South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world despite geographical proximity and complementary economic structures. Greater regional trade, improved transport connectivity, cross-border electricity markets, digital payment systems and investment partnerships could substantially reduce external vulnerabilities.
Between 2004 and 2023, India produced roughly five million graduates every year, but graduate employment increased by only around 2.8 million annually. Even fewer obtained salaried employment. Millions are either unemployed or working below their qualifications or in the waiting room for the elusive government job.
Policy instability during the 2015-2024 likely pushed back Sri Lanka’s path towards becoming South Asia’s first High-Income Country. The 2022 financial crisis would never have happened as stable growth during the first half of 2015–2024 would have built enough buffer to weather impact of the Covid pandemic
China’s Belt and Road Initiative - which funded Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port through loans resulting in a 99-year lease to Chinese State-owned enterprise in 2017 due to Colombo’s struggle to service said loans - follows the same expansionary script.
Opposition parties in Pakistan on Friday walked out of the upper house of parliament, citing the government’s failure to address their key concern regarding the multi-billion China-funded projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), The Express Tribune reported
The Chinese government will provide a batch of COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan "as aid" and will "actively coordinate with the relevant Chinese enterprise to speed up export of vaccines to Pakistan", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a press briefing on Friday
Around 10,000 students from Kerala, studying medicine and allied courses in China, are facing an uncertain future as the Chinese government is not allowing them back in the country to resume their studies
Chinese pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics Inc has offered 20 million shots of its Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan as it gets ready to release efficacy results “in a few days” from phase-III trials that have recently been completed in the country, its local partner told Bloomberg on Friday
Establishing formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan will bring about a paradigm shift vis-à-vis India’s foreign policy. However, the recognition may invite severe ramifications for India, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor
Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE could be potentially out of the game in India with the government set for an action plan on the implementation of National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said that China had promised to provide 500,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines as a ‘gift’ by the end of the month, reported Dawn
China's role in Rohingya repatriation is turning out to be a decisive factor in resolving the crisis as the country embarked on the role of a mediator between Bangladesh and Myanmar and is likely to continue it until a solution is found, analysts have said
Anthony Blinken, who is President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be the secretary of state, has indicated that the United States would continue to back India against challenges to its sovereignty from China and work with it in the fight against terrorism
China is undertaking construction work along the border areas, the Indian government said on Monday, while asserting that all developments having a bearing on India's security are being closely watched
Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong met Maldivian foreign minister Abdullah Sahid and discussed ways for “enhanced and closer corporation between two countries.”
Pakistani President Arif Alvi said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will benefit Afghanistan and Central Asian countries by enhancing the connectivity of the region
Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Friday that Chinese aggression is a "conspiracy to change status quo" and stressed that the sacrifices of those killed in Galwan won't go to waste
Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal for entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka Tea Board and Fujian Star China International Trade Company Limited for marketing Pure Ceylon Tea both online and offline utilizing the probabilities in the Chinese tea market
The danger of a short-swift conflict with China exists not only in Ladakh but also elsewhere along the India-Tibet border and even through Bhutan, along with some action at sea, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
