In a welcome continuation of India's attention to Africa, President Droupadi Murmu, made a cross-continental visit to three African countries between 13-19 October. She visited old friend Algeria, largely ignored Mauritania and the ‘warm heart o
The Sultanate of Brunei is among the smallest countries of ASEAN with a high GDP. It follows a quiet diplomatic style. Brunei is different from other ASEAN countries in that it is a sultanate where all decisions are made by the Sultan who is also the
India successfully held the third Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) on 17 August. It carried forward the agenda of the previous two summits, which had fed into the G20 process. The VOGSS remains India's initiative and is not held in conjunction
Africa Day is commemorated on 25 May annually. This marks the launch of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) by 32 countries in 1963 in Addis Ababa. The OAU drew inspiration particularly from India, with its successful decolonization, democratic e
The Russian ‘special military operations’ in Ukraine, starting 24 February,with the intention of making Ukraine amenable to Russian rather than NATO overtures, has created a crisis in Europe. Besides the rising oil and gas prices it is creating a
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kept up the tradition of Chinese leaders visiting Africa at the beginning of the year. For 32 years, this tradition has been in vogue and the Chinese FM, between 4 and 7 January, visited Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros in
There is a change afoot in the normally placid politics of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which governs Japan. On Friday 17 September, four candidates emerged with varied views. This includes two women candidates. Their multiple candidacies,
On 9 August, Prime Minister Modi had the unique distinction of being the first Prime Minister of India to chair a session at the UN Security Council. It was carefully crafted to focus on the important issue of maritime security. It was debated at hig
July 2021 was envisaged as a turning point in current Ethiopian history. The results of the partial elections held in June1 provided a resounding victory for the Prosperity Party led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This was preceded by a withdrawal of
The Parliamentary elections in Ethiopia held on 21 June 2021 come at a very important time for the future of Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa. With 120 million people, Ethiopia is the second most populous African country. It was economically growing