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Viewpoint by Manish Uprety* F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Informal meetings are a rarity between two formal regional powers, more so between two tea-drinking nations that comprise over 37% of the human population. The Modi-Xi informal meeting in Mamallapuram – a World Heritage Site in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu – falls into the very category. What and where shall it lead to is anybody’s guess?
Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona
The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary.The following is based on a presentation made at the Annual Convention of the Organisation of Professional Associations. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of any agency.
COLOMBO (IDN) – Winston Churchill once said that "Her Majesty's government has no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. Only permanent interests".
Applicable universally, this would be a good starting point when examining Sri Lanka's foreign policy options as the presidential candidates (realistically, only two have a credible opportunity of success) and their advisors mull their choices once anointed with the sinecure (the 19th amendment to the Constitution has sharply reduced presidential powers) top post.
Viewpoint by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury *
The writer is the founder of The Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations.
ALISO VIEJO, California, USA (IDN-INPS) – My life’s experience has taught me to value peace and equality as the essential components of our existence. They unleash the positive forces of good that are so needed for human progress. Peace is integral to human existence — in everything we do, in everything we say, and in every thought, we have, there is a place for peace. We should not isolate peace as something separate. It is important to realize that the absence of peace takes away the opportunities that we need to better ourselves, to prepare ourselves, to empower ourselves to face the challenges of our lives, individually and collectively.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – There’s a lot of end-of-the-world hyperbole around on climate change. So there should be. But it blankets out other important causes that are even more imminently important – wiping out malaria and sleeping sickness and introducing pure water supplies, sewerage systems and education for girls – all of which would save many more people than those likely to be hurt by global warning, at least this side of twenty-five years. Global warming, although very much apparent, is happening relatively slowly. Indeed, I feel like coining a slogan: “Kill mosquitoes today, save the icebergs tomorrow”.
Viewpoint by Wang Yi
The following is the statement of Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of The People’s Republic of China, at the General Debate of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 27 September 2019
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1945, the United Nations was born in response to the call of the times. Four years later, the People’s Republic of China was founded, and the Chinese nation reemerged before the eyes of the world as a completely reborn nation.
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*
NEW YORK (IDN) – On October 1, China’s President, Xi Jinping, celebrated 70 years of Communist party rule, and its rise to superpower status, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing that consisted of a military parade and hundreds of thousands of people participating in the event ending with a grand pageant.
The main attraction was the unprecedented military parade of around 15,000 military personnel, 580 pieces of military equipment and 160 aircraft including new hypersonic drones, and the Dongfeng-41 missile capable of striking the United States in 30 minutes with 10 nuclear warheads at once, each with a different target - irrefutably, a display of China’s military might.
Viewpoint by Carlos Correa
The following is statement by Dr. Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre at the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 26 September 2019.
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Four years after its adoption, Agenda 2030, “Transforming Our World,” the United Nations’ (UN) most recent and most ambitious development agenda, is off-track.
Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson
The following are extensive extracts from an that analysis first appeared on the website of Arms Control Association (ACA) on September 24. Daryl G. Kimball is ACA Executive Director and Julia Masterson research assistant.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. In August, French President Emmanuel Macron offered a proposal before world leaders at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France for a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in exchange for its full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia maintains very friendly relations with Zimbabwe, thanks to ties which evolved during the struggle for independence. Since then, it has had a very strong mutual sympathy with and friendly feelings toward the southern African people, government and country.
One of the fora in which relations between the two countries are discussed is the Russia-Zimbabwe Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Science and Technical Cooperation.
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety*
NEW DELHI (IDN) – The quest for a healthy life has been an eternal one. In 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its "Health For All" campaign and defined Health for All as the attainment by all peoples of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life. However, almost two decades later, this goal still eludes many, especially in the developing countries.
We promote a sustainable future and culture of peace through our news reports, analyses, feature stories and viewpoints. We focus on UN’s sustainable development goals and a nuclear-weapons free world. We contribute to international understanding.
