Energia

World Investment Report 2010 – UNCTAD

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a modest, but uneven recovery in the first half of 2010. This sparks some cautious optimism for FDI prospects in the short run and for a full recovery further on. UNCTAD expects global inflows to reach more than $1.2 trillion in 2010, rise further to $1.3–1.5 trillion in 2011,… »

Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2010 – UNESCAP

Even at the height of this crisis, Asia and the Pacific displayed a new-found resilience. Its developing economies achieved an annual growth rate of 4.0%, making it the fastest-growing region in the world, thanks to growth in China and India at 8.7% and 7.2%, respectively. However, the rest of Asia-Pacific’s developing economies contracted in 2009… »

Tracking Chinese Investment: Western Hemisphere Now Top Target – Heritage Foundation

China has at least $2.5 trillion in foreign exchange and must, due to its own balance of payments rules, invest it all overseas. Most unavoidably goes into American bonds, the only market big enough to absorb it. However, since the beginning of 2005, the PRC has invested almost $200 billion in foreign assets outside bonds…. »

Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress – CRS

(PDF) – In recent years, U.S.-Mexican relations have grown stronger as the two countries have worked together to combat drug trafficking and secure their shared border. The 111th Congress has maintained an active interest in Mexico with counternarcotics, border, and trade issues dominating the agenda. To date, Congress has appropriated some $1.3 billion in assistance… »

Mekong Tipping Point: Hydropower Dams, Human Security and Regional Stability – Stimson Center

The October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia closed the book on four decades of bitter conflict in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. The Accords created new opportunities for broad-based economic and social development based on reconstruction, renewal and regional economic development in the 795,000 square kilometer Mekong River Basin, sometimes called the… »

The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China’s Military – SSI

The chapters presented in this volume have demonstrated first, Chinese and PLA leaders have a strong sense of mission and concern for China’s security and well-being. Second, the PLA is committed to the transformation in military affairs with Chinese characteristics. Third, the PLA is eager to learn from the U.S. military to expand and improve… »

The Role of Pipelines in Regional Cooperation – Brookings Institution

Natural resources, such as oil and gas, are commonly viewed as catalysts of conflict. Because individuals, ethnic groups, and governments often see control of scarce resources through the lens of a zero-sum game, they compete with each other over ownership. Competition can easily spill into conflict. For this reason, it may seem odd to ask… »

The Newly Emerging Arctic Security Environment – Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)

(PDF) – The Arctic is changing and, as a result, is garnering unprecedented international interest.
With warming temperatures, melting ice and greater accessibility to resources in the region, concerns for security in the region are at the forefront of the Arctic states’ attempts to maintain their foothold in the Arctic. All of the Arctic states –… »

Russian Analytical Digest No. 82: The Russian Far East

(PDF) – in this issue:
*Putin Is Turning Vladivostok into Russia’s Pacific Capital

*Population Statistics of the Russian Far East

*Russian Opinions on Vigilante Killings of Members of the Militia in… »

Lack of Transparency in Russian Energy Trade – CSIS

A major challenge to the new democracies of Central Europe is the corruption and lack of transparency in the importing of oil and natural gas from Russia and other energy producing states once part of the Soviet Union. This situation also undermines good governance and ethical business practices in the large and wealthier countries of… »

Squeezing Iran: Oil and sanctions – Bbc

Sanctions were imposed by the US after the seizure of American hostages in the aftermath of the revolution, and the 1980 Iran-Iraq war. In recent years a fresh wave of UN sanctions has attempted to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But what effect have these measures actually had on the country and its… »

China Building Africa’s Economic Infrastructure: SEZs and Railroads – China Brief

Chinese policymakers see in Africa possible solutions to some of China’s most pressing problems, for instance, Beijing’s need to secure access to energy resources and other vital minerals to sustain the country’s rapid economic growth. Yet Chinese interests in Africa extend beyond energy resources and minerals and clearly include markets, infrastructure development and agriculture. China’s… »

Caucasian Review of International Affairs (CRIA) VOL. 4 (2) – SPRING 2010

in this issue:
Russian Energy Politics and the EU: How to Change the Paradigm

*Authoritarianism and Foreign Policy: The Twin Pillars of Resurgent Russia

*The Georgia Crisis: A New Cold War on the Horizon?

