2021 marks the eighth anniversary of the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative. Eight years on, what benefits can we see from this worldwide infrastructure project?

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo conducted a 4-day Asia tour, visiting Japan, Singapore and Malaysia and meeting her counterparts in Australia and New Zealand. During her tour, Raimondo said Washington wants to pursue a "new economic framework" for partners in the Asia-Pacific region. What is this new economic framework? What will it look like? And what other messages were conveyed during her Asia trip?

Two years into the pandemic, the world has seen drastic changes. And pharmaceutical companies have been working around the clock to develop drugs to combat the virus, with some making significant progress. When will these COVID drugs be put into use? Can they put an end to this unprecedented pandemic?

For this edition of Dialogue Weekend, we have Dr. Muhammad Munir, virologist and lecturer in Biomedicine Health and Medicine at Lancaster University; Professor Robert Kelly of the Department of Political Science at Pusan National University; Prof. John Gong from the University of International Business & Economics; and Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of Schiller Institute.