Diplomacy

With China on mind, India’s Navy Chief steps up Vietnam connect

- by India Writes Network

India’s Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is on a five-day visit to Vietnam to step up defence and security cooperation with the South Asian nation which has emerged as a pivot of India’s Act East policy.
Given the fast changing geo-strategic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region, marked by China’s increased assertiveness in the region, the Navy Chief’s visit is being watched closely in Beijing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Hanoi in September 2016 was transformational and placed the expanding India-Vietnam ties on a new footing. During his visit, the Indian leader pledged $500 million in Lines of Credit for a host of development and defence-related projects in the Southeast Asian nation.

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Will Myanmar take back Rohingya refugees? Bangladesh optimistic

- by India Writes Network

As Bangladesh reels under the massive influx of Rohingya refugees fleeing the violence in Rakhine state, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali said that Myanmar has made a proposal to take back about half a million refugees. His remarks came after his meeting in Dhaka with a Myanmar delegation headed by Kyaw Tint Swe, a minister in State Counsellor’s office.

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Riding on love & courage slogan,Canadian Sikh to lead National Democrats

- by India Writes Network

At a time when the world is grappling with voices of polarization and Islamophobia, and when the ultranationalist rhetoric of several world leaders has done little to mitigate the situation, the rise of the Canadian Sikh man Jagmeet Singh on a slogan of ‘love and courage’ and a vision for an inclusive society has generated much curiosity and interest the world over. In just a span of a few years, the 38-year-old suave former lawyer has taken the Canadian political scene by storm, emerging as a strong rival to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

With his election as the leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party on October 1, securing a clear victory with nearly 54 per cent votes, racing way ahead of more experienced contenders, Mr. Singh has become the first non-white to be elected for the top job of a prominent Canadian political party. This makes his rise all the more important. A visibly jubilant Mr. Singh officially launched his campaign to contest the federal election next year. “The run for prime minister begins now,” he tweeted.

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Indo-Afghan ties flying high: New Delhi-Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat flight takes off

- by India Writes Network

With the launch of direct flights connecting New Delhi with Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat, following the Indo-Afghan trade show and Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah’s visit to India, the India-Afghan partnership look set to get new wings. While security and trade cooperation remain high on the agenda, connectivity is a key concern and this recent announcement will give a major boost to people-to-people connect between the two nations.
The private airlines, owned by the Kamgar Group, will operate twice a week from the two cities. A full inaugural flight from MaulanaJalalludinBalkhi airport inMazar-e-Sharif to Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, is a good sign of the success of this initiative. At the joint inauguration event attended by Dr. Mohammad Afzal Hadeed, chairman of the Provincial Council of Balkh Province, India’s Consul General Manjish Grover expressed his hopes that the new flight service will ease trade and travel between northern Afghanistan and India.

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Chinese envoy’s post-Doklam formula for India-China ties: 1+1=11

- by India Writes Network

More than a month after India and China ended their embittered standoff at the Doklam plateau, followed by a defrosting meeting between the leaders of two countries in Xiamen, China’s ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui has conjured up a new formula for improving India-China ties that envisages reconciliation and proactive cooperation between the two Asian giants. In his formulation, Doklam, with its connotations of hostility and one-upmanship, should be replaced by a synchronous dance between Asia’s leading economies.
Alluding to the defining meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coastal city of Xiamen on September 5, the Chinese envoy said: They sent a clear message to the world, “reconciliation” and “cooperation”.
“We should turn the old page and start a new chapter with the same pace and direction. We should dance together,” the Chinese envoy said at the National Day celebrations to mark the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
“China is the largest trading partner of India. We have made a lot of progress at bilateral level, as well as in international and regional affairs. I am quite sure that with joint efforts, we will focus on cooperation, handle the difference properly, enhance mutual trust, and move forward our relations to a new height,” he said at the premises of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on September 29.
The Chinese envoy’s 1+1 formula indicates an emerging thinking among China’s top political establishment about proactively partnering with India with a view to blending strengths and core competencies to realise dreams of national rejuvenation by both countries.

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Passage to Prosperity: Indo-Afghan trade show in Delhi can be a game-changer

- by India Writes Network

Projecting Afghanistan as a narrative of economic opportunity, a signature India-Afghan trade show has opened in New Delhi that seeks to nurture and expand economic bonds between Asia’s third largest economy and the resource-rich violence-wracked country.
Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley jointly inaugurated the three-day India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment show at a luxury hotel in New Delhi on September 27. The show, fittingly entitled “Passage to Prosperity,” could be a potential game-changer in attracting greater Indian investment into a violence-torn country wracked by a festering insurgency led by the Taliban.
The trade fair showcases typical Afghan products like carpets, gems, dry fruits and marble, for which the country is famous for, and seeks to forge business linkages between Afghan traders and entrepreneurs with their Indian counterparts. Over 200 Afghan and 800 Indian companies, encompassing diverse sectors, including health, education, energy, water and agriculture sectors, are participating in the mega show.
The trade fair emanates from India’s declared commitment to bolster Afghanistan economically at the Heart of Asia Ministerial conference, held in Amritsar in December 2016.
In a first of sorts, the US is partnering in this trade show, which underlines a growing connect between India, Afghanistan and the US to proactively cooperate in the economic rejuvenation of the violence-beset country. The trade initiative will reinforce US President Donald Trump’s Afghan policy which envisages a bigger economic and developmental role for India in the stabilisation of Afghanistan.

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