Valdai Club

Back in October 2017, which may seem today a bygone era, a group of Valdai Club experts teamed up with a group of researchers to release a report titled A Look into the Future: Scenarios for Asia and Russia in Asia in the Next 20 Years.

India’s decision not to accede to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which comprises ASEAN member countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, came as a surprise, as it was made during the final stage of the negotiating process. It is, nevertheless, consistent with New Delhi’s trade policies in recent years.

Further developments in Kashmir will be determined by two factors: the agenda the Indian government offers to the Muslim population of the new union territories, and how Islamabad responds to these moves.

It is very difficult to predict the outcome of voting in India. In general, this year’s elections, unlike the 2014 ballot, are notable for an even greater unpredictability. Numerous opinion polls show that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which headed the government for the last five years, will win the largest number of seats in parliament, but probably not the absolute majority.

In recent years, holding the annual Russian-Indian summits is a constant tradition. In 2018, the interaction of countries at the highest level is expanding, which is confirmed not only by the regular meeting at the level of ministers and national security advisers, but also by an additional meeting of Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi in Sochi in May. Unlike that “informal” summit that lacked, according to the officials, any clear agenda, at the New Delhi summit there are several “final” agreements to be signed, which have been discussed over the last 2-3 years.