A senior White House official said on Thursday ( Dec. 19 ) that nuclear-armed Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually make it an “emerging threat” to the United States. Since the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, deputy national surveillance director Jon Finer’s wonder discoveryContinue Reading
Asia Healthcare Holdings ( AHH), which runs a specialty hospitals focused healthcare platform, has received$ 150 million of backing GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.
Following GIC’s initial$ 170 million investment in AHH in February 2022, alternative asset manager TPG even supports AHH.
Bangalore-headquartered AHH has invested roughly$ 300 million across hospital chains in Oncology, Mother &, Childcare, Urology &, Nephrology, and IVF &, Fertility under nursery specialist.
AHH’s platform includes Motherhood Hospitals, Nova IVF, and Asian Institute of Nephrology &, Urology ( AINU) hospitals. The largest network of Neonatal Intensive Care Units ( NICUs ) is part of the pan-India chain of mother and child hospitals that provide services for women from pre-conception to post-birthing care for both children and children.
Nova, a leading ovulation company, offers best-in-class IVF treatments in South Asia. India’s even network of cardiac and nephrology specialty hospitals with advanced urology care, including mechanical surgery and cutting-edge nephrology procedures, is India’s only Urology & Nephrology specialty hospital network.
” We started AHH as a care delivery system that would invest, enhance and increase single niche enterprises under one holding organization”, said Vishal Bali, executive chairman, AHH, in a statement. Our distinguished purchase strategy has since created significant growth opportunities to address India’s healthcare services demand/supply gap.
Looking back, we continue to discover significant growth potential for single-specialty healthcare delivery companies. AHH’s unique running type and the synergies we can use from the platform’s level may enable us to recreate our achievement across the new areas we bring under our fold. GIC and TPG Growth’s long-term devotion to AHH is the precursor to expand our growth”, Bali added.
Dah Yong Cheen, chief investment officer of secret capital, GIC, noted:” As a long-term trader, we are confident in India’s second specialty healthcare sector, which has powerful tailwinds for growth driven by increasing per capita income, urbanisation, higher awareness of specialty care, and improved supply of high-quality clinics. Its potential to grow into new sub-segments makes AHH well suited for continued success.
¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
A combination of lower interest rates, lower failures, and more securities is good for businesses and governments looking to enter Asia’s bond market in 2025.
There are hopes for Asia’s tie business next year to beat 2024 which is expected to hit$ 160-165 billion in 2024 for Asia, ex-Japan. There is a lot of willingness from banks to provide in the area as issuers prepare to enter the market, which is helping to keep extends small.
Speaking at an early December press presentation in Hong Kong, Jessica Chen, head of China DCM, creation Asia ex-Japan, JP Morgan:” General spreads are small and look extremely attractive to issuers. In 2024, China is expected to overtake Korea in terms of release ( from 2023 ) as the country’s largest business”.
Chen added:” We are expecting$ 170 billion of supply in 2025 in Asia, ex Japan with stockpile to pick up over 2024. We anticipate that this pattern will continue as some businesses mortgage next year.
Another positive factor is that regional relationship failures are declining, and that the US Fed will cut interest rates even further in the coming year.  ,  ,
Soo Chong Lim, managing director, head of Asia credit research, JP Morgan, said:” Bond default rates declined to around 4.4 % in 2024 compared with 17 % in 2023, and we expect them to decline further to 3 % in 2025″.
Despite falling interest rates in the US, anticipation are mixed regarding home bonds and the potential for some headwinds.  ,
Lim added:” We expect three]US Fed ] rate cuts in 2025 and China’s GDP to grow 3.9 % next year. There will still be market volatility, particularly for the Chinese real estate sector, which is recovering slowly after a number of years of volatility. For instance, in Hong Kong, the company occupancy rate will continue to decline as a result of the supply that enters the market.
In 2024, India – probably Asia’s best performing market– had a very powerful yr for bond issuances, a trend that is set to remain in the new year.
Puja Shah, head of Southeast Asia ( SEA ), DCM and sustainable finance Asia ex-Japan, JP Morgan, said:” The high yield bond market in India was a particular bright spot in 2024 with some large names coming onto the market. It is at$ 4.7 billion YTD, and we expect that momentum to continue into 2025 with around$ 5 billion in supply”.
