Category: Politics

Japan and the Philippines have signed a defence pact to deepen military cooperation. The arrangement will see Japanese soldiers join natural and humanitarian disaster response training exercises in the Philippines. It has been seen as a first step towards broader defensive cooperation.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida signed the agreement in Tokyo on February 9. The visit of the Philippines President to Tokyo came shortly after the Philippines agreed to expand US access to its military bases, following a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Fumio Kishida said the agreement with the Philippines would be followed by further talks that would strengthen defensive ties and enable the transfer of equipment and technology to the Philippines, including air surveillance radar systems. The trilateral cooperation with the US would also be strengthened, he added.

In December 2022, the Japanese government amended its defensive doctrine, breaking with its defense-only principles since the end of World War II. While adopting a retaliatory strike capability, it said that it plans to double military spending in five years. The country also aims to support poorer nations in the region with development assistance focused on maritime security.

Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel on February 8 was awarded the Felix Houphouet-Boigny UNESCO Peace Prize in Ivory Coast’s capital Yamoussoukro for welcoming more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers to the European country in 2015 and 2016.

Angela Merkel showed political courage when Germany welcomed refugees, who had fled conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, president of the jury awarding the prize, praised her for having opened the gates of Germany “at the same time many other countries were overcome with fear.”

“Respecting, preserving and sharing human rights is the mission of each of us. We decided that it was necessary to respect these principles in our migration policy,” said the veteran political leader, who spent 16 years as Germany’s Chancellor and stepped down in 2021.

“Despite the hostility of public opinion, you took the decision to open Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing conflict zones,” said Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. “You have reminded all world leaders of their duty of solidarity towards all humans,” he added.

Around 2,000 people were invited to the awards ceremony. The awards were founded in 1989 and has previously handed awards to Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Francois Hollande.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will be on a three-day visit to Fiji from February 15 to attend the 12th World Hindi Conference, which will be co-hosted by the Governments of India and Fiji in Nadi. This will be Dr Jaishankar’s first visit to Fiji.

A 270-member delegation comprising Hindi scholars and officials will travel to Fiji for the conference. Representatives from 50 countries were expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will have a plenary session and 10 parallel sessions on topics such as Hindi in Girmitiya countries; Hindi in Fiji and the Pacific; Information Technology and Hindi in the 21st century; Media and the global perception of Hindi; global reference of Indian knowledge traditions and Hindi; and Linguistic coordination and Hindi translation. It will have parallel sessions on different forms of Hindi cinema and the global scenario; global market and Hindi; Pravasi Hindi literature in the changing scenario and Hindi teaching in India and abroad, challenges and solutions.

Dr. S. Jaishankar will also visit Sydney, Australia on February 18. This will be his third visit to Australia since February last year when he first visited the island continent as External Affairs Minister. In addition to attending meetings with Australian leadership in Sydney, Dr Jaishankar will attend the Raisina@Sydney Conference to be held in the country for the first time.

The European Union (EU) and Singapore signed the EU-Singapore Digital Partnership (EUSDP) on February 1 in Brussels. The EUSDP will lead to a digital trade agreement to enable consumers and businesses to transact online more seamlessly and at lower costs. The deal was signed by Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran and Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market.

The pact aims to boost participation in the digital economy by imparting relevant skills to workers in both jurisdictions and transforming their businesses and public services. Digital trade facilitation, trusted data flows, electronic payments and standards are other areas of collaboration. The deal will also focus on emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, digital identities, and 5G/6G communication networks.

Singapore and the EU share a strong economic relationship, underpinned by the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in November 2019. The EU is Singapore’s second-largest digital partner for trading services and fourth-largest for trading goods. Singapore is also the EU’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. There are about 12,000 EU businesses in Singapore. Investment relations are strong, with the EU being Singapore’s second largest foreign investor and largest overseas investment destination.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on February 6 announced a Global Climate Resilience Fund of 50 million dollars for women to fight climate change.

Addressing salt pan workers near Kuda village in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, Clinton announced that the Clinton Global Initiative with the American Indian foundation, SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association founded by late activist Ela Bhatt) and other organisations will also help in providing new livelihood resources and education to women and communities.

On February 5, Clinton attended a programme in Ahmedabad to mark the 50 years of SEWA as a trade union, and paid homage to its founder and renowned social activist and Gandhian Ela Bhatt. During the event, she said that heat caused by climate change poses an additional challenge to women workers in informal sectors and the Global Climate Resilience Fund will help tackle this challenge. “I have had the privilege of working with EIaben and SEWA for nearly 30 years. But we are thinking about the next 50 years,” she said.

The former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on a visit to Gujarat for two days beginning February 5. During her visit, she took part in activities sponsored by the SEWA.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited investors to participate in the rapid growth being charted out by India’s energy sector.

