South Asia

Making an agreement between Iran and an integrated countries bloc like Shanghai Cooperation Organization or Eurasian Economic Union to boost energy trade is considered as an efficient factor to improve multilateralism and regionalism of Iranian economy. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has had caused serious and unprecedented consequences on globalization and regionalization. This research seeks to find out the relationship between COVID19 and regional energy integration for two cases of South Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). To estimate the coefficients of variables, the panel data framework based on quarterly data over 2010Q1-2020Q2 is employed. The major results reveal that the COVID19 pandemic is found to be a serious challenge for regional energy integration in these two unions, particularly the integration of larger economies which are more developed and have a higher level of trade liberalization are disturbed by this pandemic. A policy implication based on the conclusions is that Iran may try to make regional energy integration with its neighbors and trading partners. However, to reduce the long-run negative impacts of pandemic, Iran and its energy trade partners should make a plan to determine types and magnitudes of negative impacts of pandemic, regulating monetary and fiscal policies to encounter with the negative influences. To the best of author’s knowledge, despite some earlier researches, there is not any existing literature focusing on how the Corona affects the economic integration. Therefore, this paper tries to fill in this literature gap.

This study examines the infrastructural geopolitics of South Asia, with a particular emphasis on port developments and the effects of ports on the geostrategic positioning of South Asian countries. The infrastructure assists in the transportation and movement of goods between different countries. Many nations have invested significant money in developing modern ports that capitalize on globalization. South Asian countries have consistently bolstered their ports to compete with their Western counterparts in commerce. The evolving nature of international relations reveals that ports also play a different purpose in geopolitics. The world's fastest-growing region is suffering from a lack of infrastructure. Due to low intra-regional investment and trade, South Asia has poorer infrastructure than neighboring Southeast Asia. China invested in South Asian countries to achieve its goal of establishing a global trading route in the absence of intra-regional investments and trade in South Asia. Meanwhile India has also invested, for example, in Bangladesh and the Maldives to fortify its position in the Indian Ocean. How valuable are those Chinese investments to South Asian nations? According to the literature, it depends on the country's location and investment policies. China's rise as a revisionist power has drawn differing reactions from its neighbors and the world's dominant powers.