The issuing of green bonds is expected to increase as well. Singapore-based Shah added:” We expect stable demand, at between 25-30 % of issuances, for sustainable ( green and social ) bonds next year in the region, compared with 25 % in 2024″.
¬ Plaza Media Limited. All rights reserved.
In the annals of South Asia’s social background, India’s role in sustaining Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh stands as a striking training in the dangers of evaluating short-term corporate interests over long-term regional security.
India may deal with its guilt in preserving a program that had hampered a nation’s democratic aspirations as Bangladesh emerges from Hasina’s authoritarian rule.
The seeds of Bangladesh’s lost generation were first put in 2013 during a key visit by Sujata Singh, therefore India’s Foreign Secretary. Her visit included a meeting with General Hossain Mohammad Ershad to urge him to join in an election that all major opposition parties had abandoned only weeks before Bangladesh’s contentious general elections.
Bangladesh’s lost decade was initiated by this direct action to turn its brittle yet effective politics into fascism with American support.
It marked a pivotal moment for some Bangladeshis, highlighting the fact that India had chosen to support a routine rather than the people’s political aspirations.
In 2018 and again in 2024, much of the global society distanced itself from the Awami League’s controlled elections. However, India stood solid as Hasina’s only backer, providing her government with the worldwide legitimacy it sorely needed.
This unwavering support, combined with New Delhi’s silence on human rights abuses and political fraud, reinforced India’s picture as the innovator of a dictator. Without India’s approval, Hasina’s grip on power could not have endured.
India’s aid for Hasina was no moral. Throughout her career, essential agreements favored American interests, from transport routes to energy exports, usually at Bangladesh’s expense.
These offers were perceived by many as Hasina’s “return of favour” for India’s social support, reinforcing the storyline that she served American interests rather than her own individuals. Further eroded trust as a result of the fear that Hasina was turning Bangladesh into an Indian customer condition, similar to the death of Sikkim.
This view is key to Bangladesh’s federal consciousness. While Hasina’s state leaned heavily on India, regular Bangladeshis saw this marriage as manipulative. The Awami League’s law became associated with both local persecution and additional persecution.
Yet, India, remarkably, seems oblivious to the deep resentment this has fostered. Indian policymakers have historically seen their relationship with Bangladesh through the lens of Hasina, failing to meaningfully engage with the Bangladeshis.
India’s missteps were compounded by its media establishment, which played a significant role in distorting the narrative around Bangladesh’s political student-led revolution that ousted Hasina, as she shamefully fled to India by helicopter.
Rumor Scanner discovered that 49 Indian media outlets had spread 13 false stories about Bangladesh, many of which depicted the country’s democratic uprising as an Islamist insurgency.
One of the most glaring examples was Indian media’s coverage of the post-Hasina uprising. Newspapers like Firstpost and The Economic Times made illogical claims that China and Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency orchestrated the protests to install an anti-India government.
Such propaganda did not only include opulent media outlets. Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, joined the chorus and demanded an UN mission to help in Bangladesh. This action heightened tensions even further.
India framed the post-revolution backlash against the Awami League’s oppressive apparatus as targeted Hindu oppression, ignoring its roots in widespread political grievances.
India further alienated Bangladesh’s people by reducing the uprising to a communal narrative, presenting it as an attempt to shield a discredited regime under the pretext of protecting minorities.
The Agartala attacks and the communal framing of events in the Indian media have only heightened anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh.
Indeed, these narratives ignored the democratic essence of the uprising, portraying it instead as a threat to regional stability. By perpetuating such disinformation, Indian media and politicians alienated the Bangladeshi populace further.
As Bangladesh transitions from Hasina’s authoritarianism, India faces a critical choice: continue the policies of the past or recalibrate its approach to reflect the aspirations of a democratic Bangladesh. In order to achieve this, New Delhi must fundamentally alter its engagement strategy.
India’s relationship with Bangladesh cannot continue to be boundless by the Hasina era.
India must make amends for the country’s role in maintaining a system that stifled democracy and alienated its citizens in order to find a new course. From political interference to exploitative deals and divisive media narratives, it must first acknowledge the harm that its actions have caused.
