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The Race for Strategic Minerals: South Asia's Geopolitical Moment

The Quad's Critical Minerals Initiative provides an important platform for achieving these objectives. Through coordinated investments, technology sharing and supply-chain diversification, the initiative seeks to create resilient and transparent mineral supply networks. Australia contributes abundant mineral reserves, Japan offers advanced processing technologies, the United States brings investment and innovation capabilities, while India provides a rapidly expanding market and growing manufacturing base.

Ganga Water Treaty Renewal: A National Priority for Bangladesh, a Strategic Opportunity for India

Renewing the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty could also serve as an important confidence-building measure between Bangladesh and India. A renewed agreement would help restore mutual trust and strengthen regional cooperation over shared water resources. It would further reinforce the role of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), which remains a key institutional mechanism for addressing transboundary river issues.

Top EU Diplomatic Visit Signals Reassessment of Pakistan's Strategic Value

By recognising Pakistan’s role in the Iran crisis, Brussels is signalling that influence in today's international system is increasingly distributed across multiple actors, not concentrated solely in Washington, Beijing, or Moscow. This fits with the EU’s broader effort to develop a more autonomous and flexible foreign policy in a more multipolar world.

Regional Geopolitical Powerplay a Challenge for Improved India-Myanmar Relations

China is a major defence exporter for Myanmar, but it has been arming both the Tatmadaw and the rebel forces. China’s aim is to secure its strategic highway through Myanmar to the Bay of Bengal and counter American and Indian influence in the region, including Myanmar and Bangladesh.

More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs

Cooperative security in South Asia: Subregional groups can show the way

In SAARC political agenda always dominated social and economic issues, whereas in successful regional organizations like ASEAN and EU, socio-economic issues prevailed over politics, writes Aneek Chatterjee for South Asia Monitor

India-China border dispute: Is a give and take possible now?

The immediate task is to get the PLA to leave Galwan without loss of face. On the other hand,  could this just be the opportunity for the two sides to settle new LACs in the three sectors? writes Mohan Guruswamy for South Asia Monitor

Afghan media working under constant threat

The militants and various violent groups want to suppress the 'voice of reason' and in doing so they target the media with utmost force and hatred. The factor of impunity is one of the main reasons for continued atrocity towards Afghan journalists and media, writes Dr. Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor

India–Australia summit: A meeting of minds

With shared concerns over Chinese hegemony, the time is right for a closer engagement between New Delhi and Canberra, writes Amit Dasgupta for South Asia Monitor

Is America’s middle class more sensitive than India’s?

What racism is in the world’s oldest democracy, communalism unfortunately is in its largest version in India. It is no secret that sizeable sections of India’s largest community, the Hindus, are communal,  writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

Aftermath of COVID-19: Rise of a new social class in Nepal

After the pandemic, migrant workers, including the semi-skilled and skilled labour and small-scale business people, and private job holders, who are returning from abroad, will form the neo-lower class - a new working class - that will constitute a significant population in Nepal, writes Roshan Chirag for South Asia Monitor 

ICDS can become a model for South Asia to improve lives of children

South Asian countries can use ICDS as a blueprint and further formulate their respective policies following a tailored and local approach depending on the domestic factors pertaining to their region, writes Vishwajeet Singh Raghav for South Asia Monitor

Nepal needs a comprehensive pandemic law to battle coronavirus

It is advisable for the governments - of both Nepal and possibly India - to take a leaf from the UK Coronavirus Act, 2020 which was enacted for defeating COVID-19, writes Jivesh Jha  for South Asia Monitor

Why biodiversity conservation is necessary for dealing with the pandemic

On this Environment Day, let us commit ourselves to protect the biodiversity, for our own existence, writes Pradeep S. Mehta, George Cheriyan & Simi T. B.for South Asia Monitor

Are we observing World Environment Day or World Emergency Day on June 5?

State of the environment today is certainly in a state of emergency. Many would call June 5, 2020, as World Emergency Day. In reality, today environment and emergency have indeed become synonyms, writes Rajendra Shende for South Asia Monitor

Nations should not discriminate against refugees, migrants during pandemic

This outbreak and the requirements of precautionary measures have emerged as an extra health threat to migrants who work abroad to keep their families well and also to asylum seekers. These people play a crucial role both in the economy of the countries they live in and in their countries of origin too,  writes Abdul Alim for South Asia Monitor

India's COVID-19 stimulus package: Will it revive the economy?

There seems to be a strong argument that the singular focus of the stimulus package should have been a fiscal stimulus, which would have increased public spending in physical or human capital, raised money in the hands of residents by direct cash transfers and subsidies and provided safety nets like job guarantee and unemployment benefits, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor

As corona rages in Bangladesh, opposition eyes opportunity

Leaders of the BNP and Jamat-E-Islami are thinking that the corona pandemic will totally change the political situation in the country and will help them seize power once again, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor 

Will Gilgit-Baltistan become a new regional flashpoint?

With India–China military tensions already high in parts of eastern Ladakh, the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam will add to new security challenges for India, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor

India-Bangladesh waterway project will herald a new chapter in bilateral cooperation

This inland waterway route looks all set to ensure efficient and effective cargo movement between the two neighbours and herald a new chapter in bilateral cooperation in South Asia, writes Sreeradha Datta for south Asia Monitor