Realizing the importance of regional groupings and forums, which are increasingly evolving as strategic groupings of much influence, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has also decided to enhance cooperation in many areas, particularly through a Free Trade Agreement in a bid to increase intra-regional and inter-regional importance.   India and Thailand, the two strongest economies of the grouping were the pioneers of BIMSTEC. As their economic interests grew… Read More »Relevance BIMSTEC

A series of events has jolted China’s economy and rattled markets around the world. Early this year the Chinese stock market shed nearly a fifth of its value. Now the fresh data from China has confirmed its economy is continuing to lose steam. China’s slowing growth has been dragging the global economy as Beijing hopes for a shift towards services and consumption in its domestic market. Against the backdrop of a faltering global economy, turmoil… Read More »China’s economic slowdown

China’s experiment with the creation of ‘millionaire clubs’ is coming to a full circle but it leaves behind a dirty culture that will take decades for new generation of Chinese to clean and establish rule of law which can bring China back to a civilized state. The Communist Party of China which has been ruling China since 1949 is not in a position to clean the mess as most of its senior leaders are involved… Read More »China’s Millionaires Leaving

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