Bangladesh’s fight for democracy has been long and arduous. Having emerged from the shadows of dictatorship, the nation now seeks a partner, not a patron. For India, this is an opportunity to build a relationship rooted in equality, respect and shared aspirations.
However, if New Delhi fails to adapt and continues to provoke during Bangladesh’s transition toward a new national identity, it runs the risk of causing the country to go down a similar path as Pakistan, which is defined by resistance to Indian influence.
India’s choice is clear: rebuild trust and embrace a democratic Bangladesh, or remain haunted by the legacy of a lost decade.
By the end of 2030, Pakistan’s New Energy Vehicle ( NEV ) policy aims to have 30 % of new vehicles ( EV ) and envisages a gradual transition to a zero-emission road fleet by 2060, establishing itself as a new player in the global EV market.  ,
In January, China’s BYD partnered with Habibullah Khan to provide Pakistan’s business. Khan’s holding company, Mega Conglomerate, owns Hub Power Company, one of the largest independent power producers ( IPPs ) in the country. The BYD cars may be imported, not produced domestically, according to the news.
An EV boomlet has followed. Pakistan’s Nishat Group announced its car division had debut an Volt with South Korea’s Hyundai, while another secret enterprise issued a statement committing a US$ 250 million investment in Pakistan’s EV market.  ,
Foreign state-owned car makers Changan and MG announced plans to introduce their electric vehicles in Pakistan, while Aima, a brand of Chinese energy two-wheelers, opened an outlet in October.
Awais Leghari, Pakistan’s national energy minister, reported to Asia Times that his team was working on a draft for establishing charging points throughout the nation as part of a campaign to promote electronic cars, motorcycles, and also electrical rickshaws.
Show Dewan Companies, significant for representing BMW in Pakistan, just partnered with Taiwanese EV charger maker Donar. The joint walk aims to provide the necessary equipment for EV charging.
Other Chinese firms such as Great Wall Motors, BAIC, Changan, JAC Motors, FAW, and Chery Automobiles are likewise quickly expanding their footsteps in the country.
Pakistan has the option of reducing its reliance on imported fossil fuels, which drains foreign trade and exposes the country to the uncertainty of the world’s oil prices. By adopting Tesla, Pakistan has the opportunity to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels.
However, Pakistan’s success will depend on how well-known electric car manufacturers around the world answer. Despite China’s first supremacy, Pakistan’s EV industry is still largely undiscovered by Western manufacturers, including those from the US and UK.  ,
In the US, the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act ( IRA ) has aimed to spur green energy investments, including in EVs, through tax incentives and other measures. It’s not apparent, but, the IRA‘s EV generate will thrive under Trump 2.0.
” To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the’ Green New Scam ‘”, Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York in September. ” ]We will ] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed IRA”, he added.
In his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in August, Trump declared,” I will stop the electric car mandate on day one.
The Zero Emission Mandate ( ZEM) was passed into law in the UK in January, making it mandatory to go completely electric vehicles by 2035.
This time, labor leaders said it would restore the ZEV mandate’s unique purpose: 100 % zero-emission cars by 2030. The Daily Mail reported that the government’s federal set its initial mission goal of five years earlier, and that there is a demand that automakers are unable to meet.
This strategy has caused a number of automakers in the UK to be in despair setting. These businesses frequently offer discounts and promotions in exchange for meeting EV sales goals, but maintaining demand has put pressure on even the most well-established businesses.
In response, Vauxhall has announced plans to shut down its Luton mill, and Ford has announced it may reduce 800 jobs in the UK over the next three years due to tense market conditions.
Local collaborations with Pakistan-based businesses may make sense, even though US and UK EV manufacturers are increasingly faced with challenging domestic circumstances.
” We’re offering a range of bonuses, including tax cuts, subsidies, and investment in infrastructure growth”, said Minister Leghari.
Additionally, we’re establishing a one-stop factory for investors, giving them the needed guidance and support to launch their companies in Pakistan. Our goal is to create a level playing field for all owners, regardless of their country of origin”, he said.