*Enforceability of a Common Energy Supply Security Policy in the EU: Intergovernmentalist Assesement

*“Assembling” a Civic Nation in Kazakhstan: The Nation-Building Role of… »

Kyrgyzstan receives donor pledges of $1.1bn to rebuild – Bbc

International donors have pledged $1.1bn (£643m) in aid to Kyrgyzstan at a conference in Bishkek.
The money will be used to fund reconstruction in the Central Asian state following deadly ethnic violence in the south last… »

US involvement only complicates South China Sea issue – China Daily

The United States has played up the South China Sea issue again in the international arena. At the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Hanoi last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked at length about US “national interests” in the South China Sea. Hintting there is what she called “coercion” in the… »

Iran nuclear sanctions by EU unacceptable, says Russia – Bbc

Russia has branded EU sanctions against Iran as “unacceptable”, saying they undermine international efforts to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The European Union on Monday adopted new sanctions targeting Iran’s foreign trade, banking and energy… »

Turkey Steps Up Support for Strategic Azerbaijani Exclave of Nakhchivan – EurasiaNet

Longtime Azerbaijani ally Turkey appears to be taking on a larger role in supporting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an Azerbaijani exclave sandwiched between Armenia and Iran. The first steps in this intensified cooperation are taking shape just months after plans for rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia went into cold storage. Turkey, which shares an 11-kilometer… »

“Free Trade in Natural Resources Bad for Development” – IPS

While some believe that restrictions on natural resource exports should be done away with, this could cause an increase in such exports that would be detrimental to the environment and bad for development. Many African countries follow the strategy of exporting as much as they can and, since they are uncompetitive in manufactures and services,… »

Despite rift, Israel-Turkey contacts march on – Washington Post

Trade between Israel and Turkey surged in the first half of this year, Israel just lifted a warning on travel to Turkey and an Israeli volleyball team trained in the Turkish capital on Friday ahead of a regional tournament. Do these positive signals suggest the softening of a dispute that deepened after Israel’s deadly raid… »

India’s Nuclear Push: The Conflicts Within – Asia Sentinel

After years of years of negotiations and sustained backing from the US government to find acceptance as a global nuclear power, India’s plans to go nuclear for a major share of its energy production are in limbo, stalled by the refusal of the Lok Sabha, the country’s lower house of parliament, to pass legislation limiting… »

Iran’s Mini-Empire At The U.N. – Forbes

Iran, despite being under four sets of binding sanctions resolutions by the U.N. Security Council, has learned to manipulate the institution in ways that make a mockery not only of the U.N. itself, but also of U.S. claims of diplomatic competence. Rarely remarked upon, but even more appalling than Iran’s beachhead on the women’s rights… »

The Russian-Iranian road map – the Hindu

The mixed signals on Iran that Russia has been sending in recent days have puzzled many western analysts. A little over a month after it went along with the United States in supporting tougher sanctions on Iran, Moscow signed a framework pact on wide-ranging cooperation with Tehran in hydrocarbons and announced a similar plan for… »

Why India needs Myanmar on its side – Rediff

Senior General Than Shwe, Myanmar’s head of State, is currently on his second visit to India in six years. He comes at a time the international community has initiated the first steps to gradually open up to Myanmar and elections are due in that country later this year. India’s relations with Myanmar, a devoutly Buddhist… »

The United States Announces Phase II of the Signature Energy Program for Pakistan – US Department of State

After the bilateral Strategic Dialogue meeting in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Phase II of the U.S. Signature Energy Program for Pakistan that will provide an additional $60 million for seven projects to be implemented by USAID, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and… »

The United States Announces the Signature Water Program for Pakistan – US Department of State

After the bilateral Strategic Dialogue meeting in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a multi-year Signature Water Program for Pakistan to improve Pakistan’s ability to increase efficient management and use of its scarce water resources and improve water distribution. The first phase of the program will cover seven projects costing over… »

China Rejects U.S. Suggestion for Asean Mediation on Territory – Wall Street Journal

