Category: Politics

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework promoting the use of local currencies – Indian Rupee (INR) and Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) – for cross-border transactions. This initiative seeks to streamline trade between the two nations by allowing exporters and importers to invoice and settle transactions in their respective domestic currencies.

The framework is expected to encourage the development of trading in the INR-MVR pair in the foreign exchange market. By adopting local currencies, both countries aim to reduce transaction costs, minimize reliance on third-party currencies, and cut down settlement times, the RBI said in an official statement. This move aligns with broader efforts to enhance regional economic integration and reduce external financial dependencies.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and MMA Governor Ahmed Munawar signed the MoU, which marks a significant step toward strengthening bilateral trade ties and fostering economic cooperation. With this agreement, India and the Maldives are poised to deepen their economic partnership while facilitating smoother financial transactions, promoting efficiency, and supporting the growth of trade relationships between the two nations.

The Govt. of Australia on Thursday introduced a bill in the parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and introduced a fine of A$49.5 million for social media platforms for systematic breach of the rule. They also planned a trial on an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identity verification to enforce social media age cut-off. This is one of the toughest moves made by any country till date.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed this as a landmark reform. This comes after the Albanese-led Labor government has crossed swords on excessive use of social media which has a serious impact on children’s physical and mental health especially for girls who can be exposed to harmful depiction of body image and nudity, and male supremacist  content for boys.  

Many countries have already vowed to curb the usage of social media by children through legislation and government policies but Australia’s policy makers have been very strict towards it.  

Though there are some softwares like messaging, online gaming, and health and education related services, such as youth mental health support platform Headspace, google classroom and youtube which are still available for the underages. Albanese informed in his statement. This move is also supported by the opposition Liberal Party. 

The law would force social media platforms, and not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure the age-verification protections are in place.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be traveling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia next month as per the plan briefed by a source on Wednesday. With such a move, Britain seeks to deepen the ties between the wealthy Gulf states.

Another source briefed Starmer’s UAE travel plans and confirmed his visit to UAE. However, both sources are anonymous about the plan as the travel plan hasn’t been announced officially.

As per the sources, Britain hopes to get investment from the Gulf countries, including UAE’s energy projects.

In the meeting, Starmer would also discuss conflicts between Israel, Gaza and Lebanon and other regional issues. This visit would be Starmer’s first one since his party won the British general election held in July. The government has promised to build relations with the UAE, which was affected severely by the previous Conservative government.

The Prime Minister’s visit was first reported on Wednesday by the Financial Times, and then other familiar people cited his plans later on. It was also reported by the newspaper that a visit to London by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman might take place next year, but his travel plans had not yet been finalized.

The leaders of Britain, Japan, and Italy have discussed the GCAP jet fighter project on a broader scale with other countries, as stated by the office of Giorgia Melong, the Italian Prime Minister, on Tuesday.

In December 2022, Japan, Britain, and Italy agreed on collaborating for an advanced front-line fighter to enter the middle of the next-decade service.

The meeting was held between Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Shigeru Isiba, the Prime Minister of Japan, on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

As per the official statement, “They agreed on the importance of the project continuing to move forward expeditiously, reaffirming their common intent to further strengthen the ongoing collaboration.”

India and Australia clinched an ambitious renewable energy partnership and set their eyes on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese vowed to ramp up overall bilateral ties significantly. The two leaders welcomed the partnership, which aims to boost bilateral investment in renewable energy sectors, on Tuesday at the annual G20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro.

Albanese said in a meeting that Australia and India would also look to enhance defense and maritime security cooperation. He also said that this partnership will include a rooftop solar workforce as India seeks to boost household use of renewables. Australia is the largest producer of per capita rooftop solar.

In his speech Prime Minister Modi said that they were exploring new cooperation on defence industry, critical minerals, renewable energy, ship building, space, according to the transcript.

Australia has rich copper, vanadium, cobalt, and lithium deposits used in electric vehicle batteries. The partnership is a significant milestone in India-Australia cooperation and will guide our climate and energy cooperation. Australia is committed to working with India to seize the economic opportunities of the net zero transition. Our new renewable energy partnership will translate this aspiration into reality.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Lula da Silva, the Brazilian President, for the warm welcome upon his arrival at the G20 summit’s venue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Further, the Prime Minister said that he is looking forward to the Summit’s proceedings. For the same, the Prime Minister’s post on X stated, “Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome.” Upon the Prime Minister’s arrival, he was seen shaking hands with President Lula,  and both leaders continued to interact further.

