The 13th meeting of ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association in Perth yesterday was the first chaired by Australia in the organisation’s 16-year history. Australia succeeded India and Indonesia became the new vice-chair. The IORA consists of 20 member states. They reflect the remarkable diversity of our Indian Ocean region and represent from small island countries, such as Comoros and Seychelles, to G20 members such as India, Indonesia and Australia.

Just a week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to Beijing, where he signed a Border Defense Cooperation Agreement, China has reminded India of its other border conflict: Arunachal Pradesh. The Hindu reports that China opened a new highway that links Medog, Tibet’s so-called “last isolated county,” with the rest of China. The Global Times called Medog “the last roadless county in China” – it did not mention India at all.

The Indian government should vigorously investigate allegations that officials are using the law on foreign contributions to repress groups critical of the government. The government should amend the 2010 Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act to protect the right to freedom of association and expression.

When it comes to what actually delivers improvements in the lives of poor children in developing countries – and what doesn’t – the people who know best tend to live in developing countries. They live with the problem and their lives are directly affected by their success – or failure – in developing the solutions. South-South cooperation is the process of sharing knowledge between governments and people in developing countries.

Abhijit Sanyal is sitting on a beach-chair watching frothy waves roll in from the Indian Ocean. He arrived in Tanzania a year ago after a career in his native India with Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant. ChemiCotex, an industrial company in Dar es Salaam, hired him as chief executive to oversee the expansion of its “tooth-and-nail business”, which dominates the Tanzanian market for dental care and metal goods.

The founder of Saffron Brand Consultants and brand consultancy Wolff Olins ,Wally Olins, was in India last week. Olins, who is one of the most recognized practitioners of modern brand design and identity, addressed the IAA Global Marketing Summit where he talked about the lack of confidence Indian corporates have on the global stage.

Nearly 50 people were killed in the Muzaffarnagar sectarian riots last month. According to media reports, a fake video passed around through social media, contributed to flaming religious passions. This prompted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say that while people should have freedom to express their opinions, social media cannot be misused “to create communal tension and spread hatred”.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul received his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in the capital city of Ankara on Monday, expressing his hopes towards enhanced cooperation between the two countries. "Turkey and India have a big potential of cooperation in many fields. We believe this cooperation in the fields of business, investment, finance and commerce will step up in a short period of time," Gul told during a dinner with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in the capital city of Ankara.