Opinion

Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - Two years after the popular protests that led to the dismissal of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in the midst of a serious economic crisis, Sri Lanka is preparing to elect a new president. Seventeen million voters will go to the polls tomorrow, September 21. Many of them took part in the protest movement, called "aragalaya", or "struggle", calling for a radical change in the political establishment, considered corrupt. "The people will now be able to express concretely their desire for change. There is a desire for change compared to a past where transparency was lacking and impunity reigned, and after a long period of 65 years during which the same parties always dominated the political scene. The political crisis is here and we will see what the outcome o...

As their green-transition efforts are increasingly caught up in the US–China rivalry, Southeast Asian states must find a way to convert potential short-term economic gains into long-lasting ones. With policymakers focused on global geopolitical flashpoints from the South China Sea to Myanmar and the Middle East, Southeast Asia’s growing emphasis on its green transition has generally been an under-appreciated agenda item. Following the latest Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane in July 2024, however, the meeting’s 36-page Joint Communique highlighted the importance of ‘green growth’ in advancing sustainable development. Indeed, nine out of ten ASEAN members have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions by mid