US President, Donald Trump, announced on 16 September 2019 that he will meet both Indian and Pakistani leaders, in the “next few days,” whilst claiming that “a lot of progress is being made,” in defusing tensions between South Asia’s two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 17 September 2019 thanked Indians in the country and abroad for the support it received after the space agency lost contact with the lander of the second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, minutes before touchdown on the lunar surface on 7 September. As for Pakistan, the failure of Indian space mission Chandrayaan-2 to land on moon provoked widespread discussion in Pakistan.

The world is going through a transition, where economic liberalism and globalism are shifting towards economic nationalism and patriotism, with US President Donald Trump leading the way. Globalism has significantly benefited the United States since the 1990s; however, today this is no longer the case. Trump and the elites who support him have learnt that America is not seeing the benefits of globalisation since the rise of China.

The CVs of Pakistan’s Governor of State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Minister speak volumes about their Western credentials. Both have degrees from supposedly prestigious institutions, and have worked in many developed countries. And yet, beyond their research publications, one has the right to ask exactly which developing countries have they transformed into developed countries?