World Bank — 9DASHLINE

The changing dynamics of the Japan-Sri Lanka relationship

Written by Varuna Shankar

Japan provides the opportunity for Sri Lanka to reduce its dependence on China for economic reform, while Sri Lanka provides Japan an opening to penetrate deeper into the South Asian market.

South Asia9DLFebruary 26, 20249dashline, varuna shankar, The changing dynamics of the Japan-Sri Lanka relationship, Japan-Sri lanka relationship, investment, Southeast Asia, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayash, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, digital econo, digital economies, MOU on port development, financial crisis, Gotabaya government’s dependence on Chinese financial assistance, 2.9 billion bailout from the IMF, Sri Lanka's strategy, economic freefall, humanitarian crisis, twin deficit, COVID-19 stagnation, tourism industry, Gotabaya administration, Jaya Container Terminal project, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, East Container Terminal, jointly develop the East Container Terminal, Ports Authority, funded by Japan, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was cancelled, Japanese-funded light rail transit (LRT) project was suspended, Tokyo and Colombo, India-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship, West Container Terminal, 52 per cent of Sri Lanka’s bilateral debt, Sri Lanka's debt, World Bank, IMF, Japanese Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s vision, Japanese investments, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Bandaranaike International Airport, viaduct at Bandaranaike International Airport, apanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, connectivity infrastructure in Sri Lanka, devaluation of the local currency, Colombo, investment zones, South Asian market

Sri Lanka gradually returns to macroeconomic stability, but risks remain

Written by Anjali Hewapathage and Thilina Panduwawala

It may be true that Sri Lanka is on a path of economic recovery, but, despite the ambition and compliance to continue growth, it might prove challenging as risk factors play out both locally and globally.

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Germany’s new China Strategy – A roadmap for climate foreign policy

Written by Belinda Schäpe

Germany’s China Strategy is a first attempt to address climate change in a key foreign policy strategy, encapsulating all related areas, and going beyond empty cooperation rhetoric.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLAugust 18, 20239dashline, Belinda Schäpe, Germany’s new China Strategy – A roadmap for climate foreign policy, Germany, China, German Strategy on China, bilateral relationship, climate change, Beijing, climate cooperation, climate engagement, strategic cooperation, accountability, green tech, multilateral finance, climate foreign policy, global responsibilities, climate targets, coal power, Xi Jinping, global coal pipelines, energy security concerns, global green transition, climate finance, Paris Agreement, Belt and Road Initiative, South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, multilateral funds, multilateral financial system, emerging debt crises, developing countries, Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, climate negotiations, G20, World Bank, IMF, foreign policy, economic agendas, Europe, green tech supply chains, (geo)political tool, Nancy Pelosi, Taiwan, human rights, de-risking, green technologies, energy supply, International Energy Agency, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM, carbon intensive products, Climate and Transformation Dialogue, industrial decarbonisation, National Security Strategy, Germany-China Memorandum of Understanding

Taiwan needs to establish its own World Bank — today

Written by Dr Oliver Scanlan

Taiwan has always sought ways to expand its geopolitical influence; expanding its ‘international space’ is a way of mitigating the risks of Chinese coercion. If establishing an SWF would serve this end, then a much larger development bank would be even more effective.

Editor's Picks9DLAugust 2, 20239DashLine, Oliver Scanlan, Taiwan needs to establish its own World Bank — today, Taiwan, Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), geopolitics, Development Finance Institution, development bank, foreign exchange reserves, “Taiwan Development Bank” (TDB), government debt, concessionary finance, loans, interest rates, investment, decarbonisation, economic leverage, International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Santiago Principles, Yang Chin-Long, Taiwan’s Central Bank, Germany, KfW, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, Ethical, profitable, strategic sectors, Taiwania national investment fund, green energy, startups, joint ventures, circular economy, Taiwan’s “5+2” industrial strategy, resilience, adaptation, mitigation, official development assistance (ODA), “Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement” (IPETCA), New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Indigenous Nations, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), export-led economy, whose sovereign debt is an attractive, international credit ratings agencies, Fitch, Public Debt Act, Net International Investment Position, Philippines, debt-to-GDP ratio, Austria, Netherlands, G20, OECD, South Korea, E3G, Nick Mabey, risk, US Inflation Reduction Act, supply chain, climate change, Chinese coercion, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

In Conversation with Dr Rohan Mukherjee

9DASHLINE recently sat down with Dr Rohan Mukherjee to talk about his fascinating book Ascending Order: Rising Powers and the Politics of Status in International Institutions. Using original and robust archival evidence, the book offers the first comprehensive study of conflict and cooperation as new powers join the global arena.

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Climate displacement in South Asia and India’s imperative to act

Written by Bhumika Sharma

Given the lack of international consensus, a unique opportunity exists for India to address the protection gap in South Asia’s policy regime for climate migrants.

