Southern Asia

Two Chinese teachers based in Pakistan’s southwest province of Baluchistan were reportedly abducted and murdered by militants from the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (ISIS).

For nearly 70 years now, Russia and India have maintained close relations both in the economic sphere and in defence. Russia has been the major supplier of armament for India for a long time, and has helped the country a lot in the confrontation with Pakistan. However, in recent years, the Russian-Indian relations have seemed to be losing their warmth. This impression is supported by the active foreign policy of the both states.

At the ” One Belt, One Road” forum held in Beijing in May 2017 – with much pomp – the absence of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was associated by almost all world mass media with India’s disagreement with the conditions for the establishment of the China-Pakistani economic corridor (CPEC), which has a key role in the implementation of OBOR.

According to various researches, China will inevitably become world’s largest economy by 2050, followed by India, while the United States will only be able to rank third. As of now, India’s population is already surpassing 1.2 billion people, and the numbers keep growing. It’s curious that the total population of the European Union barely reaches 510 million people, and among its states birth rates have been on a sliding slope for a long while.

Right-wing, anti-Iranian figures and media in the United States have begun circulating claims that Iran had violated the JCPOA that resulted from the P5+1 nuclear negotiations, and indeed has a nuclear weapons program. Various pro-Israeli and anti-Iranian voices in the US echoed this claim.

Nepal is a small country in the Himalayas squeezed between India and China. These two Asian giants have long been vying for Nepal. Though, traditionally, India was considered Nepal’s key partner, lately China has been gaining foothold in this country.

In January 2017, Pakistan again turned out to be in the center of Middle East politics, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) made a hasty statement on its joining the Islamic Military Alliance (IMA); Riyadh also wanted to appoint the former Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif as Commander-in-Chief of the IMA.

In January 2017, Pakistan again turned out to be in the center of Middle East politics, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) made a hasty statement on its joining the Islamic Military Alliance (IMA); Riyadh also wanted to appoint the former Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif as Commander-in-Chief of the IMA.

On January 17-19, 2017, New Delhi once again hosted Raisina Dialogue, a large-scale international conference. Over a relatively short period, the conference has not only clearly become a tradition, but has also become one of the most important meetings on international affairs on the global calendar.