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...

Soccer and North Korea’s Moment in the Spotlight “ T heir style of playing”, said the great Maradona, “is unattractive but pretty useful in the end” while talking about the soccer style of the North Korean team. Of course, no one expected any graceful or memorable performance from the team that crashed out of the first round from the ongoing World Cup by the margin of 1:12 goals. The DPRK team lacked stars, experience, supporters, sponsors. Moreover, news reports seem to suggest that the small bunch of fans supporting the North Korean team were in fact Chinese and were paid for playing the Vuvuzela in support of North Korea. Even then, on the field the team showed that it belonged at the highest level even in their unceremonious exit. The margin of defeat and the goal difference only exemplifies their lack of exposure, which in turn calls for more engagement with North Korean sports. It is hoped and believed that engaging Korean sports would open the window to the secretly guarded Nor...

Obama's East Asia Wish List The President of the United States, Barak Obama is visiting various countries in East & Southeast Asia from the 13 th of November 2009. That he chose East Asia as his first stop in Asia as the US President underlines the importance of the region for his regime and for the United States as such. At its basic, Obama’s Asia visit has three major agenda points; North Korea, trade imbalance and trade war with Japan and China and the future of Climate Change. Besides these issues of immediate importance, there are other issues of particular American interest in East Asia. Obama will try to reassert the importance of the American military umbrella for the region, something which is being doubted by the present day Japan under the newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The Democratic Party of Japan has signalled its wish for a more independent foreign policy. In the first few days of the Hatoyama government, the US has shown some flexib...