Sheikh Hasina and Lotay Tshering have agreed on building the necessary infrastructure to avail the maximum benefits of the PTA signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Between the Melody Moment and the Hard Work Ahead: Modi's Europe Tour Outcome Will Depend on Delivery in Coming Years
India's MSME sector, the backbone of its export economy, remains largely unequipped to navigate European standards and certification requirements. As ABC Live noted, the next stage will be tougher than negotiation: India must now prove that its exporters, MSMEs, regulators, ports, testing labs, and state governments can actually use the agreement. A framework signed in Gothenburg means nothing to a textile exporter in Tiruppur who cannot get a product certified to EU standards.
Why India and Pakistan Must Move From Rivalry to Responsibility: In Fragmenting Global Order, South Asia Cannot Afford Internal Paralysis
The central lesson is simple: unresolved India-Pakistan hostility weakens South Asia from within. It prevents trade, blocks institutions, raises nuclear risk, politicizes water, militarizes borders, and diverts attention from human development. Both countries will continue to disagree on major issues. But disagreement does not require permanent hostility. Strategic maturity means building rules to manage conflict before conflict manages the region.
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.
More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs
Glasgow and South Asia: Questions on transition towards net-zero economy
Carbon finance is expected to play a critical role in leveraging private sector finance for flourishing regional power trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Don’t trust Pakistan on wheat to Afghanistan; Iran option can be explored
As Pakistan may play dirty with Indian aid to Afghanistan transiting its territory, India could consider the Iran route, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor
The unprecedented rise of the Indian-American CEO in corporate America
There’s no doubt we will see a growing number of Indians leading companies in America and around the world. And we hope that more of these leaders will be women, writes Raj L Gupta for South Asia Monitor
CPEC: A harbinger of utopia or misery for the people of Gwadar?
The success of the CPEC project, which is dubbed as a “game-changer” for the region, will be in question if the concerns of the people of Gwadar are not dealt with practically by the Pakistani establishment, writes Nizam Hassan for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan exploiting Gwadar in the garb of CPEC
Disregarding Gwadar in particular and forsaking Balochistan in general is causing a sense of alienation among the people, writes Mannan Samad for South Asia Monitor
Why Ghani failed Afghanistan: Culture of corruption, mismanagement and disrespect
Many competent and high qualified individuals refused to work in Ghani's administration and quit their jobs in frustration, writes Qudratullah Karimi for South Asia Monitor
Work-life conflict in Covid era: Is ICT a boon or a curse?
Technological domination by developed nations emerges as a new form of colonization as developing countries are the markets, writes Dr Mohammad Rezaul Karim for South Asia Monitor
Omicron and vaccine inequity: How to fix a broken system
Covid-19 led to disconnected efforts of governments, severely damaging global supply chain linkages, now leading to Omicron strain, writes Akshat Singh for South Asia Monitor
Ending global fishery subsidies: India leads the fight
Overfishing by highly subsidized distant water fishing fleets threaten the low-income countries that depend on fish for food sovereignty, hurting livelihoods of fisherfolk of this region like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Why no Bangladesh leader as chief guest at India's Republic Day yet?
It remains unclear why no leader from India’s closest neighbour Bangladesh has ever been a chief guest at the Republic Day parade, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan's headaches multiplying: Afghan spillover, Chinese pressure compounding economic woes
Pakistan seems headed to greater instability with Taliban cadres joining ISIS-K against China for genocide against Muslims in Xinjiang, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd.) for South Asia Monitor
Post-Glasgow, India should become a leader in the green energy drive
By becoming a leader in the green energy movement now, India can reap economic and climate change benefits for the nation and its citizens in the future, writes Frank F Islam for South Asia Monitor
Playing with fire: Communal flames in India pose a national threat
It is a sad picture of India of the 21st century that communal fires have erupted in states as far apart as Tripura and Maharashtra, writes Jagdish Rattanani for South Asia Monitor
Why Sri Lanka and Bangladesh need a FTA
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh must sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and, if needed, a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to boost trade and connectivity, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