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi rebutted remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a recent forum on the competing claims for territory in the South China Sea, saying the U.S. shouldn’t internationalize the disputes, according to a statement posted Sunday on the website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The South China Sea… »

Iran signs 1.3 billion dollar gas pipeline deal with Turkey – Zawya

Iran has signed a 1.3 billion-dollar deal with a Turkish firm to build a pipeline for gas exports of 60 million cubic metres (2.1 billion cubic feet) a day in three years, press reports said. “The contract to build a gas pipeline stretching 660 kilometres (410 miles) and worth one billion euros was signed in… »

Iraqi Oil Fields Development: Profiles Of Production, Depletion And Revenue – MEES

Between November 2008 and May 2010 the Iraqi Ministry of Oil signed 12 long term technical service contracts covering 14 oil fields. The oil field projects fall in two categories: brown-field and green-fields developments. The brown-field projects are Rumaila, West Qurna Phase 1 (WQ1), Zubair and the Misan group (the Buzorgan, Abu Ghirab and Fawqa… »

Burma’s Than Shwe welcomed in Delhi – Bbc

Reclusive Burmese junta leader General Than Shwe has received a red carpet welcome in the Indian capital on a state visit condemned by rights groups. He met Indian PM Manmohan Singh in Delhi on a rare five-day trip that aims to deepen the economic and strategic ties between the two nations. Officials from the two… »

Motivazioni e ricadute delle nuove direttrici di politica estera dell’Azerbaigian – ISPI

(PDF) – L’Azerbaigian ha tradizionalmente costituito il principale interlocutore euro-atlantico nella regione del Caucaso meridionale. A fondare la rilevanza regionale di Baku hanno contribuito principal-mente le considerevoli risorse di petrolio e gas di cui il paese dispone e, più in generale, il potenziale ruolo di snodo territoriale per lo sviluppo di un corridoio energetico tra… »

Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa – IIED

Large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are making headlines in a flurry of media reports across the world. Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors by the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares. And while… »

The World’s Ever-Increasing Hunger for Coal – Der Spiegel

Coal-fired power stations are a major producer of the greenhouse gas CO2, but there is no alternative to the fuel in the near future. Energy companies are hoping that carbon capture and storage technologies may be the answer, but many local residents don’t want CO2 stored under their… »

Joint conclusion of the EU-OPEC Energy Dialogue – OPEC

The seventh ministerial-level meeting of the Energy Dialogue between the European Union (EU) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) took place in Brussels. The participants reiterated their mutual interest in stable, transparent, and predictable oil markets. The meeting also repeated its conviction that, in order to minimise the risk of facing excessive… »

Disaster Politics – Foreign affairs

Governments cannot prevent earthquakes and other natural disasters, but they can prepare for them and ameliorate their effects. Measures to do so are well known. That so many countries in earthquake-prone regions of the world fail to adequately regulate construction, for example, seems to defy logic. It is tempting to suggest that a country’s ability… »

Le infrastrutture energetiche e di trasporto nel Mediterraneo – ISPI

(PDF) – Le riserve di idrocarburi del Maghreb ammontano a circa 8 miliardi di tonnellate (Mt) di petrolio e a 8.500 miliardi di metri cubi (bcm) di gas naturale. Queste risorse sono concentrate prevalentemente in Algeria e in Libia, che possiedono l’88% delle riserve di petrolio (Libia 5,6 miliardi di tonnellate, Algeria 1,4 miliardi) e… »

Asia’s Response to Climate Change and Natural Disasters – CSIS

This new report examines the politics of climate change in Asia, the region’s response to natural disasters, and the implications for the future geometry of Asia’s institutions and U.S. policy in the region. The assessment looks broadly at two areas of nontraditional security cooperation in Asia: (1) climate change, including the domestic political factors in… »

Between Faith and Reason: UK Policy Towards the US and the EU – Chatham House

The UK’s relations with the US and the EU are often viewed as alternative paths to international influence, but Britain should adopt a reasoned, balanced approach to its foreign policy, moving beyond the established primacy of the ’special relationship’ to make the most of opportunities in Europe as well. Britain should rethink its traditional faith… »

