Illustration by Rocco Fazzari.
ALL CHANGE
Two consequential visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Beijing and European Union leaders to New Delhi respectively this month are indicative of a furious amount of work underway by diplomats and policy wonks. Public servants the world over have been tasked to develop and deliver ambitious new policy in a hurry to their political masters. The giant economies of the Global South loom large in these machinations as Western-led geopolitical and economic frameworks falter.
Trade deals are not always what they seem. When Canberra and New Delhi announced an agreement a few years ago, it was touted as the forerunner to a comprehensive pact. So far that has failed to eventuate. And the 2022 deal did not remove the large tariffs on Australian chickpeas which had been in place since 2017. But while India’s farmers don’t give way easily, agreements help stabilise relationships, and the chickpea tariff is now down to 10 per cent.
So the EU-India pact – aka “the mother of all deals” – is a powerful signal, as was the “landmark” agreement that Carney announced with Xi Jinping in Beijing (see DEALS & DOLLARS). UK PM Keir Starmer is in China this week on a trade mission, the first for a UK leader in eight years. Nostalgia is out, bring on the new.
Meanwhile, there is plenty of domestic political drama underway with a slew of elections looming. (See NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH). We also bring you a postcard from Cambodia, where those in the tourism business are hoping for some good news out of Hollywood.
Thanks for reading.
Emma Connors
Briefing MONTHLY editor
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