Showing results for "Shoura Council"

A vacuum in the Asia Pacific region

  • The Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) held the first extraordinary leadership meeting in its history on Friday as the region recovers from the pandemic after the biggest economic and political shock since the Second World War.  As 2021 APEC chair, New Zealand’s highest priority is lea...
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EU’s balancing act between Beijing and Biden

  • The surprise signing in December of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), despite the coronavirus chill in bilateral relations, was always likely to cause ratification headaches for Brussels and Beijing. Fast forward almost seven months and that is being borne out, with gro...
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Influential Merkel begins long goodbye

  • Europe’s dominant politician, Angela Merkel, on Friday heads to the UK to begin a series of foreign farewells as she seeks to consolidate her legacy amid one of the most fluid political and economic landscapes in decades. After more than 15 years in office, Merkel may now have fewer than 15 we...
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EU 27 meet with a new ‘spring in their step’ 

  • The 27 EU presidents and prime ministers will meet on Thursday and Friday with a surprising new “spring in their step.” Despite a pandemic crisis that has hit the bloc hard, Brexit-related problems over the Northern Ireland protocol, and wider foreign challenges including from Russia, an incr...
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Biden faces tricky balancing act on Korea

  • Friday will offer the latest example of why the Asia-Pacific is now the pre-eminent theater for US foreign policy, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in — intensifying the push for an improvement in inter-Korean relations during his remaining time in office — becoming only the second world le...
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Why the G7 have China in their sights

  • While the G7 was originally conceived in the 1970s to monitor developments in the world economy, this year’s UK-hosted events are showcasing the body’s often under-appreciated importance as an international security linchpin. This was highlighted at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in London...
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Biden looks east for allies and adversaries

  • Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will this month become the first world leader to meet face to face with Joe Biden, highlighting the Asia-Pacific foreign focus of the new US president. It is that vast geography that will probably be the critical theater consuming much of Biden’s time. T...
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How will a post-Brexit UK become a ‘Global Britain’?

  • Following the deepest review of the UK’s foreign posture since the end of the Cold War, Prime Minister Boris Johnson this month launched a long-awaited, integrated international relations strategy. The new strategy seeks to answer one of the fundamental questions that remains unanswered since ...
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Beijing and Moscow welcome Tehran to the fold

  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in the middle of a key six-country Middle East tour, but the eyes of the world are as much on the deepening geopolitical alliance between Beijing and Moscow, which warmed further last week.   On Monday and Tuesday, the ever-energetic Wang met Russ...
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Why the UK nations are better together

  • The Scottish National Party (SNP) expects a triumph in May’s national elections, but internal feuds threaten not just this goal but also its aspiration for Scottish independence. Tensions are boiling over between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor Alex Salmond.  Last week...
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