Keeping up with the geopolitical affairs- 3

FATF Greylist- The global terror financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has added Turkey, along with Jordan and Mali, in its revised list of “jurisdictions under increased monitoring”. The FATF is an inter-governmental body that works to “set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system”. There are now 23 countries in the FATF grey list, officially referred to as “jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies”. From India’s, and most of the rest of the world’s perspective, the most important country on the list is Pakistan. Myanmar is also on the list — and now, Turkey. In essence, in the assessment of the FATF, all these countries have failed to prevent international money laundering and terrorist financing, and are, therefore, on a global watchlist. Source; indianexpress.com India looks West. The foreign Ministers of India, Israel, and UAE along with the US secretary of State on 18 October met virtually leading to huge speculations of the formation of a new Quadrilateral or Quad group. Israel in the last couple of years has built some serious engagements with many Middle Eastern countries and India already has good relations with most of them. Such coordination between an important gulf country, Israel, and the US can prove to be a game-changer in the political and economic relations within and outside the region. It is particularly this decision that is leading to speculation regarding the formation of a new quadrilateral group among these members. If this happens, this could lead to greater cooperation among these influential countries in the region. India and the US along with Australia and Japan are already part of another Quad group. Source indiatimes.com https://youtu.be/ckP49ssiW6U Pakistan's Worsening Economic Crisis- A report in the Economic Times stated that Pakistan needs an infusion of $51. 6 billion in the two-year period (2021-23) in order to meet its financial obligations. The article quotes a conservative estimate of the IMF which mentions that Pakistan’s “external financing requirement stands at USD 23.6 billion in 2021-22 and USD 28 billion in 202223.” In case talks fail with the IMF, funding from other sources including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank remain at risk. As much as 28 per cent of Pakistan’s debt is owed to China, which was 9 per cent in 2013. This will only grow. Simultaneously, China demanded $38 million as compensation for loss of lives of its nine engineers, employed on the Dasu hydropower project, in a terrorist strike. At the current exchange rate it works out to Rs 73 crore per individual. China has stated that work on the project would only recommence once the amount has been paid and additional security ensured. Pakistan has constituted a committee to deliberate on the Chinese demand as also negotiate with China on the amount. A Pakistani media report last month stated that as per the State Bank of Pakistan, the government’s debt increased to Rs 39.9 trillion, of which 14.9 trillion was in the past three years of Imran Khan’s reign. This has been accentuated by large public borrowings during the Covid pandemic. There was some relief with the IMF handing over $2.75 billion under a Special Drawing Rights programme for battling Covid. The World Bank included Pakistan in the top ten nations with largest foreign debts. Added to these miseries is the fact Pakistan will continue to remain on the Grey List as it has failed to fulfil FATF’s basic requirements. In a paper titled, ‘Bearing the cost of global politics — the impact of FATF grey-listing on Pakistan’s economy,’ Naafey Sardar states that the impact on GDP of Pakistan being in the Grey List from 2008-2019 has been $38 billion. Source thestatesman.com

YT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTzKE0XFPJk