Harsh V Pant

Harsh V Pant

Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and Director of Research at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi.
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Summit of Council (SCO): Strengthens India’s Geopolitical Ties

In an unanticipated move, New Delhi has decided to host the 23rd Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) virtually on July 4, 2023, rather than in person. India, the current chair of the eight-member grouping, has also invited the three Observer States and the heads of six regional and international organisations to participate in the summit hosted by prime minister Narendra Modi. Since assuming the rotating presidency at the historical city of Samarkand last year, New Delhi used its diplomatic capital to host 134 events, including 14 ministerial-level meetings to pursue the often-blurred regional collaboration and cooperation agenda of this divergent and antagonistic grouping. However, the decision to host the annual summit online has indicated India’s disappointment with what is increasingly emerging as a fragmented grouping being used by China to pursue its hegemonic interests.

Strengthening Bonds: The Surging India-Nepal Relations

By visiting China in 2008, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called Prachanda, became the first Prime Minister to break the tradition of Nepalese premiers choosing India as their maiden destination of visit. Fast forward to June 2023, Mr Prachanda not only chose India to be his first destination but also expressed contentment with his four-day visit, dubbing it an “astounding success”. The recent visit indicates that India and Nepal are moving beyond their fraught phase and taking this “hit” relationship to “Himalayan Heights.” During these four days, both countries prioritised convergences over divergences – they signed five projects and six MoUs. Areas such as hydropower electricity, connectivity, and people-to-people relations remained the centre of this fruitful engagement.

Japan’s Attempt to Strengthen Partnerships at Hiroshima

The G-7 Hiroshima Summit is the first hosted by Tokyo, Japan since the 2008 summit and comes at a time when the world is faced with enervating challenges such as the war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear proliferation, rapidly transpiring impacts of climate change, economic security, unstable supply chains and the impact and regulation of sensitive technologies.

Collaboration between ‘New’ Japan and ‘New’ India to Address Global Disorder

Harsh V. Pant Japan hosted the G-7 summit meeting last week in Hiroshima where India was a special invitee along with Australia, India, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros (representing the African Union), and the Cook Islands (representing the Pacific…

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