Manish Chand | India Writes

Nawaz Sharif’s surprise birthday gift: Modi in Lahore

December 25, 2015December 26, 2015 - by Manish Chand

It’s the mother of all surprises – Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to do what his predecessor could only dream about – breakfast in Kabul, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Delhi. In an intriguing tweet, Mr Modi announced that he will be stopping over in Lahore and meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his way back from Kabul.
Mr Modi’s sudden announcement of his trip to Lahore is in keeping with secretive out-of-the-box diplomacy that’s becoming his signature style vis-à-vis relations with Pakistan.

TAPI pipe dream turns real: Ansari’s Turkmenistan journey to galvanise energy diplomacy

December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 - by Manish Chand

India’s Connect Central Asia policy and energy diplomacy are poised for a marked upsurge as Vice President Hamid Ansari heads to Turkmenistan to represent India at the launch of TAPI pipeline – a path-breaking project of regional connectivity and energy security, linking four countries in South Asia and the Central Asia pipeline.

Biting the bullet: Abe visit to push India-Japan ties on fast-track

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Call it speed diplomacy, if you will. The friction-free India-Japan ties look set to cruise on a fast track, with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train deal already done, and waiting to be formally announced during Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s December 11-13 visit to India.

Ufa-Paris-Bangkok-Islamabad: Is frost melting in India-Pakistan ties?

December 6, 2015December 7, 2015 - by Manish Chand

It’s been a long-winding and tortuous journey for India-Pakistan relations this year, with the first signs of thaw appearing in the Paris winter amid the heated debate on global warming, and more frost melting in the sultry weather of Bangkok.

India, Malaysia enhance strategic ties: Focus on cyber security, counter-terror cooperation

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 - by Manish Chand

India and Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s economic powerhouse, have enhanced their strategic partnership by signing three pacts, including a crucial pact on cyber security, and decided to expand scale up their infrastructure and economic ties by envisaging a more proactive role for Kuala Lumpur in India’s development journey.

India calls for new strategies to combat global terror

November 22, 2015November 22, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Terrorism dominated the agenda of the just-concluded 18-nation East Asia Summit in the Malaysian capital, with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the world not to retreat in the face of terror and forge new strategies for combating this global scourge.

Modi meets Premier Li: Will terror bring India, China closer?

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Will terror bring Asia’s two rising powers closer in a meaningful connect? Going by the latest meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, enhanced security and counter-terror cooperation will form an increasingly important part of the evolving relations between the two countries.

Modi mantra for India: Reform to Transform

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 - by Manish Chand

KUALA LUMPUR: Reform to Transform – this is the mantra for India’s national transformation Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled at the ASEAN Business and Investment summit in Kuala Lumpur on …

Chasing an Asian Century, PM Modi set to galvanise India-ASEAN ties

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Selamat Pagi. Chasing the dream of a rainbow Asian Century, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in his special aircraft at Bunga Raya airport in Kuala Lumpur on November 21 to begin a three-day visit to Malaysia that is set to galvanise the country’s newly-christened Act East policy and open up new pathways of cooperation with this economically vibrant and strategic region.

Ahead of Modi-Li meet, India, China focus on upgrade of security, counter-terror cooperation

November 20, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Ahead of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Malaysian capital, the two Asian giants have taken a defining step to upgrade their security and counter-terror cooperation, which has acquired an added urgency in the backdrop of the Paris terror attacks and the growing scourge of the Islamic State.