Neighbourhood Studies
A Not-So Well Scripted Spy Story

If there is anything that the Pakistani spook service really lacks, it is good script-writers, which is surprising considering that Pakistan has a surfeit of writers who pen fairly plausible dramas. The manner in which the entire screen-play of the s....

China’s ‘Big Two’ Sessions Signal Policy Shift on Dalai Lama

A definitive shift was discernible in Beijing’s policy towards the Dalai Lama at the 4th plenary session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s version of a parliament, that concluded in Beijing on March 15, 2016. China additiona....

Nepal PM Visits India to repair Relations

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli made his first visit to India (February 19 to 24, 2016) after taking office. Oli’s visit was the first foreign trip undertaken by him after assuming charge and came after a long gap of five years when the then ....

Interaction with a Nepalese Business and Trade Delegation

Leading a twelve-member business and trade delegation from Nepal, Mr. Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, the Chief Whip of CPN-UML (the second largest political party in Nepal’s consensus government) visited the Vivekananda International Foundation on 22 Feb 201....

Re-asserting ‘Neighbourhood First’- External Affairs Minister’s Sri Lanka Visit

Keeping up with the momentum of 2015 which was a historic year in terms of high level bilateral visits, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj paid a successful visit to Sri Lanka on February 5 and 6, 2016, right at the beginning on New Year. She at....

Pak-Bangladesh Diplomatic Spat: Tip of the Iceberg

Recent months have seen Pakistan and Bangladesh expelling each other’s diplomats and ‘summoning’ each other’s envoys to lodge ‘strong’ protests. The expulsions and ‘summoning’ are just the tip of the iceberg, reflective of a deeper ma....

Bilateral Ties to Move Forward During Nepali PM Oli's Visit to India

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who had surprisingly been the most vocal critic of India, at times even taking his criticism to personal level, using undiplomatic language, seems to have finally relented by deciding to pay an official visit to....

Interaction with a Nepalese Civil Society Delegation

Leading a six-member Nepalese Civil society delegation, Mr. Daman Nath Dhungana, a legal luminary in Nepal and former Speaker of the House of Representative, visited the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on 27 January 2016 for an interaction....

Pakistan and The Saudi-Iran Face-Off

Pakistan’s diplomatic plate is full. The skill of its leadership and diplomats is being tested as they negotiate an unfolding regional situation. There are at least four key external issues that require immediate attention: to keep the Indo-Pak pea....

Challenges India Faces in Resuming Dialogue with Pakistan

Prime Minister Modi’s dialogue initiative towards Pakistan is premised on its stated willingness to make no distinction between good and bad terrorists, which implies a readiness to eliminate not only terrorists attacking targets within Pakistan bu....

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