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The year 2020 has started off on a good note vis-à-vis India New Zealand Relations are concerned. Following closely on the heels of the visit of New Zealand Immigration Minister Ian Lees-Galloway to Mumbai last month, February marked another significant visit by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Trade Minister David Parker, along with a business delegation. The visit is expected address certain important areas of convergence in the relations between the two countries. Historically India and New Zealand share several commonalities–a common legacy of British colonial rule and evolution of parliamentary forms of governance, as well as shared linkages through the Commonwealth. Apart from this, the two countries increasingly desire to develop a more nuanced and focused approach to understanding their mutual areas of interest and convergences, both bilaterally and in the broader context of the Indo-Pacific. It is in this context that New Zealan...

India’s major think-tank, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses organised the 4th West Asia Conference on the theme “Ten Years of Political and Economic Transformation in West Asia: Challenges, Lessons and Future Trends” in New Delhi. The conference witnessed the participation of over several Indian and international experts, including Mr. Fouad Siniora, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon and Mr. Nabil Fahmy, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, who deliberated on various important issues pertaining to the region. The two-day discussions were divided into six sessions focussed themes such as regional security scenario, role of external powers, economy, the changing nature of conflict an India’s growing engagement with West Asia. India’s Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways, Government of India, General Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) gave the keynote address highlighting the upheavals the region has faced in the last decade and unde...

As leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies; recognizing the importance of freedom, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights and a commitment to the rule of law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump vowed to strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump pledged to deepen defence and security cooperation, especially through greater maritime and space domain awareness and information sharing; joint cooperation; exchange of military liaison personnel; advanced training and expanded exercises between all services and special forces; closer collaboration on co-development and co-production of advanced defence components, equipment and platforms; and partnership between their defence industries. Both leaders are looking forward to the early conclusion of defence cooperation enabling agreements includin...

President Donald Trump’s thirty-six hour State visit to India was packed with both ceremony and substance. He is the seventh President of the United States to have visited India; all four US Presidents over the last two decades have visited India, an indicator of the upward trajectory of the India-US relationship. The President was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as by a high-level delegation. President Trump landed to an unprecedented welcome by thousands of people in Ahmedabad. After visiting Sabarmati ashram, the President and Prime Minister Modi addressed a packed crowd of 1.25 lakhs at the Motera stadium at the Namaste Trump event. It would be recalled that five months earlier President Trump and Prime Minister Modi had addressed a huge gathering of the Indian American community in the Howdy Modi rally at Houston. President Trump was lavish in his praise of the personality and leadership of Prime Minister Modi as w...

US President Donald Trump started his stand-alone visit to India by landing in Ahmedabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received him at Ahmedabad airport. The personal rapport between the two leaders is well known. Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and President Trump’s visit to Sabarmati Ashram was significant in view of Gandhiji’s role in liberating India from the clutches of the British Raj. India could not have offered a more befitting welcome to Mr. Trump than to request him to inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium in Motera, Ahmadabad in the presence of more than a hundred thousand people from all across India. In a matter of a few hours, the American President was exposed to a large variety of Indian culture through display of music and dance from a host of Indian states. President Trump was visibly impressed with Indian diversity and the multi-cultural beauty of Indian society. However, his speech at the Motera Stadium was music to the ears of millions of India...

My dear countrymen, I am fortunate to have got an opportunity once again to greet citizens from Kutch to Kohima, Kashmir to Kanyakumari; in fact across the length & breadth of the country. Namaskar to all of you. Reflecting on the expanse & diversity of our land, revering them fills each & every Indian with a sense of pride. And an opportunity to experience this varied diversity is one that touches the heart, filling it up with joy; it is a flower that radiates inspiration. A few days ago, at a small place at the Hunar Haat in Delhi, I witnessed hues of our country’s diverse expanse, cultures, traditions, cuisines & the warmth of emotions. As a matter of fact the repertoire comprising traditional attires, handicrafts, carpets, utensils, Bamboo & brass products, Phulkari of Punjab, exotic leatherwork of Andhra Pradesh, beautiful paintings from Tamilnadu, brass products of Uttar Pradesh, Bhadohi carpets, copper work of Kutch, a number of musical instruments & inn...

