China's Belt and Road Initiative helps African countries in reducing the infrastructure gap in the region. However, it also leaves them open to the risk of unsustainable debt.
With John Bolton conceding that the US has limited resources to compete with the tens of billions of dollars that China is pouring into Africa, it is not clear how effective America’s new Africa strategy would prove to be in containing China.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration embodies the international community’s collective commitments to promoting cooperation on migration and solve the growing migrant crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent tour of Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa increased to 26 the number of African countries visited by very senior leaders, thus contributing to a significant reduction in India’s visibility deficit in the continent.
The government needs to focus on meeting the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard’s urgent requirements for fuel so that their existing assets could be put to optimal use rather than squander funds on procuring an additional patrol boat from an Australian company.
Given the structural fragility of SAARC and its inability to promote South Asian regional integration, an attempt to reboot the organisation would be futile.
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force officer corps has a challenging task at hand to preserve the operational capability of the force as well as address the genuine concerns being expressed by their subordinates.
Geopolitical competition between the great powers with or without direct conflict will lead to a situation where productive cooperation among them on critical international issues is likely to prove difficult.
Belt and Road Initiative: An opportunity or risk for Africa?
China's Belt and Road Initiative helps African countries in reducing the infrastructure gap in the region. However, it also leaves them open to the risk of unsustainable debt.