While EV desire is stalling in some European countries, it’s growing closely in Pakistan. Additionally, Pakistan’s geographical proximity provides a gate not just to Pakistan but to many other nations just starting to adopt Batteries. It also provides a gateway to South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
” Our goal is to create a dynamic and business-friendly environment that encourages international manufacturers to establish factories in Pakistan and trade to local industry,” Leghari said.  ,
The state is providing NEV-specific technologies zones at lower price space, leasing options, and natural loans to promote EV manufacturing investment. There will also be sales tax exemptions for locally produced parts, as well as a 1 % customs duty on NEV pieces and 10 % on total NEV imports until 2027, among other financial opportunities.
Other incentives include a lower electricity tariff, a lower goods and services tax rate of 1 % for EVs, and a lower import duty of only 1 % for charging equipment.
Leghari claims that his government is looking into introducing more incentives, such as lowering the express bank’s financing rates, to draw in foreign automakers with domestic market challenges.
While the hopes for Pakistan’s EV industry are promising, there are still several challenges and risks. Like elsewhere, one major obstacle is the lack of charging channels, which certainly is essential for the common EV adoption.  ,
Leghari claimed that the government supports public-private alliances to support the creation of charging system. The government is also working on setting standards for EV charging stations and offering incentives for their setup.
The government and private organizations are installing more charging stations, but the rate is still delayed. Despite the various cost-savings measures, the higher upfront costs of Vehicle automobiles can also be a significant challenge for many consumers.
Pakistan has the ability to become a hotspot for South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East’s EV production and trade industry. And not just for Taiwanese EV makers, but also for Western and other Eastern car makers as well.  ,  ,
Owais Rawda is a scientist on power and technology who writes about governmental policy. He can be reached on [email protected]
ReutersBusiness leaders have told the BBC that corruption allegations made by a US judge against the Adani Group are unlikely to significantly alter India’s commitment to fresh energy.
Delhi, which is essential to global efforts to combat climate change, has committed to getting half of its energy needs or 500 gigawatts ( GW ) of electricity from renewable sources by 2032.
The Adani Group is expected to make a twelfth of that contribution.
The legal troubles in the US could temporarily delay the group’s expansion plans but will not affect the government’s overall targets, analysts say.
Over the past ten years, India has made significant progress in building a clean energy facilities.
The nation is growing at the “fastest level among key economy” in adding solar potential, according to the International Energy Agency.
Installed fresh strength power has grown five-fold, with some 45 % of the region’s power-generation capacity- of almost 200GW- coming from non-fossil fuel sources.
Charges against the Adani Group- essential to India’s fresh energy ambitions- are “like a passing black cloud”, and will not adequately impact this momentum, a previous CEO of a rival firm said, wanting to remain anonymous.
Getty ImagesGautam Adani has vowed to invest $100bn (£78.3bn) in India’s energy transition. Its green energy arm is the country’s largest renewable energy company, producing nearly 11GW of clean energy through a diverse portfolio of wind and solar projects.
Adani has a goal to scale that to 50GW BY 2030, which will make up roughly 10 % of the region’s unique installed power.
Over half of that, or 30GW, may be produced at Khavda, in the northern Indian state of Gujarat. It is billed as the largest fresh power plant in the world, five times the size of Paris, and the crown jewel of Adani’s solar initiative.
However, US prosecutors are now focusing on Khavda and Adani’s other renewable energy amenities, alleging that they obtained bribes from American officials after winning contracts to supply power to express submission companies from these facilities. The organization has refuted this assertion.
However, the consequences are now discernible at the organization level.
Adani Green Energy immediately canceled a$ 600 million bond offering in the US when the indictment was made public.
France’s TotalEnergies, which owns 20 % of Adani Green Energy and has a joint endeavor to develop various solar projects with the company, said it will end new capital infusion into the business.
Significant credit ratings agencies- Moody’s, Fitch and S&, P- have since changed their view on Adani team companies, including Adani Green Energy, to bad. This may affect the company’s ability to raise money and increase the cost of doing so.
As global loans become resentful of the group’s increased exposure, researchers have also raised fears about Adani Green Energy’s ability to refinance its debts.
International lenders like Jeffries and Barclays are now said to be reviewing their ties to Adani despite the group’s dependence on foreign banks and local friendship issues for long-term bill increasing from little 14 % in the 2016 fiscal year to nearly 60 % as of this writing, according to a Bernstein note.
