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The recent Maldivian election resulted in the win of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Malidivian Democratic Party and came as welcome news for India. The strategic location of Maldives makes it a part of the mammoth Chinese infrastructure project- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has already constructed the Sinamale Bridge connecting Maldives with The Hulhule Islands which was inaugurated in August this year. The Indian influence in Maldives involved in providing defence co-operation was squarely refused by the current President.
China has aggressively pursued its Maldivian strategy by investing heavily in the island nation and in the process becoming the largest exporter of foreign tourists to Maldives.
Despite massive investment by China, concerns were expressed regarding the capability of Maldives in paying off the Chinese debt. Some commentators even opined that the beautiful island destination would become the next Sri Lanka, by playing itself into China’s hands. However, the latest election results can be viewed as a vote against China’s increasing influence in Maldives. The current President Yameen had left no stone unturned to win the elections, this included arrests of nine of his political opponents. It is yet to be seen how the new President elect will balance both the Indian and Chinese influence post 17th November when he assumes office.
A recent development in the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) project has Saudi Arabia becoming the third party besides China and Pakistan to sustain the economic corridor. To this effect, the kingdom has agreed to finance three road infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan. According to Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, these agreements were a result of the newly elected Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia. The deal was inked by Saudi envoys and officials from Pakistan’s finance ministry during Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, Ahmad Agil Al-Khateeb’s visit to Pakistan with a six-member delegation.
Saudi support towards the project will mostly focus on the Reko Diq’s gold and copper mines and the oil refinery at Gwadar Port. Apart from this, both parties also signed agreements worth 16.1 million USD for financing projects in health and education sectors in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan’s newly elected government has repeatedly been seeking financial assistance to improve its cash-strapped economic scenario. Several other countries including Iran and the United States were approached with similar offers by Pakistan. While Washington and Tehran declined the offer, Saudi Arabia has extended its support and has emerged as a third major partner in the CPEC project.
The death toll in Indonesia, caused by the devastating earthquake, has risen to around 832, with the count increasing every passing minute. Many people were reportedly trapped in the rubble of buildings brought down in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake which struck on Friday, 28th September, and triggered tsunami waves as high as six metres.
The quake was centered along the coast of the island of Sulawesi about 50 miles north of Palu. Shortly afterward, waves as high as 18 feet crashed ashore in the city, destroying buildings, smashing vehicles and killing hundreds of people.
Situated along the Pacific Rim of Fire, Indonesia is all too familiar with deadly earthquakes and tsunamis.
There have been robust efforts towards rehabilitating the region and the Indonesian president Joko Widodo said the military was being called in to the disaster-struck region to help search-and-rescue teams get to victims and find bodies.
The Naseeb-Jaber crossing, located on the International Damascus-Amman highway, is the border between Syria and Jordan and was of the busiest and most economically significant routes in the Middle East. It connected the region to Turkey and Europe as well as to the oil rich Gulf countries and had about 5,000 trucks crossing the border every month. Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014 and when the rebels took over the Naseeb region in 2015, the border had to be shut. Jordan has felt the effects of this border’s closure as well as the war in Syria more severely with an increase in its population through the influx of refugees as well as declining imports and exports with its major trade route shut, leading to stagnant economic growth.
On the 29th of September the Syrian Ministry of Transport announced the reopening of this border crossing and also raising the transit fees, though the Jordanian military stated that there were still some preparations to be made. The opening has been slated for the 10th of October 2018. Coincidentally, it was at this very place that the uprisings against the regime began 7 years ago. Now, with Russian mediation which had brokered agreements with the two sides to end the violence in the southern province of Daraa and for the rebels to surrender the territory, Syria, with the help of its allies, Russia and Iran have enjoyed many military victories and has recaptured large parts of its territory.
CONTRIBUTORS: Sameer Guduru, Sharon John, Aditi Mukund, Sanaya Dhondy