had disabled India and Iran to enhance their indispensable bilateral relations. In addition to Iran-US relations being at their worst for the past 35 years and Iran’s ongoing influence in Iraq during US’s occupation of Iraq, the West had slapped heavy sanctions on… Read More »Indo-Iran trade
When the Arab Spring broke out and spread like wild fire across the MENA (Middle East and North African) countries, not only did the decade’s long dictator regimes fall, so did the countries’ economies. Among the first industries to suffer to major setbacks were the oil markets, which constitute a major percentage of the economies of these countries. In many respects, economic conditions in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and, other countries in the Middle East, are… Read More »Libya’s Oil Industry
Amidst rising tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, the visit of the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe to New Delhi from 25th to 27th January, 2014 was watched with great interest not only in the Chinese strategic circles but also in the entire Asia Pacific region as India holds the key to the new power balance in the area. Strategic analysts are assessing the possibilities of… Read More »Balance of Power
Prospects of Myanmar gas for India As a growing power, India requires energy. Yet, it is not self-sufficient in energy security and is highly dependent on oil and gas imports from various energy basins. For this, India has begun looking eastwards, eyeing the oil and gas reserves of Myanmar. Myanmar, being geographically close and economically attractive is a viable answer to India’s energy problems. However, seeing the attraction that Myanmar has become following lifting of… Read More »Accessing Energy
Prospects and challenges for the Trilateral Highway The balance of power is consistently pivoting toward Asia as it enhances trade with the rest of the world. In the meantime, in Asia, there is an emerging trend of multi-modal connectivity projects, cutting through country boundaries to boost economic as well as strategic ties. These projects are creating a strategic land and sea infrastructure in the region while they significantly alter the geo-political landscape. Of these, one… Read More »Connecting links
Rare earths will add new dimension to Indo-Japanese political and economic relationship other than already deepening cooperation in the area of defence and strategic issues. The agreement with India’s Department of Atomic Energy for cooperation in the production of the rare earths in India was to be signed during the postponed visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Tokyo from November 15-18 which was preceded by very high level interactions between the two… Read More »Moving forward: India to replace China
Several countries across the world are making tremendous efforts to overcome their energy shortage. In the South Asian region, Pakistan and India are the two major energy consumers and they are getting increasingly dependent on imported oil and natural gas. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, which is a major project being pursued, if successfully implemented could be the beginning of a new era of cooperation and interconnectedness at the regional level. TAPI’s route may serve… Read More »TAPI Project
The successful launch of the Bulava ballistic missile in June 2011 by Russia has demonstrated to the rest of the world about its growing capabilities and changing priorities. It is generally believed that Russia has been modernizing its strategic weaponry including ballistic missiles despite the negative impact of the ongoing world economic meltdown on its economy. The priorities of the leadership in Russia seem to have shifted. It is obvious from the launch that Russia… Read More »Gaining Momentum: Implications of Bulava missile for strategic stability
India-France relations now rests on the two solid pillars of defence and nuclear cooperation and provides a sound basis on which both can promote the future strategy of coordinated engagement with the rest of the world. These two pillars have helped India-France ties to flourish in other strategic issues and offers new possibilities for the two countries to strengthen their strategic partnerships. The French being an Indian Ocean power by virtue of having two groups… Read More »Flourishing Relation: Two pillars of India and France cooperation