Articles | Vivekananda International Foundation

VIF Virtual Talk by H.E. Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of Afghanistan’s NDS

The complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan before September 11 is turning out to be a complicated affair. Taliban is gaining a strong foothold in Afghanistan. It has not shown any seriousness in negotiations over intra-Afghan dialogue an....

July 30, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Afghanistan , Interaction , Pakistan , US Withdrawal , Taliban , Intra-Afghan dialogue

POK: Election or Selection?

Amb D P Srivastava, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

POK underwent the 11th general election on 25th July. The outcome held no surprise. It is invariably the party in power in Islamabad, which wins the election in the territory. The outgoing regime of Raja Farouk Haider was elected when PML (N) of Nawa....

July 30, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Pakistan , Commentary , Kashmir , POK , Imran Khan , PTI , Islamabad , PML (N) , PPP

Afghan Lives Matter: Part 1- Role of Pakistan and her Emerging Dilemma

Amb Amar Sinha Article

(This article is Part 1 of two parts’ series; second part will be on the Taliban role and what to expect from them and what does one make of the chorus of voices one sees in favour of Taliban and why any such outreach will take us nowhere.) ....

July 30, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Afghanistan , Article , Pakistan , Afghanistan , Taliban , Imran Khan , Deep State , President Ghani , Spin Boldak , Abdul Ghani Baradar , Doha deal

BIMSTEC: Potential Arena of Maritime Convergences and Capacity Building

Dr Probal K Ghosh

BIMSTEC member states (apart from landlocked countries- Nepal and Bhutan) are connected via maritime boundaries of the Bay of Bengal. It is the direct linking factor between the littorals. To discuss the importance of maritime connectivity, join Dr P....

July 29, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Bay of Bengal , trade , Maritime Connectivity , Podcast , India's role , Port modernization , Security.

Xi Jinping Visit to Tibet is Important and has Implications for India

Jayadeva Ranade Article

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) at Nyingchi’s Mainling Airport on July 21 at the start of a two-day (July 21-23) visit, without prior public notice. The visit, which comes shortly before the 70th anniversar....

July 29, 2021 International Relations and Diplomacy , Neighbourhood Studies , China , Tibet , Article , Xi Jinping , CMC , PLA , Tibet , TAR , Sichuan-Tibet railway , Lhasa , Nyingchi , WTC , Yarlung Tsangpo

Perspectives on BIMSTEC: Views from Myanmar

Dr Khin Zaw Win

Myanmar joined BIMSTEC on 22 December 1997, and has been an important land bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. To understand BIMSTEC from Myanmar's point of view, join Dr Khin Zaw Win and Cchavi Vasisht in this episode of the podcast.....

July 26, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Myanmar , BIMSTEC , South Asia , Southeast Asia , Podcast

Pakistan’s Support to Taliban is Behind the Escalating Violence in Afghanistan

Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF Commentary

At the initiative of Uzbek President Shavket Miriziev, a high-level conference was held in Tashkent on 15-16 July 2021 to discuss connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia. The conference was attended by President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan,....

July 19, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Commentary , Central Asia , Taliban , Connectivity , President Ghani , Spin Boldak , Zalmay Khalizad

Relevance of Water in India’s Economic Growth: Need for a Diplomatic Outreach

Major General (Retd.) Ajay Kumar Chaturvedi, AVSM, VSM Article

Introduction

Water is essential for the life in more than one ways. Besides the drinking purpose its centrality for the agriculture, in an agrarian society, is highly established. In this connection, it is important to note that water, pa....

July 19, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Economic Studies , Article , River Water Management , India’s water concerns , multi-national rivers , sharing water resources

The Taliban on the Offensive in Afghanistan Ahead of the US Withdrawal

Dr Anwesha Ghosh Article

The foreign troops are leaving Afghanistan after twenty years of war. The US President surprised many by bringing forward the end of operation to August 31; he however, excluded nearly 650 troops for offering security for the US embassy in Kabul. Ear....

July 15, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Afghanistan , Article , Afghanistan , US Withdrawal , Conflict , Taliban , Afghan government , ANDSF , displacement , refugees.

BIMSTEC: The Need for Ocean Governance

Ruwanthi Jayasekara

As the largest bay in the world, the bay of Bengal holds pivotal importance for the countries surrounding it. During the 4th submit of BIMSTEC, countries discussed the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change, and how the Himalayan ....

July 14, 2021 Neighbourhood Studies , Blue Economy , Bay of Bengal , Podcast , Ocean governance , Mountain economy , Militarisation of seas