Recalibrating Germany’s and EU’s Policy in the South Caucasus – DGAP

The European Union’s policy towards the South Caucasus is a typical example of the inability of its member states to develop a common policy towards the post-Soviet space. Furthermore, the EU has been slow to adapt to changes in the region, such as, most notably, the rise in power and relevance of Azerbaijan in the… »

Russians and Their Crops Wilt Under Heat Wave – the New York Times

A blistering heat wave has made life miserable for millions in Russia and northeastern Europe, few of whom have air conditioners, and destroyed millions of acres of Russian wheat, setting back an agricultural revival that was just reaching its stride after years of faltering… »

Executive Order–Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes – the White House

The ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes provide jobs, food, energy resources, ecological services, recreation, and tourism opportunities, and play critical roles in our Nation’s transportation, economy, and trade, as well as the global mobility of our Armed Forces and the maintenance of international peace and security. This order adopts the recommendations of the… »

Is Haiti Ready for Hurricane Season? – TIME

Meteorologists predict this year’s hurricane season to be an active one. The Haitian government has yet to come up with a unified contingency plan for the hurricane season. Some good news is at hand, however. A few precautionary preparations are well under way. There are plans in place for the distribution of food and other… »

Water Dispute Increases India-Pakistan Tension – the New York Times

Water has become a growing source of tension in many parts of the world between nations striving for growth. Several African countries are arguing over water rights to the Nile. Israel and Jordan have competing claims to the Jordan River. Across the Himalayas, China’s own dam projects have piqued India, a rival for regional, and… »

Myanmar’s nuclear plans under fire – Asia Times

When Southeast Asian foreign ministers gather in Hanoi this week for a series of annual security meetings, the region’s most troublesome member, military-ruled Myanmar, is due to come under scrutiny after reports of its alleged nuclear ambitions. Alarm bells have been going off in Southeast Asian capitals since the early June expose by the Democratic… »

Economics of security in South Asia – Politico

The Obama administration has done a sound and muscular job of addressing the hard power aspects of U.S. policy in South Asia. In Afghanistan, it tripled U.S. forces, for one last major effort to see whether counterinsurgency can succeed there. In Pakistan, it greatly increased aid, to help Islamabad fight its own insurgency and address… »

Concentrating Solar Power in China and India: A Spatial Analysis of Technical Potential and the Cost of Deployment – CGD

Coal power generation in China and India could double and triple, respectively, over the next 20 years, which would increase exposure to fuel price volatility, exacerbate local air pollution, and hasten global climate change. Moving to concentrating solar power (CSP), a growing source of utility-scale, pollution-free electricity, would help alleviate these problems, but its potential… »

Unconventional Gas – A Game Changer For LNG? – MEES

The global gas market is regionally fragmented, with exports being largely driven by pipeline and to much lesser extent LNG. The LNG portion, currently accounting for less than 10% of total gas demand, is of particular relevance to the GCC due to Qatar’s position as the world’s largest supplier. Historically Qatar used to ship its… »

High hopes for Iraq’s oil sector – Upi

International oil companies at an oil symposium in Iraq during the weekend outlined plans to increase oil production, though skeptics are concerned. Iraq in 2009 awarded 11 deals to international oil companies in two separate bidding rounds giving Baghdad confidence to say it could one day rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil… »

One-third of Yemenis going hungry – IRIN

Water scarcity, rapid population growth and internal conflicts are some of the main factors causing an “alarming state of food insecurity” at national and local levels, a new report has warned. Rural areas are particularly affected with five times as many food-insecure people as in urban areas, it said. “If no action is taken, food… »

Lebanon-Israel gas dispute reaches UN – Globes

In an apparent worsening of a dispute between Israel and Lebanon, “The Financial Times” reports that Lebanon has filed a complaint with the UN after Israel unilaterally placed a line of buoys extending two miles into the sea off the two countries’ land border, citing security reasons. Israel claims that the line marks the maritime… »

EU plans to strengthen rules for offshore drilling – EurActiv

The European Commission is planning to toughen rules covering accident prevention and liability for offshore oil drilling in response to BP’s Gulf of Mexico spill, Europe’s environment chief said. An ongoing analysis of the 27-nation bloc’s environmental rules has revealed gaps, EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik told… »