by Ausaf Sayeed | Sep 27, 2026 | Energy Security, Geopolitics, Saudi Arabia, Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan
Saudi Arabia’s drive to find additional security partners has become increasingly urgent. On 26 September, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait and two drones heading towards Riyadh. The attacks came a...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Sep 13, 2026 | BRICS, Geopolitics, India-BRICS, West Asia
When the leaders of an eleven-nation bloc representing roughly half of humanity gathered at Bharat Mandapam on 12–13 September, the question was whether BRICS could still agree. In May, its foreign ministers had failed to issue a joint statement over differences on...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Sep 11, 2026 | BRICS, Geopolitics, India-BRICS
When BRICS leaders gather in New Delhi on September 12–13, India’s challenge will go beyond hosting another summit. Expansion has brought greater weight, but also sharper contradictions. New Delhi must show that countries with divergent interests can cooperate without...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Sep 7, 2026 | BRICS, India, India-BRICS
As India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit, its challenge is to turn the grouping’s enlarged weight into practical choices – without allowing it to harden into another geopolitical bloc. When the leaders of the eleven-member BRICS gather at Bharat Mandapam on...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Aug 25, 2026 | UAE, West Asia
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA), signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan on 7 August, matters less for having already taken a step towards creating a “Muslim NATO” than for capturing a profound shift in West Asia’s strategic psychology. Its central...
by Ausaf Sayeed | Aug 17, 2026 | Geopolitics, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan
Trump’s endorsement changes what the Makkah agreement means. For India, the corridor matters more than the clause. The most revealing comment on the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement since its signing came not from Riyadh, Ankara or Islamabad, but from Washington. On...
