Articles | Vivekananda International Foundation

A Significant Visit from the Land of the ‘Princess of Ayodhya’

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in paid a highly significant visit to India on 8-11 July 2018 to cement his ‘New Southern Policy’ of increased focus on India and ASEAN countries. President Moon repeatedly said that his administration’s objec....

July 13, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , South Korean President’s visit , India-South Korea relations

Pakistan on Financial Action Task Force ‘Grey List’

Shruti Punia Commentary

After a long period of dormancy Pakistan finally enters the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) list which comes as no rude awakening to either of its neighbours, India as well as China. The FATF took the imminent decision to place Pakistan on its....

July 12, 2018 Neighbourhood Studies , Pakistan , Commentary , Grey-list FATF , Financing Terrorism

Iran’s Nuclear Deal, Oil and US Sanctions

Amb D P Srivastava, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

A meeting of the Joint Commission established under Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) took place in Vienna on 6th July. The Joint Commission was set up as the mechanism to resolve any disputes arising out of implementation of the Iran nucle....

July 09, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Commentary , Iran’s oil & gas exports , JCPOA Vienna meeting

Significance of President of Seychelles Danny Faure’s Visit to India

Dr Neha Sinha Commentary

Over the last few years, India’s outreach to Africa has been considerable, particularly the relation between Indian and Seychelles has always been worthy of attention. Since 1976, when Seychelles gained independence, the relationship between the t....

July 09, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indian Ocean Region , Commentary , Seychelles President’s visit , Assumption Island , Indo-Seychelles relationship

India’s Looming Drinking Water Crisis

Rajesh Singh Commentary

NITI Aayog has warned of a crisis that must make policymakers and the rest of us act now, and not later, because later could be too late. The danger the panel has spoken of has not been considered important enough for prime time television debates an....

July 06, 2018 Governance and Political Studies , Commentary , Looming water crisis , Water Management Strategy

Middle East Peace Process- in the Docks

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

Middle East Peace Process has been dormant and lying in a limbo for quite some time as a result of sporadic and non-sincere efforts, or for that matter, simple lip service. Last US initiative on reviving peace process was stalled in 2014. The Palest....

July 05, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , West Asia , Commentary , Middle East Peace Process , Trump’s Deal of Century

An Underrated Summit: Macedonia

Aayush Mohanty Commentary

The Greek Prime Minister and the Macedonian Prime Minister on June 17 concluded an agreement which led to Macedonia renaming itself as Northern Macedonia.¹ This is expected to bring an end to a 27 year dispute over Macedonia’s name that ....

July 05, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Europe , Commentary , Greek-Macedonia agreement , Renaming Macedonia

India’s Soft Power and Heritage: A Gift to the World

Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee Commentary

In the foreign policy context, soft power and heritage have become as important a tool of diplomacy for States as hard power. It promotes inter-cultural dialogue, essential to counter the multiple challenges to the existing world order by non-State ....

July 04, 2018 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Commentary , India’s soft power , India’s civilisation heritage

Exhibition ‘India and the World’

Dr Arpita Mitra Commentary

In view of the completion of 70 years of Indian independence, the National Museum, New Delhi, conceived a project that has finally materialised as a landmark exhibition, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories (inaugurated in May 2018 i....

July 03, 2018 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Commentary , Exhibition , India and the World , New Delhi , India’s pre-modern global contact

Will Indo-US Relations Survive The Strain of Geopolitics?

Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF Commentary

The US permanent envoy to the UN Nikki Haley, known for her hardline views on Iran and Russia, visited India from June 26-28, 2018. The visit should have strengthened Indo-US relations but the impact seems to have been just the opposite. The percepti....

July 02, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , US , Commentary , Russia , Indo-US partnership , US sanctions on Iran