In his address at the inauguration of India Energy Week (6-8 February) in Bengaluru, the Prime Minister said that numerous areas of India’s energy landscape, from conventional hydrocarbons to renewables and biofuels to promising futuristic fuels like green hydrogen, are seeing record growth and are full of opportunities.

The Prime Minister said that India’s strategy for the energy sector is centred around four major verticals of increase in domestic exploration and production of oil and gas, diversification of energy supplies, expansion of alternative sources of energy such ase biofuels, ethanol, compressed biogas, and solar energy, and achieving decarbonisation through electric vehicles and green hydrogen. He said that the country is working at a rapid pace in all these areas.

He said that fossil fuel exploration, second-generation ethanol, and green hydrogen are among the segments in which India will have investment opportunities worth thousands of crores of rupees. He also launched a few initiatives, including the sale of 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol on a pilot basis by public sector oil marketing companies, and the twin cooktop Indian solar cooker.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended the India-UK NSA dialogue between British counterpart Tim Barrow and India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval at the UK Cabinet Office as a “special gesture” on February 3. During the discussion, Sunak emphasised the UK government’s support for strengthening strategic alliances in sectors, including trade, defence, and science and technology.

On his way back from Washington, where he met his American colleague Jake Sullivan for comparable discussions, Doval stopped in London for an annual bilateral strategic conversation.

“A special gesture by PM Rishi Sunak to join for a while the India-UK NSA dialogue between Sir Tim Barrow and Mr. Doval at Cabinet Office,” the Indian High Commission in London and Ministry of External Affairs tweeted late on Saturday, with reference to the meeting.

In order to strengthen their bilateral ties in all areas, including defence and security, India and the UK have agreed on a 2030 Roadmap. Six rounds of negotiations have taken place for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two parties, and a seventh-round is likely to take place in the UK in the coming weeks. Bilateral commerce between the two countries now amounts to about 29.6 billion pounds annually, according to official UK government figures. Both the parties hope to increase the figure through an FTA.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a free stopover visa for visitors to stay in the Kingdom for up to four days.

The transit visa for stopovers came into effect on January 30. The new Saudi visa is free and will be valid for three months.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the digital transit visa for stopover to facilitate the arrival in the Kingdom for all purposes, and the procedures for obtaining and automating an entry visa. It allows those in transit who wish to enter the Kingdom to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque, in addition to roaming and attending tourism events.

When purchasing tickets to visit the Kingdom via Saudi Airlines, Flynas passengers will be automatically passed to the unified national visa platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When the request is processed, it will be automatically approved and emailed to the passenger.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the visa to boost tourism, as part of the Vision 2030 strategy. The Kingdom aims to attract investments worth 220 billion Saudi Riyals in the tourism sector by 2023, and 500 billion Saudi Riyals by 2030, according to previous statements by the Minister of Tourism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the world’s most popular leader for the second time in a row, says a finding by a US-based global leader approval tracker, Morning Consult. With the approval rating of 78 per cent of India’s adult population, PM Narendra Modi is the “most apt” leader for the title, it said.

The research firm surveyed 22 leaders from across the globe and found Narendra Modi the most outstanding. He was followed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with 68 per cent and Swiss President Alain Berset at the third position with 62 per cent.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden received an approval rating of 40 per cent each. They secured seventh and ninth positions, respectively, whereas UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak got the 13th spot with an approval rating of 30 per cent.

PM Narendra Modi’s rating was highest on May 2, 2020, at 84 per cent, and was lowest on May 7, 2021, at 63 per cent, when India was dealing with the peak of the second wave of COVID-19.

Approval ratings are based on a seven-day moving average of adult residents in each country, with sample sizes varying from one country to another. The data collected in the latest approval ratings by Morning Consult is between the 26th and 31st of January this year.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Consulate General of India in Dubai on January 31.

Sheikh Nahyan hailed the ethos and principles of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as the Father of the Nation of India, Mahatma Gandhi, while unveiling the bust. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir and Consul General of India in Dubai Dr Aman Puri joined the UAE minister in offering floral tribute at the bust of Mahatma Gandhi.

Sheikh Nahyan said the occasion recognised Mahatma Gandhi’s call to rely on non-violence and to be agents of peaceful change. He also took the opportunity to recollect the similarities between the principles of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and diversity held high by Mahatma Gandhi and founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

“When our late founder, Sheikh Zayed founded the UAE in 1971 and began leading us into a global society, he made our country into a nation where all people can exercise their talents, pursue their ambitions and fulfill their potential in a peaceful and just environment. In fact, Gandhi’s thoughts about leading diverse populations remind me of Sheikh Zayed’s conviction about the establishment of a culture of tolerance, compassion and dialogue in the UAE.”