South Asia9DLApril 12, 20239DashLine, Climate displacement in South Asia and India’s imperative to act, Bhumika Sharma, South Asia, climate vulnerability, climate change, floods in Pakistan, Pakistan, displacement, World Bank, climate-sensitive policies, climate-induced migration, internal displacement, Internally Displaced Persons, cross-border population movements, migration, climate-related risks, floods, salinity ingression, Bangladesh, India, climatically displaced persons, 2012 Nansen Initiative, Switzerland, Norway, humanitarian assistance, climate mobility, climate displacement contingencies, 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967 Protocol, IDPs, Kampala Convention, international human rights law, United Nations Human Rights Committee, Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand, principle of non-refoulement, Kiribati, resource scarcity, economic insecurity, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Warming, UN IPCC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), conflict, droughts, erratic rainfall, seasonal labour migration, income diversification, rising sea levels, cross-border transhumance arrangements, West Africa, Asian Development Bank, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Sundarbans Delta, trafficking, human trafficking, slavery, Nepal, Terai, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, seasonal migration, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Palk Strait, humanitarian visas, relocation, resettlement, 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act

2023: More tumultuous times ahead for Sri Lanka?

9DASHLINE asks several experts how they assess the prospects for political and economic recovery in 2023 after the turbulence of last year.

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2023: Addressing climate change

Given the poor performance of industrialised countries in delivering promised climate finance, what are the prospects for the loss and damage fund, details of which are to be negotiated at COP28 this year?

Pakistan’s fatiguing interest in the IMF reform program

Written by Asad Ejaz Butt

While Pakistan does not have any alternate short-term options other than returning to the IMF, it can consider structural reforms, like targeted subsidies and rationalisation of current expenditure through fiscal prudence and better management of state resources.

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The problem is not a power transition

Written by Michael J. Mazarr

The US-China relationship is not accurately captured as a power transition, but it is a clash of an often self-righteous leading power and a dissatisfied challenger. That recipe is one of the most combustible in world politics.

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Why Sri Lanka’s default was not caused by China

Written by Marina Rudyak

Precisely because China is the world’s largest bilateral creditor, and many of its borrowers face the risk of excessive debt, it matters to get things right in the analysis of lender-borrower relations.

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South Asia must proactively prepare to face climate change

Written by Manali Kumar

South Asian countries would do well to finally set aside their mutual animosities and start developing transnational and regional mechanisms to adapt to climate change and recover from disasters.

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Trade in the new Indo-Pacific: Moving towards gender inclusivity and openness

Written by Aditi Mukund and Sanya Saroha

Policymakers across the Asia-Pacific region must work towards adopting gender mainstreaming principles. A feminist perspective, which advocates for including all marginalised groups, is necessary for fully transformative outcomes in the Indo-Pacific’s future, and an economic recovery must make provisions for women as stakeholders.

Pacific9DLMarch 22, 20229DASHLINE, Aditi Mukund, Sanya Saroha, Indo-Pacific, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Asia-Pacific, COVID-19, World Bank, India, Border Haats, Gender Gap, Bangladesh, Commonwealth Nations, Gender responsiveness, Gender inclusion, Small and Mid-Size Enterprises, SMEs, Sexual harrassment, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, Trade and Gender Toolbox, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Quad, Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, SCRI, France, Japan, US, United States, ASEAN, ASEAN Committee on Women, ACW, ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network, AWEN, ASEAN-Business Advisory Council, ASEAN-BAC, Australia, South Asia Regional Trade Facilitation Program, SARTFP, Bhutan, Nepal, Neighbourhood First, Trade in the New Indo-Pacific: Moving Towards Gender Inclusivity and Openness, South Asia, covid, digital technology, telecommunications, pandemic, women, gender, feminist, Indo-pacific, Commonwealth, violence against women, Haats, australia, South Asian, garment secto, garment sector, information and technology support, BBIN, Kubernein Initiative

Sri Lanka’s national economic crisis and its impact on foreign relations with China

Written by Rajni Gamage

Sri Lanka’s latest national economic crisis is also triggering a crisis in its foreign policy. The country’s government is compelled to diversify its foreign policy engagement in order to manage its relatively large foreign debt.

Sri Lanka: Navigating geopolitics, regional asymmetry, and a national crisis

Written by Nilanthi Samaranayake

Outreach to address COVID-19 economic distress perpetuates the inaccurate perception that Sri Lanka is heavily indebted to China and is therefore prone to advancing Beijing’s geostrategic ambitions.

Asia-Pacific space sector development should leverage comparative advantages

Written by Nicholas Borroz

Uplinking must relay instructions to spacecraft, and downlinking is required to turn the data they collect into valuable services. The communications segment has high barriers to entry, but if one can stomach the wherewithal required to enter it, then one can tap into a captive market.

At 50, Bangladesh perfects an India-China 'balancing act'

Written by Rudabeh Shahid and Arafat Kabir

If China responds to Bangladesh’s urgent call for help, it will only reinforce the established trend. For now, Dhaka has learned to keep faith in Beijing, which is most evident in Bangladesh’s reluctance in joining the Quad Security Initiative.

Rare earths in the grey zone

Written by Michael Brodka

Diversification policy and supply chain alternatives provide the mechanisms for Indo-Pacific countries to lessen their dependence on Chinese REEs; however, further action is necessary. Any long-term REE strategy must also contain plans to reduce consumption, improve the efficiency of the resource, and emphasise recycling.

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