Tawanda Sachikonye

Aug 1, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Karl P Sauvant |Tawanda Sachikonye |Kati Suominen |Rahul Jaybhay

At the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, 125 members—three-quarters of the WTO’s membership—cosponsored a request to integrate a new Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) into the WTO’s rulebook. Of these sponsors, 89 were developing countries, including 27 least-developed countries. The IFDA is a plurilateral agreement and open to all WTO members but is binding only on its participants.

Jul 31, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Tawanda Sachikonye |Kati Suominen |Yasuo Takao |Ashima Goyal

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s May 2024 state visit to Brazil highlights not only the importance Japan places on a constructive as well as impactful partnership with Latin America’s largest economy, but also underscores Japan’s prioritisation of its nascent Global South engagement policy. Japanese policymakers increasingly view Brazil as a possible strategic partner in safeguarding an international rules-based order.

May 16, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Hai Luong |Tawanda Sachikonye |Linda Yueh |Htet Myat Aung

The political, social and economic turmoil from the 2021 Myanmar coup has pushed many to turn to poppy farming as a survival pathway. Farmers in the country’s remote, mountainous areas have resorted to growing the cash crop, which is a raw ingredient for producing heroin. Under the leadership of the Taliban, Afghanistan strictly prohibited the growing of poppy.