South Asia Center

Avoiding complete defeat for US goals after the military withdrawal will require swift, coordinated action from Washington. Five former top US diplomats to Afghanistan reveal how to do it.

Leaders from the EU and India met virtually in Portugal, walking away with a renewal of free-trade negotiations, the start of two additional trade agreements, and a new Connectivity Partnership. Here’s what our experts are saying about the meeting.

It is a good start that President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate invited three South Asian nations and five African countries to present their perspectives to the world; however, Biden’s efforts were not adequate. Western world leaders need to pay special attention to what South Asian and African experts have to say. This moment in history provides a critical opportunity for enlightened policymaking that could enable African and South Asian nations to be a force for clean, green, and sustainable economic growth and industrialization; a failure to seize this moment by excluding their voices will undermine global climate action and lead to a ruinous future for over half the world’s population.

Away from India’s awful COVID-19 scenes playing out are elections Washington should not ignore. The ongoing state elections in India’s east, specifically the states of West Bengal and Assam, are characterized by dynamics central to today’s India and their results will have long-lasting implications for national politics. The fanning of toxic identity politics, compromising of democratic institutions, the worrisome rise of COVID-19 cases, and the effect on foreign relations are aspects of these elections that deserve Washington’s serious attention.

Afghanistan is caught between a rock and a hard place, trapped between a turbulent global and regional environment and uncertain domestic politics resulting from the departure of American troops. In this context, the Afghan foreign policy and national security establishment should declare Afghanistan as a neutral zone through the adoption of a neutral foreign policy.

When the United States and its allies entered Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks, it did not merely sign up to bring human rights to the Afghan people or to fight a local insurgent group. Indeed, the intervention was driven just as much by the US-led global war on terror, a fight in which we, the people of Afghanistan, have bled and sacrificed thousands of military and civilian lives alongside our US and NATO partners.

Between the United States and India, challenges on trade, specifically agricultural trade, persist. This analysis concludes that both countries should pursue a multi-pronged approach to expanding bilateral agricultural trade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to usher in another half a billion Indians online is a fitting goal for an ambitious, young digital nation. Yet closing India’s digital divides and developing a robust digital economy will require a moonshot effort that leaves little room for error.

Agriculture has formed the backbone of India’s economy for many decades and remains crucial to providing food security for the country’s growing population. It constitutes a major pillar of India’s economic growth and a significant contributor to its growing exports sector.