Towards making the world safer against international terrorism by restricting the finances fuelling it, the global inter-governmental watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last Friday took a decision to continue to place Iran on its ‘Black-list’. It meanwhile kept Pakistan on a lower level at its Grey List. FATF with its headquarter in Paris is a 40-member body which tracks the global finances to combat money laundering and terror financing and prepares a list in two different categories placing the subjected countries to serve as an advisory for the international community to take note during their financial transactions with them. Blacklisting a country by FATF means that it is the riskiest to deal with that country financially and the ‘Grey-list’ is a degree better than the Black-list indicating that the subject country is taking desired steps towards curbing money laundering and terror financing but still requires to do more. Coincidentally the blacklisting of Iran was annou...

When the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary started last Sunday, in Paris, with more than 800 representatives from 205 countries around the world, there were speculations in Pakistan about its possibility of coming out of the grey list. Among other issues, the FATF plenary sought to discuss progress made by Pakistan and other countries in meeting their commitments to counter money laundering and terror financing. Countries put in the grey list are deemed to present a risk to the global financial system. Pakistan has been in the grey list since June 2018. On February 19, 2020, media reports started trickling in that Pakistan would continue to remain in the grey list till June this year. This was inevitable since the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) tasked with evaluating the compliance report submitted by Pakistan on February 17, reportedly concluded that Pakistan had not taken sufficient steps to curb terror financing. This was despite Pakistan’s efforts to convi...

On February 18th, after a delay of five months, the result of the bitterly contested Afghanistan Presidential election held on September 28, 2019, was declared. The incumbent President, Ashraf Ghani, was declared as the winner. However, his main rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, refused to accept the election results. He accused the Election Commission of fraud and declared that he would form the next government. The voter turnout was low and when the preliminary counting showed Mr. Ghani leading, the rivals disputed the voting percentage and as a result 15 per cent of the votes were called for an audit. President Ghani won the election by a very narrow margin, securing 50.64 per cent of votes. India congratulated President Ashraf Ghani on his re-election following the announcement of final results. India reiterated its supports to the democratic aspirations of the people of Afghanistan and remains committed to continue to work with the new Government and the democratic polity in strengthe...

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Germany to take part in the Munich Security conference. During this visit, Dr. Jaishankar interacted with Foreign Ministers of Oman, Spain, Kuwait, Armenia, Saudi Arabia and Australia. He also met with Defence Ministers of Singapore, Germany and Belgium. He also had an interaction with the President of the European Council. Later, the External Affairs Minister visited Berlin to have detailed discussions and exchange of views on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of mutual concern with the German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass and German Defence Minister Ms. Annegrete Kramp-Karrenbauer. India and Germany enjoy strong bilateral relations and very cooperative partnership at the international fora. Continuing this tradition, India significantly joined the Franco-German promoted Alliance for Multilateralism. Dr Jaishankar while declaring this, observed that today, multilateralism is under threat, and s...

During a recent visit to Pakistan, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Kashmir by saying that Turkey is “gravely concerned that the situation in the region that has turned into a predicament despite all the steps taken recently”. Turkey favours the settlement of the Kashmir issue through dialogue between Pakistan and India on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and in accordance with the expectations of the Kashmiri people. He expressed Turkey’s “solidarity” with Kashmir and compared the “struggle” of Kashmiri people with that of the fight by Turkey against foreign domination during the World War I. This is preposterous to say the least. India has reacted strongly to the Turkish President’s comment by issuing a demarche to the country’s Ambssador on Erdogan’s opinion. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement, said that the Turkish President’s remarks reflected neither an understanding of history nor the conduct of diploma...

India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, visited Brussels for discussions with the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union. The visit took place at the invitation of Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles, European Union’s High Representative/Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This was the Indian External Affairs Minister’s first visit to the EU after the assumption of office of the new Commission in December 2019. The Foreign Affairs Council is constituted by EU High Representative and the 27 Foreign Ministers of the members states of the European Union. It is responsible for the European Union’s external action on foreign policy, defence and security, trade, development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Dr. Jaishankar shared with the FAC, India’s foreign policy priorities and regional and global perspective. The focus of the exchange was on the common values of the India and European Union, which represent the world’s two largest democracies...

