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January 2012

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Diplomatist Defined

A Foreign Office employee officially engaged as a diplomat; a person, or organization that is astute and tactful in any negotiation or relationship. This website attempts to conform to the second definition in the form of Public Diplomacy (see below).

 

Diplomacy Defined

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peacemaking, trade, economics, culture, environment and human rights. The most common types of diplomacy:
Political Diplomacy; Economic Diplomacy; Public Diplomacy; and, Soft Diplomacy.

 

 
 

Formula One comes to India

 

 

 

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There is self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interest. This is the bitter truth.

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An ideal place to stay while attending Formula One races in Greater Noida, or visiting the nearby India Expo Mart. Read it

 

EDITORIAL

 LATEST BILATERAL NEWS

January 2012

Syria on the edge as Arab League observers arrive

Welcome to the first edition of the New Year. As we welcome 2012 with a feeling of anticipation mixed with a palpable sense of awe, one cannot help but marvel at how the future loves to remain an enigma, a guess work, an astrologer’s nightmare. So even though 2011 did throw up many surprises in places least expected it is difficult to fathom what 2012 will resemble. 

Latest protest in Russia biggest since collapse of Soviet Union
Brazil overtakes UK as the world’s sixth largest economy
China and Japan unveil plans for direct currency agreement
World leaders condemn Nigeria bomb attacks
South Korean delegation pays respects to Kim

 

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CONTENT

January 2012

Myanmar: Towards Democracy and Development?
After decades of economic and political stagnation, the past year has offered the first hints of a better future for the long suffering people of Burma/Myanmar. Elections held in November 2010, the formation of a new ‘civilian’ government made up of ex-military officers, and some announced reforms of media censorship and political restrictions, have all contributed to an environment of hope. Read more...

India and Israel – 20 Years of Possibilities and Potential
It seems inconceivable that India and Israel lacked any relationship for most of their relatively brief histories and established full diplomatic ties the same year Israel and China did (1992). Yet by 2003, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, acknowledged that the relationship was already second in importance “… only to Israel’s relations with the United States.” Read more...

Downslide in US-Pak Relations and Implications for India
Ever since Pakistan army’s duplicitous post 9/11 U-turn of hunting with the hounds and running with the hare, while the US giving it the status of ‘frontline ally in the war against terror’, kept giving it arms and monetary aid, this writer often asked how long this flawed equation could continue. Read more...

India’s Permanent Ally in an Ephemeral World Order
Indo-Russian relations are said to have withstood the winds of change. Both countries enjoy ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’. The political meet between the leaders of the two countries extends to the economic and the defence sector, which form an integral part of the bilateral relationship. Read more...

Duma Elections 2011: From ‘Managed’ to Genuine Electoral Democracy?
The 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation created a political system, often referred to as ‘super-presidential’ with a powerful president and a relatively weak parliament. The State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma) is the lower house of Russian Parliament. Read more...

India-Russia Strategic Relationship Strength and Substance
The strategic relations between India and Russia date back to the Soviet period, especially in the field of defence cooperation, thus making both countries traditional partners. Read more...

Trade and Investment Cooperation Touching New Highs
India has always been one of Russia’s closest and most reliable friend and partner. The Government and business leaders of both countries are committed to deepening cooperation in economic, trade and investment areas for the growth and welfare of the people of our countries. Today, India and Russia are among the world leaders in terms of economic growth. Read more...

(Arab Awakening) Liberals versus Islamists in Egypt
The unrest in Tunisia provided the stimulus for wider turbulence in the region. In a chain reaction, discontent surfaced soon in Egypt Read more...

(Arab Awakening) Yemen’s Journey towards Empowerment
In January 2011, protests began in Yemen, in both the South and the North of the country. Initial demonstrations were against the government’s proposals for further amendment to the Constitution of Yemen, Read more...

India’s Nuclear Dilemma in West Asia
The Iranian nuclear programme is once again hitting the headlines and the spectre of military conflict in West Asia looms large over the horizon. Citing “credible” intelligence in its latest report to the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed “serious concerns” that Iran is working towards building a nuclear weapon. Read more...

‘The Commonwealth is not about government, but about its citizens’
Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, a seasoned Indian diplomat and former Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, was recently re-appointed as the Commonwealth Secretary-General for a four-year term beginning April 2012. In an interview with Yamini Chowdhury, Associate Editor, Diplomatist, the Secretary-General of the 54-nation grouping elaborated on a wide-range of issues, ranging from the relevance of the grouping in the 21st century to the judicious utilization of the Commonwealth’s potential. Read more...

Vaclav Havel – Symbolizing the Post-Communist Democratic Era
It was a gloomy day for the Czech nation to learn on the morning of 18 December 2011 that our former President and highly respected public figure, who led the Czechoslovakian “Velvet Revolution”, had died at the age of 75. As the Czech nation and international community mourns the loss of one of the fathers of the East European democracy movement Read more...

The Indian-Brazilian Win-Win Game
They may be very different in their respective gigantic sizes – India has 1.2 billion people (the second largest population in the world) and Brazil ‘only’ less than 200 million, the fifth largest in the world. Brazil has an area of 8.51 million sq km, making it the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere, and India ‘only’ 3.28 million sq km, the largest country in South Asia. Read more...

Foreign Direct Investment in Retail – Boon or Bane?
The backdrop to this article is the current debate and uncertainty regarding permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Multi-Brand Retail Trade (MBRT) sector. It is surprising that the Government took a step with such significant economic, political and social ramifications without the consensus of its coalition members as well as the opposition.. Read more...

Bounteous Karnataka – Harvesting the Abundant Agri Potential
The state of Karnataka in South India is often considered to be a melting pot of cultures, languages and faiths. Though the world knows the state due to the IT prowess of its capital Bengaluru, Karnataka, the eighth largest state in terms of geographical size, boasts of immense diversity in its landscape and language. Read more...

Women Power: Women Empowerment and Development in Gujarat
Development through Empowerment may be what the Government of Gujarat envisaged when it announced special incentives for women under its Samras Scheme. Read more...

Successful Conservation Stories in Gujarat State, India
In a major initiative to boost tree plantation and improve the ecology of the State, and also to connect people with tree, the Government of Gujarat embarked upon an ambitious drive in the year 2004 Read more...

Unearthing Sonalika Tractors – The Complete Agricultural Service Provider
From humble beginnings in 1969 to emerging as the leader in tractor and farm equipment manufacturing in India, Sonalika Group has come a long way. Ever since its inception, the group has created a rich culture of serving the cause of farm mechanisation in India and abroad. Read more...  

Special Report
Welcome To Sri Lanka Exo 2012
Medha Patkar Searches for a New Cause
'Smart Clobalisation' A Corollary of Trilemma Read more...

Prelude to the Pushkin Medal
Growing up in England, Italy and America gave me the good fortune of such an exposure. I was fortunate that in my mother, Leela, who, while being deeply rooted in Hinduism and Sanskrit, was keen to learn from the alien ambiences where my father’s diplomatic assignments took him. My father Moni Moulik, and my husband Mohandas Moses, possessed something of the Renaissance man. They could traverse many cultural worlds without losing their own cultural identities. Read more...

The Art of Ajanta
One of the finest specimens of art in India is the ancient Indian caves of Ajanta. Hardly any Indian would be unaware of this mesmerizing heritage of architecture, sculpture and murals. Read more...