Nomura, a Japanese brokerage, claims that new financing should “gradually resume in the long term” despite the possibility that it might dry up in the short term. Meanwhile, Japanese banks like MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho are likely to continue their relationship with the group.
The “reputational and sentimental impact” will fade away in a few months, as Adani is building” solid, strategic assets and creating long-term value”, the unnamed CEO said.
Getty ImagesThe Adani Group’s spokesperson told the BBC that it was” confident of delivering 50 GW of renewable energy capacity and committed to its 2030 goals.”
Adani stocks have rebounded significantly from their lowest levels since the US court’s indictment.
Some analysts told the BBC that Adani’s competitors might benefit from a potential slowdown in funding.
While Adani’s financial influence has allowed it to rapidly expand in the sector, its competitors such as Tata Power, Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Power, Greenko and state-run NTPC Ltd are also significantly ramping up manufacturing and generation capacity.
” It’s not that Adani is a green energy champion. Being the biggest private developer of coal plants in the world, it is a big player that has walked both sides of the street,” said Tim Buckley, director at Climate Energy Finance.
A large entity, “perceived to be corrupt” possibly slowing its expansion, could mean “more money will start flowing into other green energy companies”, he said.
According to Vibhuti Garg, director of South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis ( IEEFA ), market fundamentals also continue to be strong, with India’s demand outpacing supply, which is likely to maintain the appetite for large investments.
What could in fact slow the pace of India’s clean energy ambitions is its own bureaucracy.
” Companies we track are very upbeat. Finance isn’t a problem for them. If anything, it is state-level regulations that act as a kind of deterrent”, says Ms Garg.
Getty ImagesMost state-run power distribution companies continue to face financial constraints, opting for cheaper fossil fuels, while dragging their feet on signing purchase agreements.
According to Reuters, the controversial tender won by Adani was the first major contract issued by state-run Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) without a guaranteed purchase agreement from distributors.
According to SEC I’s chairman, there are 30GW of operational green energy projects on the market without buyers.
According to experts, the 8GW solar contract at the heart of Adani’s US indictment also reveals the tense tendering process, which required solar power generation companies to produce modules, which limited the number of bidders and increased power costs.
According to Ms. Garg, the court’s indictment will undoubtedly cause the bidding and tendering rules to tighten.
According to Mr. Buckley, a cleaner tendering process that lowers risks for both developers and investors will be crucial going forward.
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India and China, the country’s two most popular nations, are key to international environment efforts. They make up over a third of the international community as a whole, and they tremendously increase global pollution. As significant economies and emerging market leaders, their actions may have a significant impact on achieving or preventing international climate goals.
This reality was highlighted by the recent 29th Conference of the Parties ( COP29 ) in Azerbaijan, which was a significant advance in the global climate agenda. Countries converged to set a more ambitious climate finance target, which would accelerate action on pollution and adaptation, after key agreements were reached to promote climate action at the summit, known as the” climate finance COP.”
The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will remove the US$ 100 billion goal that is pending, and commit to organizing US$ 300 billion yearly for developing nations by 2035, was a crucial result.
Nevertheless, the NCQG falls little of the US$ 1.3 trillion goal that developing nations had advocated for, and even that figure may not be sufficient to meet their climate financing needs.
Important questions remain: Who will make the expenses? Does the money remain in the form of grants, concessional funding, or private field loans? And, crucially, how will these tools be allocated and distributed? For the NCQG to really work, these difficulties must get addressed.
Major effects will be had by the new agreement for both China and India. As main players in this environment financing commitment, their contributions, alongside international support, may be crucial in determining whether the world can match its climate objectives.
India is a key emerging economy that struggles to strike a balance between achieving climate goals and achieving financial growth and reducing poverty. India’s need for more climate finance was highlighted by current COP29 discussions as a result of its need for a low-carbon business.
New Delhi has much argued that developed countries, which account for the majority of traditional pollution and have experienced higher levels of economic growth, may bear a larger share of the fiscal load. India has made significant progress in renewable energy, setting a lofty goal of 500 gigawatts ( GW ) of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030, but it still faces significant challenges in implementing these initiatives without substantial financial and technological support.
Hope is provided by the NCQG’s commitment to raising US$ 300 billion annually for developing nations. However, India’s request for more significant climate fund is still unheeded.