The 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC) took place in Munich, Germany last week. The conference's focus was on the concept of "westlessness", which has emerged due to differences and uncertainties of the West in their values and strategic orientations. In his address at the Conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted that Washington had disengaged from allies and global concerns. Seeking to assure European sentiments, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the death of the transatlantic alliance was highly overemphasized. The West, according to him was “winning” and in fact winning together. He said that Washington is playing a key role in defending Europe’s borders through NATO, as well as leading a multinational effort to defeat the Islamic State. His comments were also seen as a response to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who said that the US had rejected "even the idea of an international community" and was acting "...

Portuguese President Mr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa paid a successful State visit to India. The highlight of this trip was the signing of 14 MoUs and agreements covering a wide spectrum of mutually beneficial issues. These involved maritime transport and port development, Start-ups, aerospace, diplomatic training, scientific research and public-policy. The visit is a reflection of a new dynamism in India-Portugal ties with the relationship being completely redefined and transformed in the last three years. Arguably, both India and Portugal appear to be betting on each other’s ongoing rapid transformation to unlock the full potential of their bilateral ties. Today, there exists a range of global and bilateral issues where India’s and Portugal’s interests converge. The world remains in flux marked by unpredictable and volatile fault-lines. Shifting great power rivalries, undercurrents of geo-economic and geo-strategic competition, depressed economic growth, and growing traditional...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said foreign investors continue to show confidence in India. Replying to discussions on the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament, she said banks are now better equipped to fund growth investment. Asserting that government will invest over Rupees one lakh crore in infrastructure development by 2024-25. She said the county’s economy is moving forward. The Finance Minister said that there is steady growth in GST revenue collections. She said the nominal GDP of the country has increased from two trillion dollars in 2014-15 to $ 2.9 trillion by 2019-20. She said the government has taken several steps for the betterment of the youth. The Minister also said there is a positive confidence in the Indian economy and the government has taken several measures to strengthen it. Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the country is well prepared to deal with the Novel Coronavirus threat. Speaking on the issue in the Lok Sabha, he said, all necessary precau...

A Pakistan anti-terrorism court has jailed for 11 years the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Saeed, the chief of Pakistan based terrorist groups, Jamaat-ud-Da’wah (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT). He was jailed on two charges of terror financing. Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province. “Hafiz Saeed and his close aide Zafar Iqbal have been sentenced in two cases of terrorism financing," Pakistan government prosecutor Abdul Rauf Watto said. “The total punishment in both the cases was 11 years but Saeed will serve five-and-a-half years in jail as the two punishments will run concurrently," Saeed’s lawyer Imran Gill meanwhile has said. “We will appeal against the verdict," India said, “Pakistan’s sentencing the UN-designated and internationally proscribed terrorist Hafiz Saeed in a terror financing case, is part of the long-p...

Vice-President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Dang Thai Ngoc Thinh was on an official visit to India for delegation level talks with the Vice-President of India, Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu. Vietnam is a critical anchor in India’s Act East Policy and India’s larger Indo-Pacific Strategy. Further, Hanoi is key to New Delhi’s approach to the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries as the main objective is to nurture extensive economic and strategic links with South-east Asia. The focus of the recent visit was to further reinforce the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. One of the highlights during Vice-President Dang Thai Ngoc Thinh’s visit was the announcement of direct flights connecting India and Vietnam. Additionally, an agreement was signed to establish a resident office of Voice of Vietnam in Delhi. The Vietnamese Vice-President also visited Bodh Gaya during her visit. In 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam, the bilateral relatio...

The significance of any US Presidential visit to any country since the end of Second World War can never be underestimated. It is not only because the United States is a global superpower, but also because the world’s political economy exists in a complex web of connectedness, where the US’ role has been paramount. There can be differences of opinion about the outcome of a US Presidential visit, but none can challenge the importance of engaging America. There are several critical reasons why the forthcoming visit by US President Donald Trump to India is important for both the countries. The global strategic balance has been rapidly shifting and tilting in favour of the United States. The talk of a declining America and rising China has come to a halt. Despite several controversies surrounding his presidency, President Trump has been able to reclaim US position and power in the world and China has not been able to challenge US global influence. Engaging a powerful political entity like...