Diplomacy

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Modi’s China visit: Issues and unresolved questions

- by India Writes Network

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen was important for several reasons. For one, this was the first time PM Modi and President Xi Jinping were meeting face-to-face since the standoff at Doklam, which saw an unprecedented sabre-ratting from the Chinese side. Scheduled ahead of the 19th Communist Party Congress, whose dates – beginning 18 October, 2017 – were announced just after the disengagement agreement, the 9th BRICS Summit – attended by the leaders of India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa – was showcased by Chinese President Xi Jinping as a platform for his global leadership. A combination of these circumstances, in addition to concerns expressed by the US and other powers, probably including Russia, the highly tense Korean peninsula and some quiet diplomacy by the Indian side led to the disengagement where the CBMs between the two armies firmly held, despite the jingoistic noises.
On the eve of the Chinese Communist Party Congress, the Chinese leader’s sensitivity about his projection as a global leader, with the new US president becoming less globally engaged, remains a significant domestic political factor. The post-October emergent shape of the Chinese leadership would make considerable difference as to how stable global situation would be where India’s vital interests – and its multi-vector international relationships – remain at stake. Read more….

Read More

Swaraj’s new two-nation spin: India sets up IITs & IIMS, Pakistan jihad factories

- by India Writes Network

Two nations, two narratives – “India sets up IITs and IIMs and Pakistan produces jihadis and set up terror organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohamed.” Taking an expose of Pakistan to a new level on the global stage at the annual UNGA jamboree, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched a savage indictment of Pakistan for sponsoring and supporting terror against India and the region.
In her hard-hitting speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, Sushma Swaraj was at her acerbic best, launching a scathing criticism of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi’s address where he had accused India of perpetuating state-sponsored terrorism and human rights violations.
Those listening had only one observation: “Look who’s talking!” A country that has been the world’s greatest exporter of havoc, death and inhumanity became a champion of hypocrisy by preaching about humanity and Human Rights from this podium,” she said at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly.
across the range of human welfare.
“Why is it that today India is a recognised IT superpower in the world, and Pakistan is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror? What is the reason for this have they ever thought? There is only one reason. India has risen despite the principle destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism,” she said.

Read More

India voices SAARC scepticism, focuses on fast-track delivery

- by India Writes Network

Is SAARC in danger of becoming irrelevant? India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, for one, certainly thinks so, reinforcing widespread skepticism about the bleak future of the grouping which remains mired in India-Pakistan rivalry and Islamabad’s stonewalling of SAARC’s key initiatives.
In her speech at an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of SAARC member nations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Mrs Swaraj voiced India’s disappointment with the failure of the eight-nation South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to live up to its aims and objectives. The minister spelled out a host of roadblocks that continue to stall any significant progress made by the eight-nation grouping.
There was no clear indication regarding the SAARC summit, but the minister clarified that unless the high-level meetings translate into concrete actions on the ground, the relevance of the group would be lost. With India and Pakistan intensifying their war of words at the UNGA, the fate of SAARC, as of now, hangs in the balance.

Read More

Trump Talk at UN amuses & shocks world

- by India Writes Network

US President Donald Trump’s maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly unfolded on predictable lines, except for its highly combative tone which left many veteran world leaders and diplomats in the audience squirming in their seats. From vowing to destroy North Korea, to calling Iran a “rogue state” and lashing out at terrorist organisations and countries that provide them safe havens, Mr Trump unleashed his rage at “America’s enemies.”
Speaking from the green-marbled dais he had once mocked as ugly, Mr Trump’s fury was largely directed at the “depraved” Pyongyang and its despotic leader Kim Jong-un whom he referred to as the Rocket Man on a suicide mission. “No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the wellbeing of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea,” he said. Mr Trump, who got elected in November last year on America First plank, vowed to “totally destroy” North Korea if it didn’t abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

Read More

With an eye on China, India-US -Japan trilateral focuses on maritime security

- by India Writes Network

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kano on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York City taking up issues of connectivity, security and respect for international norms. The joint statement of the ministerial meeting highlighted three key areas – maritime security, connectivity and proliferation.
On South China Sea and OBOR
In an oblique reference to China, the statement stressed the need for “freedom of navigation, respect for international law and peaceful resolution of disputes”. China’s aggressive posturing on South China Sea where it is ramping up its military presence and accelerating construction of artificial islands has caused considerable distress to the international community since the annual global trade flow through these waters amounts to many trillions of dollars.
China’s One Belt One Road Initiate also figured in discussions. It has been opposed to it from the very beginning since a major part of it passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The joint statement called for the need to base such initiatives on “universally recognized international norms, prudent financing and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity”. It may be noted that US had urged a return to status-quo during the Doklam crisis while Japan had actively supported India’s position.

Read More