Comment & Briefs

India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific not only accommodates Russia’s clamour for ASEAN centrality but also complements its Greater Eurasia construct.

The rapidity and selflessness with which India rolled out millions of doses of vaccines as aid despite the massive requirements of its own vaccination drive, is being particularly appreciated by world leaders and observers.

Public perception in the European Union (EU) has perceptibly changed against China due to its aggressive aid diplomacy and propaganda efforts during the pandemic

Cyber criminals have caused economic losses and operational disruptions to organisations involved in vaccine research and distribution.

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.

COVID-19 vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations will prolong the pandemic, and result in greater economic and social damage.

While Imran Khan’s efforts to build legitimacy around his ‘personality’ as a religious person and a crusader against corruption do not seem to have convinced many people, his government’s inability to bring the much-promised tabdeeli (‘change’) to Pakistan is beginning to hurt him politically.

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.