avinash.godbole

Narendra Modi's visit to Mongolia was the first by an Indian PM.  Here are my talking points on that visit from a meeting-presentation. India was the first country to recognise Mongolia apart from the Soviet Bloc Mongolia was the cosponsor of the UN resolution in 1972, along with Bhutan and India, that recognised Bangladesh. India’s first Ambassador in Mongolia was Sonam Norboo, hailing from Ladak ------------------------------------ Mongolia is also seeking to expand its foreign relations with countries other than China and Russia under the policy of “Third Neighbour”. During most of the 20th century, Mongolia, due to its close links to Moscow, was said to be a country in Eastern Europe, not East Asia, where it is geographically positioned. 90 percent of Mongolian exports, most of it minerals, copper, gold, uranium and coal, go to China. China has always pressurized Mongolia for its relations with the dalai Lama, during his last visit in 2011, China lodged strong pro...

पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी १४ ते १६ मे असे तीन दिवस चीनचा दौरा केला. ह्या दौऱ्यात अनेक असे महत्वपूर्ण करार झाले ज्यामुळे भारत आणि चीन मधील आर्थिक संबंध मजबूत होतील.  मोदींच्या दौऱ्यात भारत आणि चीनने एकूण २४ सामंजस्य कार्रंवार स्वाक्षऱ्या केल्या ज्याचे एकूण आर्थिक मूल्य २२०० करोड़ इतकी आहे. एकूणच चीन पुढच्या काही वर्षात इतकी गुंतवणूक भारतात करेल. गेल्या एक वर्षात मोदी सरकारने एक सकारात्मक आणि क्रियाशील विदेशनीती अवलंबिली असून चीन, मंगोलिया आणि दक्षिण कोरियाचा दौरा ह्या नव्या विदेश नितिची उदाहरणे आहेत. ह्या अधि मोदिंनी  नेपाल, भूटान, जापान, ऑस्ट्रेलिया, अमेरिका, कॅनडा, श्रीलंका, मॉरिशस इत्यादि देशांना भेट दिली होती.   चीन हा भारतचा सर्वात शक्तिशाली शेजारी देश आहे आणि एक वैश्विक महासत्ता आहे . पण भारत चीन सम्बन्ध १९६२ च्या युद्धच्या सावलीतून अजूनही बाहेर आलेले नहित. तसेच सिमा रेशा वाद आणि अक्साई चीन आणि मैकमोहन लाइन विषयीचा वाद अजूनही पूर्णतः सुटलेला नही. तसेच दोन्ही देश सामरिक दृष्टया शक्तिशाली आहेत. त्यामुळे एकूणच सम्बन्ध गुंतागुं...

Sri Lanka's electoral results have been surprising and there are many reasons behind the outcome of the elections. In this article I took a one dimensional view of the Sri Lankan elections and see whether embracing the Chinese model of development too fast cost Mahindra Rajapaksa little too much. Here is the link to the  full article on the IDSA website.   

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, will be in India as the Chief Guest for Republic Day celebrations. He will be the first US President to be invited as the Republic Day chief guest and his recent predecessors have been Prime Minster Abe of Japan, King Jigme Wangchuck of Bhutan, Prime Minister Shinawatra from Thailand, President Susilo Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Lee Myung Bak from South Korea. The series of Asian heads of state being invited in the recent past reflects India’s closer ties across Asian countries eastward of India. Now India’s invitation to President Obama reflects the high importance India accords to the US and its sense of urgency in recasting the India US relations. This can also be seen as an extension of India’s Act East policy as the Pacific Ocean makes the US an integral actor in East Asia as well. Thus, right from the moment being announced in the social media by Prime Minister Modi, this upcoming visit has created a lot of ant...

The Indian voters have given an unprecedented mandate to the BJP led NDA in the 2014 general elections. And now India will have a new government on 26 May when Narendra Modi will take oath as the next Prime Minister. I have written two articles on the agenda for the next government on foreign policy and defence policy in two marathi news papers. I welcome your comments on these articles.

(from Herald Sun) Recent political and social developments in Hong Kong seem to indicate that China’s  one country, two systems  model is facing its most substantive challenge so far. Whether or not this issue is settled quickly and amicably would have long term implications for the mainland China-Hong Kong relations. It will also have implications for the future of China’s relations with Taiwan, in particular if the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is seen to be going back on the promises it made to the people of Hong Kong in 1997. At its core, it is a tussle between Beijing's desire for control in the name of stability and Hong Kong's wish for greater democratic space and less interference. My article on the fate of Hong Kong elections was published on IDSA website. Here is the link.

the changing times of India , a photo by fotumania! on Flickr.