Trincomalee oil farm

Trincomalee as Regional Oil Hub: Sri Lanka Needs to Act Decisively to Secure its Energy Future

Against this backdrop, in 2025, India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop Trincomalee. The agreement, involving the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the UAE Ministry of Investment, and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy, was designed to enhance Sri Lanka’s energy security and integrate the country into regional energy networks.

Pakistan’s Mediation Mirage: Strategic Posturing in a Fractured West Asia

Pakistan’s attempt to position itself as a peace broker in the Middle East may generate headlines, but it does little to advance the cause of stability. If anything, it underscores a larger truth: in high-stakes geopolitics, perceived neutrality without proven credibility is not an asset—it is a liability.

With Global Stability at Risk, India Must Initiate Efforts to De-escalate US–Israel–Iran Conflict

India’s leadership in global forums such as BRICS and the G20 further enhances its ability to bring together diverse stakeholders. Simultaneously, its role as a prominent voice of the Global South enables it to advocate for peace without appearing aligned with any specific 

War Against Iran Enters Second Month: Whither Global Leadership?

Expanding the arc of aerial/missile destruction  to the Bab el-Mandeb would irreparably threaten the last viable option for  Gulf oil exports and a regional war will soon cascade into an ‘epic’  global crisis. Ironically, the tally of death and destruction is barely mentioned and the war sanitized to a daily video ritual. Scroll and move on. Sagacious global leadership  is absent  when it is most needed  and a discerning global civil society has been  paralyzed by the unending Trump  theatrics. 

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Lessons from Sri Lanka: Need for increased governmental accountability and transparency

South Asia must develop a common framework to hold politicians accountable and increase transparency in government dealings. Regional collaboration can reduce vulnerability.

Myanmar's suspected nuclear ambitions will pose a grave threat to region

If Myanmar acquires a nuclear capability, it would be a disaster for South and Southeast Asia. A nuclear Myanmar is not in India, China, or other neighbouring countries' interests.  Recent border tensions between Myanmar and Bangladesh are the best example to understand the gravity of the situation. 

The evolving terror funding matrix: Pakistan, ISI and D Company and its global criminal web

Since Dawood moved to Karachi, the D Company syndicate has expanded incredulously. He is said to have invested over USD $28 billion in assets in Karachi alone and has diversified his businesses in several countries such as India, Morocco, the UK, UAE, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Italy and France.

An agenda for BBIN countries: An idea whose time has come

The demonstrable success of BBIN cooperation may draw Sri Lanka and Maldives also into its ambit in the near future.  India's government and corporate sectors must work together to make BBIN cooperation a success to mutual advantage.

Red flags in India's Northeast: Is Act East Policy losing focus?

The question also arises – is  Delhi losing focus and getting diverted from the AEP by QUAD, Chinese influence on RCEP, and so on. If so then Delhi must decentralise the AEP to make it effective

BJP seeks to etch new lines on the political map of Jammu & Kashmir: Will this end its electoral drought in the Valley?

This doesn’t erase the irrefutable fact that a community that used to align with Kashmiri parties until now was shifting its preferences, the impact of which is bound to be felt in the electoral battle in the forthcoming assembly polls. If the BJP succeeds in reaping the electoral benefits in Jammu & Kashmir, it will have much more to tell the nation ahead of the 2024 polls in the country.

Bangladesh's Rohingya camps are growing security and environmental hazard

Activities of militant organizations have developed around the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar. A web of militancy is spreading in the camps with the money coming from six countries including the Middle East and Pakistan.

Pakistan's Chinese bugbear: Growing attacks pose a new security challenge for Islamabad

The Chinese presence in Pakistan, with or outside of the CPEC, and the TTP's defiance, although not directly related, do pose growing security challenges to Pakistan and China, especially when the two want to combine forces to extend the CPEC to Afghanistan.

RSS leader's outreach to Muslims: Reconciliation or cooption?

Today the international image of India, courtesy the RSS-BJP, is a Hindu supremacist one where minorities are insecure, where identity issues are getting precedence over the issues of livelihood. RSS is the fountainhead of this politics; it needs introspection if it is serious about the process of dialogue and reconciliation.

India and Sri Lanka need to circumvent irritants, focus on diversification of ties

India could reset its approach by engaging with Sri Lanka as a country in the Indo-Pacific region and not just as a neighbour.

India ‘matters more', seeks to be the 'bridge', the 'voice' for the developing world; generous recognition for India's actions

For India, global governance reform starts with Security Council reforms and here New Delhi got support across blocs at the General Assembly meeting from both the US and Russia, as well as other countries. It is the only country to get the backing of both Washington and Moscow.

Bangladesh should tread cautiously in resolving growing border tensions with Myanmar, step up diplomacy

In a broadcast on Wednesday, Bangladesh Army Chief General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed stated that his troops were prepared to respond against Myanmarese provocations if necessary.

In the absence of water-sharing deal, India should help Bangladesh with Teesta water management

Building a reservoir on the Teesta will help Bangladesh create a climate-resilient infrastructure which will be useful in better managing the common river water.

Bangladesh making steady progress in ensuring labor rights

Functioning trade unions, decreasing number of child labourers and the introduction of labour courts and foundations are demonstrations of the extraordinary achievements of Bangladesh in ensuring labour rights.

Foreign policy in a divided world: Will India rise to the occasion?

Today, several other countries are gaining greater respect and acceptability in the comity of nations. India, certainly, is one of them. What is perhaps likely to happen is that global leadership would be a shared responsibility.