Acting East with ASEAN

    2018-09-06T11:42:41+00:00December 10th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

    India’s proactive Act East policy hinges heavily on the ASEAN free trade group and it is the many emerging economies in this collective that offer growth opportunities for Indian companies. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. India’s focus on a strengthened and multi-faceted relationship with ASEAN was reinvigorated at the 12th ASEAN India Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in November 2014, when Prime Minister [...]

      Bimstec: A viable alternative to SAARC

      2018-09-06T10:00:41+00:00December 10th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

      The cancellation of the 2016 SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, marks a major turning point in the geopolitical configurations in South Asia. Bimstec wasn’t a term many people outside of government circles in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan were familiar till recently. Then, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka decided to pull out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad citing Pakistan’s continuing support for and export of terrorist groups as part of its state policy. [...]

        Arc of Democracy: Good for Asia

        2018-09-06T10:12:28+00:00December 10th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

        Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Modi shares close ties, is close to becoming India’s “all weather friend”. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has spoken of the “Arc of Democracy”, with Tokyo and New Delhi as its two ends and encompassing the ASEAN, Australia and South Korea in between as the ideal architecture for the 21st century, which many have already dubbed Asia’s century. His Indian counterpart and good friend Narenda Modi has outlined a similar template for India’s [...]

          Building bonds with the CLMV region

          2020-03-12T14:25:47+00:00December 10th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

          India’s bilateral trade with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam has grown exponentially from $460 million in 2000 to almost $12 billion in 2014. Till recently, they were considered the poor cousins of ASEAN’s more prosperous members, but the four countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – known by the acronym CLMV have emerged as the new cynosure of investors’ eyes –both for their economic potential as well as for their strategic value. Recognising these advantages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi [...]

            Building new bridges with BIMSTEC

            2020-03-12T08:13:00+00:00December 9th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

            From a passive acceptance of SAARC’s irreplaceable role as a platform for economic integration and developmental cooperation in the region, the Narendra Modi led government has changed India’s approach.

            In the autumn of 2016, the cancellation of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad was a defining moment in the life of this 30-year institution. The first SAARC summit was hosted by Dhaka in December 1985. Following that, heads of government of member countries were expected to meet every year.

              A beachhead for entry into ASEAN

              2019-02-07T18:28:04+00:00December 8th, 2016|2016, South Asia, Year, Yearend 2016|

              Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) collectively hold a lot of promise for Indian companies, both as a market and source of raw materials.

              Most Indians are quite familiar with Vietnam. Apart from etching itself into the India’s (and the world’s) collective consciousness for its heroic and successful fight against a superpower in the 1960s and 1970s, it has also emerged recently as a close Indian ally in South East Asia against a new Chinese assertiveness.