Even as he continues to work towards reviving the Ottoman glory and ‘Ittihad-I Islam' (‘Unity of Islam’), there are significant limitations in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pursuing his Islamist approach to statecraft abroad.
Even as Kazakhstan is making slow but steady progress towards further democratisation and openness of its political system, jostling by elites to secure their positions ahead of the ultimate exit of first President Nursultan Nazarbayev from the political scene, is set to grow.
India and the GCC countries should further strengthen cooperation in the fields of healthcare, education, defence and niche areas like space exploration, artificial intelligence, cyber security, bioinformatics, and renewable energy.
Even as the Al-Ula summit has set a positive tone for the restoration of unity in the GCC, a high level of commitment is required by all parties to bridge the trust deficit.
It remains to be seen to what extent Turkish President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan’s recent efforts to mend broken regional ties and address concerns over domestic policies will succeed.
Disagreements on cabinet positions continue to hamper the formation of a new Lebanese government, even as the country is going through socio-economic turmoil, compounded by the pandemic and the Beirut port blast.
Since taking over as the Iraqi prime minister in May 2020, Mustafa al-Kadhimi has blended pragmatism with caution while dealing with significant domestic as well as external challenges.
In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading, France is taking measures that seek to reverse the processes through which individuals become ‘terrorists’. If successful, other countries could emulate such policy interventions in their own counter-radicalisation efforts.
Kyrgyzstan’s Political Turmoil
Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as the President of the Kyrgyz Republic on January 28, 2021, after months of political upheaval.