Tag: Narendra Modi

After Modi-Xi meeting, India-China joint exercise in Ladakh focus on trust-building

- by India Writes Network

In a confidence-building exercise held only days after the meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping, India and China have carried out the second edition of the joint military exercise in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The exercise, held on October 18, was held under the provisions of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the two Asian giants in 2013. This was the follow-up of the first drill that took place in February this year on the Chinese side. The exercise, entitled “Sino India Cooperation 2016,” was part of the “Hand in Hand” joint drills to enhance peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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Smart Diplomacy: India invites Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi as R-Day chief guest

- by India Writes Network

In a diplomatic masterstroke, India has invited Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2017. This is smart diplomacy as it will not only bolster New Delhi’s relations with the Gulf powerhouse, home to 2.6 million-strong diaspora, but will also aid India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region over cross-border terror.

In a letter to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mohamed bin Zayed expressed “thanks for the kind invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations”. “Our strong relations are deeply rooted in history. Our strategic cooperation has increased, driven by our mutual aspirations to develop it,” the Crown Prince said.

Inviting the Crown Prince seems to be the brainchild of Mr Modi, who visited the UAE in August 2015 during which the two sides launched a mammoth investment fund of $75 billion and agreed to intensify their security cooperation. The UAE robustly backed India’s position on delinking religion with terrorism, with the joint statement coming out strongly against states that sponsor terrorism against other countries.

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Battle for Bihar: Development vs caste in electoral calculus

- by India Writes Network

The northern state of Bihar in India has always been synonymous with caste-based crime. However, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Janta Dal (U) has managed to change this image and is steadily taking the state towards an inclusive growth.

A resource-rich state with a vote bank of 66.82 million, Kumar has managed to put up an issue based election agenda here. But leaders of rival political parties have managed to pull back the caste politics ahead of the development plank ahead of the crucial assembly elections.

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Kerry intones song of India, lauds resilient democracy, innovation

- by India Writes Network

It’s a cheering and uplifting tribute from the US to the power of India in the world. In an Independence Day message to India on the eve of its 69th Independence Day, US Secretary of State John Kerry has underlined the ethos of India and what it represents in an evolving world order. “Since 1947, India has stood as a beacon for the world, as an economic power that prides innovation, as a resilient democracy in the face of terror and as a strategic power that upholds international norms.”

“As the world’s largest democracies, the US and India stand side by side in defending and promoting the freedoms and values we hold,” said Mr Kerry, in a message on behalf of US President Barack Obama.

“As was highlighted during President Obama’s visit for India’s Republic Day in January, the US takes pride in our indispensable partnership with India, a friendship built on our shared democratic values, the entrepreneurial spirit of our people, and our shared interests,” said the US diplomat, a robust backer of stronger India-US relations and an ardent supporter of the India-US nuclear rapprochement.

Alluding to the enduring legacy of India’s iconic figures associated with the freedom movement, Mr Kerry said that these leaders contributed to establishing a united, inclusive republic and inspired leaders from across the globe.

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