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GPI Asia Publications

The GPI draws on both a rich pool of international thinkers, academics, and professionals from diverse backgrounds, including international affairs, banking and finance, industry, technology and science, media and international organisations. What we all have in common is a strong belief that new and fresh ideas are needed for a rapidly changing world, and a shared dedication to devising innovative yet practical policy solutions to that can make a real difference.

The Unsolved Mystery of the BDR Mutiny

25 February 2023 marked the fourteenth anniversary of the mutiny carried out by the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). Despite multiple investigations, questions surrounding the motives of the mutineers, why they took such extreme actions, and if there was a conspiracy...
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From Rags to Stitches: Examining Bangladesh’s RMG Sector

Post-independence, Bangladesh has quickly transformed itself into a manufacturing powerhouse in readymade garments (RMG), the country’s highest export income earner. Despite the impressive economic growth, devastating fires and building collapses have become all too common in Bangladesh. Is the RMG...
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The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)

The USA’s long-awaited ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity’ (IPEF)[1] was released on 23 May at the Tokyo meeting of the Quadrilateral Dialogue (Quad). The IPEF complements the ‘The Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States’ (Executive Office of the President 2022)...
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Living with Floods and Reducing Vulnerability in Sylhet

The worst floods in 122 years have hit Sylhet and Sunamganj in the northwest of Bangladesh. Millions have been displaced, property and livelihoods have been destroyed, highlight once more how vulnerable Bangladesh remains to flooding. Starting on the 16th and...
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Extrajudicial Killings in Bangladesh: Holding the State Accountable

In 2020, 195 people were killed across Bangladesh by law enforcement agencies during ‘shoot-outs’ according to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a Dhaka based human rights watchdog. To date, the government has been reluctant to investigate any such...
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The USA Indo-Pacific Strategy 2022 

The USA’s long-awaited strategy for the Indo-Pacific (I-P) was released on the 11th of February (Executive Office of the President 2022), it contains few surprises.  The stated goal is to work toward a free, open, connected, secure, and resilient region...
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Business as Usual? Bangladesh’s Second Coronavirus Budget

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit Bangladesh in March 2020, the poverty rate doubled, household income declined, and the health and education sectors suffered. The country is in the midst of the third wave of Covid-19, which makes the national...
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UK, Japan eye economic integration through digital trade

The unveiling of Japan’s US$490 billion fiscal stimulus package in November coincided with the announcement by the UK Department of International Trade of a new export strategy. This is committed to boosting exports to an annual £1 trillion ($1.35 trillion) by 2030, from...
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China’s sudden renewed interest in Asean may be more about Aukus than economics

Several decades ago, East Asia became the epicentre of superpower rivalry during the Cold War. Following a stalemate war in Northeast Asia’s Korean peninsula, in the early 1950s, military and ideological rivalry shifted to the Indochina peninsula and broader Southeast...
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The UK’s Covid-19 failures

The UK’s successful rolling out of its vaccination programme, the attendant government and media hype, not least with respect to how our ‘world beating’ science, technology and enterprise culture ‘beat the virus’, should not be allowed to gloss over the...
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AUKUS: The Wider Perspective

The AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) alliance announced on 14 September 2021 will facilitate Australia building at least eight nuclear powered, but not nuclear armed submarines, collaboration and technology sharing on AI, cyber warfare,. With overall closer alignment of regional security policies. While...
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Russia’s Hydrocarbon Sector Set For Long Term Gains From China’s Energy Crunch

China energy’s crisis has been making global headlines these last few weeks with many Chinese regions, suffering energy deficits. Soaring demand in the aftermath of the global pandemic for energy, from the country’s giant industrial sector and higher-spending households, has...
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How Will The EU Finance And Develop Its “Global Gateway” Belt & Road Alternative Infrastructure Plan?

Although the EU has not yet provided details of the sources of finance for its Global Gateway program, nonetheless, EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen has said stated, in general terms, that the EU will look to develop these sources...
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China’s Belt & Road In The Mediterranean: From Giant Container Ships To Cruise Liners

The rollout of China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) across the northern half of the Mediterranean Sea is typically portrayed in strikingly polar opposite terms depending on the political source. Western think-tanks and Washington/Brussels-centric media regularly depict the BRI as...
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Building a Digital Economy for Bangladesh

In the last couple of decades, the growing importance of new technologies for business, media, health and public services has stimulated the development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Bangladesh. Automation has allowed the ICT sector to...
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