Leaders of BRICS nations have started gathering in Delhi for a two-day weekend summit to be followed by a Delhi Declaration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held bilateral talks ahead of the summit on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Delhi on Saturday after a gap of seven years. This will be Xi’s first visit to India since the Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh.
BRICS, originally a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded to include 11 countries. These nations represent about half the world’s population and more than 40 per cent of world GDP. India is eyeing purchase of S-500 missile systems and Su-57 fighter jets from Russia, apart from inking agreements on purchase of rare earth, etc.
Xi is coming with a big delegation of Chinese businessmen and officials from China National Petroleum Corporation, China Cosco Shipping Corporation, Alibaba and Huawei industrial groups. India exports only $20 billion worth goods to China but imports a whopping $131 billion worth goods from its neighbour. With multilateral organizations, including the UN, failing to meet their objectives, the world is waiting for a new order to emerge.
India cannot wait. It wants BRICS to be used as a fulcrum for rewriting new rules for an economic order. With the Ukraine conflict on, Russia is carrying out its trade with India and China in rubles. India, which was following the rules of US-led economic order, is now exploring opportunities to frame new rules. This is a big change.
Xi Jinping’s India visit is significant. India-China relations had taken a downturn after the Galwan Valley clash. It was Modi who initiated a fresh beginning from last year’s SCO summit. It was left to ‘Dhurandhar’ NSA Ajit Doval to finalize Xi’s India visit when he landed in Beijing for boundary dispute talks. China is eyeing a big market in India, which needs rare earths, electronic components and machinery from its neighbour.
Xi’s one-to-one talks with Modi tomorrow is going to set the pace for a new reset in bilateral relations. Modi’s second most important guest is Vladimir Putin. India-Russia friendship got a new fillip three years ago, when India decided to buy Russian oil ignoring Western sanctions.
With Modi, Xi and Putin meeting in Delhi, US President Donald Trump will naturally be all eyes and ears. Is a new world order in the offing? Time will tell. The visit of Iranian President Pezeshkian to BRICS summit is another significant development. Iran has kept Trump on his toes since the conflict began in February. The world is waiting for the US-Iran conflict to end because it has disrupted supply chains across continents.
With all eyes of Modi, can a way be found out to bring the US-Iran conflict to an end? Let us wait.
Mecca Pact : How Pakistan betrayed Saudis
Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir today discussed the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Asim Munir reportedly urged the Iranian foreign minister to rein in the Houthis before the conflict between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia escalates further.
Houthis are a militant group in Yemen often regarded as a proxy group backed by Iran and part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance” in the West Asia region, like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to latest reports, Houthi rebels today reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait tightening their grip on one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Yemeni government sources said, its forces have withdrawn from Perim and the Houthis have also taken control of the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island. Pakistan is now caught in a Catch-22 situation. It does not want to antagonize either Saudi Arabia or Iran.
Pakistan defence minister Khwaja Asif had earlier warned of activating the Mecca Defence Pact in view of the escalating conflict between Saudis and Houthis. But later he toned down saying the Mecca Pact is not “aggressive in nature,” but if there any member country is attacked, the other two countries will be driven to respond.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry clarified that no military plan is in place to counter the aggression by Houthi rebels. The fact is, Gen Asim Munir signed the Mecca Pact with Saudi Arabia to mislead the people of Pakistan. With the Houthi rebels knocking at the doors of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s policy has been exposed. Its leaders are engaged in all talk and no action.
In Hindi, we call it “Bayaan Bahadur” (empty boast). Earlier, Asim Munir and Shehbaz Sharif misled Donald Trump by promising to get a deal done with Iran and make the latter surrender, but its bluff was called and the promises proved to be hollow.
Now that Houthi rebels are advancing towards Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is badly exposed. In Hindi, we say, “Lene Ke Deney Pad Gaye” (It backfired).
Jadavpur : Suvendu will break Left’s last bastion
The West Bengal Assembly yesterday passed by the WB Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill. It empowers the government to transfer teaching and non-teaching staff from one state university to another.
Speaking in the assembly, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, “we will use the law to send the self-proclaimed pandits to some of the newly opened weak universities to strengthen their infrastructure. Those teachers who are unwilling to go can resign.” Suvendu Adhikari appeared to be in full fire mode.
He said, “ They forcibly take students out of the hostel and raise slogans like ‘Kashmir Maange Azaadi’ and ‘Bharat Teri Tukde Honge’. We will break you into pieces. There has to be a limit. Those who say ‘Red Salute to Kishenji’ have all been identified. Not all of them are students. Those who are engaged in this brainwashing also need some strong medicine…It is time to uproot the seeds of Naxalism in Bengal.”
Left parties and Trinamool Congress have threatened to go to the streets and courts to challenge this law. Jadavpur University has been a strong bastion of the Left since several decades. Recently, there were clashes between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Left students over removal of wall graffiti.
In Jadavpur University, while students pass out after studies and leave, the teachers remain entrenched and they carry on with their pro-Left agenda. With Suvendu Adhikari bringing a new law for transfer of teachers to other universities, a new era is going to begin. This is the reason why the Left is up in arms.