India’s strategy to weather motion is essentially linked to its growth priorities. India is ranked 10th in the most recent Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), with a relatively low per capita emissions of 2.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2 ), which is significantly lower than the global average of 6.6 tCO2. This ranking reflects India’s vigilant climate policies, which demonstrate that green growth is possible even for developing nations.
India has, however, constantly emphasized that climate finance should not have constrained by factors like green standards or policy restrictions that might impair its ability to grow economically. The important issue facing New Delhi may be balancing its development needs with its commitments to the environment, making sure that financial aid is both fair and clear.
China, for its part, has also faced investigation. China’s inappropriate contributions to climate financing at COP29 were subject to intense scrutiny. Its monetary commitment to international climate action is increasingly seen as a decisive test of its authority on the international level because it is the world’s largest emission.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, weather fund responsibility falls on developed countries due to their historical pollution. But, negotiators are increasingly urging China to play a bigger economic part.
China maintains its position as a developing nation and opposes mandated contributions, but its deliberate pledges have raised questions about their commitment, setting the stage for further discussion of China’s financial responsibility in international climate actions.
Critics argue that China’s rising world influence, its powerful technological capacity and its reputation as the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitter , involve greater role in addressing climate change. China’s position in climate finance will be under increased scrutiny as the pressure mounts against it, especially if Beijing wants to exert greater influence in shaping international climate politics.
Since 2016, China has committed over US$ 24.5 billion in climate financing to developing countries, according to Chinese leaders. Monthly efforts are thought to be around US$ 4 billion, which is around 5 % of what developed nations contribute. While important, it also falls short of the US$ 100 billion annual goal for developed countries, a duty China has yet to join.
China has emerged as a significant person in climate financing, but it does so on its own terms and outside the conventional United Nations construction. Importantly, a significant portion of its monetary contributions are in the form of loans rather than grants, which raises questions about the potential debt burdens of the recipient countries over the long term and the potential viability of the project.
As China’s geopolitical and economic power grows, its climate finance plan will be under increasing pressure, especially as demands for greater accountability and stronger commitments grow.
COP29 set a crucial step with the NCQG. The meeting made clear that India and China are crucial in funding international climate action. Both nations may then set the example. After all, their actions may shape the future of climate politics and international conservation.
Neeraj Singh Manhas is the Republic of Korea’s Parley Policy Initiative’s special assistant for South Asia. He recently held the position of Research Director for the Indo-Pacific Consortium at Raisina House in New Delhi.
Sergei Shoigu, a director of the Russian Security Council, traveled to Afghanistan this week to promote Moscow’s” Greater Eurasian Partnership,” a great strategic plan to create new trade routes and administrative alliances in Asia.
Russia has prioritized GRP because of the US’s and the West’s unprecedented sanctions against Russia in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, which some people view as Russia’s “pivot to Asia” scheme.
Since then, Russia has revived the previously stalled International North-South Transport Corridor ( INSTC ) between itself and India via Iran, with branch corridors through Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO ), an Eurasian political, economic, and security and defense organization established by Russia and China in 2001, has also been pushed for a larger regional role.
These are pertinent to Afghanistan both through its trade with India via the INSTC and as a SCO spectator. Central, South, and West Asia are at their intersections, and Afghanistan is effectively located there.
Shoigu’s top goal is to increase military-technical assistance with the ruling Taliban so that it can defeat ISIS-K, a militant group that has a presence in Afghanistan and has previously attacked Russia.
In order to better coordinate their efforts to contain local security risks like ISIS-K, Shoigu has pledged that Russia will replace the Taliban from its record of terrorist organizations.
In reverse, Russia is expected to stimulate the SCO to integrate more carefully with Afghanistan, including probably through more intelligence-sharing and future anti-terrorist activities.
Afghanistan’s strategic location also facilitates South Asian power and trade. The Taliban must stabilize private security, strengthen ties with Pakistan, and hope that Pakistan and India’s frequently strained relations will improve in order for that strategy to be viable.
Recent years have seen significant improvement in Russian-Pakistani ties, with considerable progress also being made in recent months. Later in September, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk visited Pakistan for two days, and Moscow hosted the first-ever Russian-Pakistani Trade and Investment Forum.
