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.

Kim will drive the hardest bargain possible and be willing to make only small concessions like maintaining some type of a freeze on future tests of missiles and nuclear weapons.

King Abdullah II’s forthcoming visit to India represents an opportunity to catapult the relationship to the next higher level in strategic, security, political, energy, trade, investment and economic cooperation.

Notwithstanding differences on some issues, chiefly, Afghanistan and India’s UNSC aspirations, India and Iran have decided to focus their energies on areas of concurrence such as connectivity and economic cooperation.

India will be able to help and support only to the extent that the demand for democracy and freedom from within Maldives continues to put pressure on Yameen and his security forces.

A stronger partnership and enhanced cooperation should be prioritised by both sides if the full potential of this engagement is to be realised.

For the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to succeed, China needs to engage in serious and sincere dialogue with BRI participants, ensure respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, uphold the internationally accepted norms of transparency and observe principles of financial responsibility, among other key issues.

The Doklam standoff has emerged as a litmus test for India in terms of how resolutely it can stand up against an increasingly hegemonic China to protect the interests of Bhutan as well as its own interests.

The foreign policy establishment can justifiably feel upbeat with the results of the Modi-Trump meeting, which have been most gratifying especially given the uncertainties in the run-up to the visit.

Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for over 65 per cent of India’s global import and 15 per cent of Qatar’s export of LNG.