Earlier during the day, Prime Minister Modi was seen appreciating the display of the vibrant Indian culture in Brazil after his warm welcome in Rio.

PM Modi also took to his social media channels, sharing visuals of the Indian culture celebration in Brazil. In the video shared by the Prime Minister, the young kids are seen singing Vande Mataram with traditional Indian instruments like Harmonium being played around. The Prime Minister was greeted with chants of Jai Shree Krishna while witnessing a beautiful Garba performance from the Indian community members.

PM wrote on X – “A celebration of Indian culture in Brazil! Gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro….” The dynamic between India and Brazil is multifaceted and very close, each at a bilateral and plurilateral level.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte agreed to strengthen cooperation on both security and the obtainment of key minerals in a meeting on Sunday, 18th November. Ishiba, in the meeting, said that Peru is an important partner for Japan in terms of economic security. To which Boluarte said that Peru wants to strengthen bilateral relations with Japan.

Japan and Peru issued a joint statement the same day which stated that they  “have decided to further deepen and dynamize the bilateral strategic partnership with a shared long-term vision.” It further stated  that the two nations acknowledged “the importance of cooperation to build and strengthen resilient and reliable supply chains for critical goods, including critical minerals.”

Peru, the world’s second-largest producer of copper, is rich in mineral resources, whereas Japan is a crucial consumer of this industrial metal. Along with this, the two countries also adopted a 10-year comprehensive roadmap for cooperation in various fields. In the field of defense and security, they agreed to facilitate interoperability between Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Peruvian Navy.

The United States and the Philippines have signed a military intelligence sharing deal on Monday. This pact seems to deepen the military ties between the two countries facing similar regional security challenges.

The agreement was signed between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Philippines counterpart Gilberto Teodoro at Manila’s military headquarters. The two countries also spoke and shared views on the broken ground for a coordination center, facilitating collaboration between the armed forces.

The two countries would also be securely sharing military information after signing the pact. For the same, the Philippines defense minister spokesperson Arsenio Andolong stated “Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations.”

Such security engagements between the Philippines and the United States have evolved under the governance of Ferdinand Marcos Jr and President Joe Biden. Both the country leaders showed keen interest in countering China’s aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

However, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, stated “The only correct choice for safeguarding one’s own national security and maintaining peace and stability in the region is to adhere to good neighbourly relations and to strategic autonomy.”

The United States and the Philippines have had each other’s backs since 1951 through a mutual defense treaty. Basically, if one of them is attacked – even in the South China Sea – the other is ready to help.

Britain will soon restart trade discussions with India on the new year’s free trade deal. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office released this after a much longer negotiation pause due to the ongoing elections in both countries. As per them, London will most likely see a “new strategic partnership” with India, deepening cooperation ideas like education, technology, security, and climate change. Such was Starmer’s statement after meeting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the G20 summit held in Brazil.

“A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK,” said Starmer.

During the ongoing summit, the British leader also met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, seeking to establish “consistent, durable” relations between the two nations. He continued by saying that he would like to engage in areas like economy, climate, and trade.

Among the group of seven nations, Starmer has pledged to secure the position of the fastest sustained economic growth for Britain.

The OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development) says that by 2025, Britain’s growth is expected to be pretty low compared to others.

India and Nigeria on Sunday agreed to deepen the collaboration in maritime security, counter-terrorism, and intelligence during a state visit to the West of Africa by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is India’s first prime minister to visit Nigeria in 17 years after receiving President Bola Tinubu’s invitation. The Nigerian President is currently seeking investments from the world’s major economies.

Prime Minister Modi landed in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday and met Tinubu at the presidential villa on Sunday. Here, the two leaders also discussed defense, healthcare, economic development, and food security – as per a joint statement released.

The two countries also discussed ways to combat growing threats and piracy, agreeing to coordinate actions toward safeguarding the maritime trades in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean.

Africa’s most popular nation, Nigeria, is seeking to win Indian investment with a cheaper credit line to boost its economy and create jobs.

At the G20 Summit held last year, Nigeria was said to have secured $14 billion of pledges from Indian investors, including funds acclaimed from Jindal Steel and Power. This investment comitted to fuel $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel sector.

Currently, there are 200+ companies operating in Nigeria.