On the SCO Summit in Tashkent in September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” The goal is to provide pipeline gas from Russia to Pakistan. This is achievable as , also, in , see of , the , truth that some equipment is already in , location in , Russia, Kazakhstan and , Uzbekistan”.
This potential Russian network may potentially even extend to India if Afghan-Pakistani relationships improve in tandem with Afghan-Pakistani relations.
Even without headway on Putin’s proposed network, Russia could possibly turn Afghanistan into a local oil gateway, as the Taliban envisages, according to a Reuters statement.
Nooruddin Azizi, the acting Afghan secretary of industry and trade, made the report based on what Nooruddin Azizi, the country’s oil-producing nation, said to Sputnik in August 2022 about Kabul’s want to trade its vast mineral reserves.
( In 2010, the US assessed that Afghanistan has nearly US$ 1 trillion worth of untapped minerals, including lithium. )
So, it appears as though the pieces are all in place for Russia to exchange oil for minerals from Afghanistan, transform the country into a local fuel hub, and then assist in mediating an Afghan-Pakistani dispute to facilitate its oil exports to Pakistan and lay the democratic foundation for the construction of a pipeline.
On the business before, a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) to create a travel corridor between Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan was signed in August 2023.
This corridor, which is tentatively referred to as the Central Eurasian Corridor ( CEC ) or the SCO Corridor due to its geographic location and institutional association, was referenced in the MoU signed between Pakistan and Russia during Overchuk’s visit in late September.
These legal grounds can expedite plans to build a Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan ( PAKAFUZ) railway. The CEC/SCO Corridor, with PAKAFUZ as its base, can even eventually grow to India dependent on increased ties with Pakistan.
Shoigu traveled to Afghanistan to learn more about closer military-technical cooperation in battling ISIS-K in response to Russia’s pending end of the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organization.
Russia’s ambitious plans for integrating Afghanistan into its GEP through the construction of a transregional transport corridor with complementary energy infrastructure require this cooperation.
Russia may provide mediation for Pakistan and India’s long-running Kashmir dispute if requested, and this new corridor might encourage them to do so.
In turn, Pakistan could profit from facilitating trade between India and Russia in Central Asia and Afghanistan, while Pakistani trade with all three countries could be facilitated through Pakistan.
By enhancing the role that South Asia, particularly Pakistan and India, play in its balancing act, it will help Russia avoid becoming too dependent on China.
From the incoming Trump administration’s perspective, this would advance the returning president’s stated goal of “un-uniting” Russia and China, though some US officials might seek to obstruct this gambit.
With these possibilities in mind, Shoigu’s trip to Kabul can, therefore, be seen as part of a major power play designed to further Russia’s grand strategic goal of becoming a leading Asian nation.
These plans could be hampered, of course, if ISIS-K is not quickly defeated, and even that could take some time. But improved Russian-Afghan ties could shift the region’s geopolitical and geo-economic balance if even just part of Moscow’s plans come to fruition.
COLOMBO: On Wednesday ( Nov 27 ), heavy rains slammed southern India, with coastal areas in the area anticipating a potential cyclonic storm as rescue teams in neighboring Sri Lanka searched for eight people who had been missing from floods. Storms are a frequent and deadly threat in the area,Continue Reading
FinanceAsia ‘s , annual Achievement Awards recognise excellence across the divers financial markets of Asia Pacific ( Apac ) and the Middle East.
The Achievement Awards, which span five distinct categories, include Deal Honors for Apac and the Middle East, House Awards for Apac and the Middle East, and our Dealmaker Poll, show the achievements of major players in these areas as well as those who have shown commitment to their industry.
We’re pleased to announce that the judging process for this year’s awards has now come to an end after receiving almost 1, 000 submissions from our Advisory Board of external specialists and the help of our editorial staff.
Below are the types and winners’ respective links.  ,
The logic behind success collection will get published in our upcoming , FinanceAsia , reports. Please call the , FinanceAsia staff if you have any concerns.  ,
You see all the winners below:  ,
FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2024: Apac’s best talks
FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2024: Middle East’s best offers
FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2024: Dealmaker Poll finalists
FinanceAsia , Achievement Awards 2024: Apac’s best funding homes
FinanceAsia , Achievement Awards 2024: Middle East’s best funding houses
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