Diplomacy

Qatar bets big on India, 6 pacts signed

- by India Writes Network

India and Qatar, the energy-rich Gulf state, have taken a set of important steps to bolster their economic and security partnership as the two countries signed six agreements, including one on the transfer of sentenced prisoners.

The pacts were signed after full-spectrum talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in New Delhi on March 25.

The six agreements, besides the transfer of sentenced prisoners, included: an MoU for Cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technology; an MoU between the ministry of earth sciences and Qatar Meteorological Department for Scientific and Technical cooperation; an MoU between Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar and Foreign Service Institute of the ministry of external affairs; an MoU for cooperation in the field of Radio and Television; and an agreement for Mutual Cooperation and Exchange of News.

The pact on the transfer of sentenced prisoners envisages the repatriation of Indian prisoners convicted in Qatar to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence. Similarly, Qatari citizens convicted in India can be sent to their home country to serve their sentence. This agreement would enable the sentenced persons to be near their families and would help in the process of their social rehabilitation, said an official statement.

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Feasting, bickering and philosophising: Way to go for India-Pakistan relations!

- by Manish Chand

Feasting, bickering and rhetorical fireworks. It was a conflicted see-saw day for the prickly relations between India and Pakistan as the Pakistan high commission rolled out a moveable feast for at least 3,000 Indian guests on its National Day in New Delhi even as New Delhi sharply reminded Islamabad that there is no place for third party (Kashmiri separatists) in the dialogue process.

March 23, 2015 – it was just another day in the subcontinent bidding adieu to winter and bracing for the long blistering summer ahead, but it telescoped multiple contradictions in the tangled India-Pakistan relations.

What does all this symbolism, rhetoric and below-the-belt barbs mean for India-Pakistan relations and the prospects of the dialogue process? The messaging is confused, but still one can isolate some strands: one, for all the occasional bickering and reiteration of well-known positions, the leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad are increasingly realising that there is no option but to talk and re-engage. There is also a healthy dose of pragmatism, a sobering realisation that bickering between the governments will not prevent bonding and feasting on people-to-people level. If nothing works, they can always bank on the robust appetite of people on both sides of the divide for good food: the rich spread of biryani, chicken tikka and kakori kabab…

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