Author: Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev

Former Ambassador of India to Algeria, Norway and High Commissioner to Nigeria and Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev retired from Indian Foreign Service in October 2013. His 35-year diplomatic career included three Ambassadorial assignments spanning 11 years to Algeria, Norway and Nigeria – all major oil exporters. Nearly half of his diplomatic career was spent dealing with the Middle East. He is fluent in Arabic and knows some French. Amb. Sachdev is currently the President of Eco-Diplomacy & Strategies, a consultancy in Delhi. He was Founder-President of the UAE-India Business Council and a Consultant to Jamia Millia Islamia University. He has authored two well received “Business Manuals” on Nigeria (Sept 2014; second edition in Oct. 2018) and the UAE (Sept 2016). He comments on strategic, economic and cross-cultural issues in media in India, Gulf and Africa.

West Asia & North Africa Digest by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | May 2020

I) Political Developments Regional Impact of Covid-19: During April 2020 the WANA region continued to be plagued by Covid-19 pandemic, stretching the regional countries’ socio-political systems to face an enormous and multi-dimensional challenge. It brutally exposed the region’s countries’ various inadequacies such as governance failings, incompetent healthcare systems and haphazard social mobilisation. It also laid […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | April 2020

I) Political Developments Regional Impact of Covid-19: By end of March almost all countries of WANA region were affected by Covid-19 pandemic albeit to varying measure. The impact was both direct – with increasing number of patients with concomitant human despair, as well as indirect, with mounting collateral economic and political costs. Further, while the […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | March 2020

I) Political Developments Regional Impact of COVID-19:By February end, most of the region had been afflicted with incidence of Novel Corona Virus disease (COVID-19). First death from the diseased in the region was reported on Feb 19 in Iran – and the country soon earned the dubious distinction of being world’s most afflicted after China. The disease […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest | February 2020

I)Political Developments Trump’s “Deal of the Century” US President Donald Trump launched his Middle East Peace Plan on January 28 at the White House in presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but in conspicuous absence of any Palestinian representative. It was essentially the political proposal complimenting the economic component of the plan released earlier on June […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest | January 2020

Political Developments Islamic Ummah: A 4-day “Islamic Summit” hosted by Malaysia ended on Dec 21 without issuing any final statement and generating more heat than light. The event was attended by some 20 Muslim countries, prominent among them Iran, Turkey and Qatar. It was snubbed by Saudi Arabia which saw it as an attempt to challenge […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest | December 2019

I) Political Developments Arab Spring 2.0:Second season of Arab Spring is currently in full bloom in Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria. There are a number of common multiples among these four countries. All of them are listed in the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International as endemically corrupt: Syria (178th out of 180 in 2018), Sudan (172nd), […]

West Asia & North Africa Digest | November 2019

I) Political Developments Unrest in Iraq and Lebanon: Arab Spring 2? During much of October 2019, Lebanon and Iraq were both convulsed by widespread anti-establishment demonstrations led by their youth. These popular manifestations railed against the perceived hijacking of the popular mandate by powerful interest groups such as militias and sectarian entities in each of these […]