Category: Politics

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in India on Monday on a four-day visit to meet the top leaders to further strengthen the multidimensional relationship and make a deal on at least seven bilateral agreements in areas like water management, railway, and science and technology.

The Prime Minister and her entourage took off from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and landed at Palam International Airport in New Delhi.

“This is a state visit and she (Hasina) is going to Delhi at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi,” Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen told a media conference on Sunday.

Mr. Momen said Sheikh Hasina will discuss a range of issues with PM Modi, some of which are security cooperation, investment, improved trade relations, power, and energy sector cooperation, water sharing of common rivers, water resources management, border management, and fighting drug smuggling and human trafficking.

Mr. Momen, who is also in India, said the agreements expected to be signed during the visit would be on water management, railway, science and technology, and information and broadcasting.

“After the (signing) ceremony, honorable prime Ministers of the two countries will issue a joint statement,” he said. He added Dhaka expects that the high-level visit would prove successful to “help achieve our goals”.

On Monday, a drawn-out election process resulted in Liz Truss being named the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party and new prime minister of the U.K. There was an 82.6% turnout, with Truss taking about 57% of the vote, while Sunak received 42%.

The country’s former finance minister Rishi Sunak was beaten to the top spot by Truss, until now the country’s foreign minister. In the last few weeks, Conservative Party members voted on their favorite candidate, 81,326 for Truss and 60,399 for Sunak.

In her speech, Truss thanked her supporters and ostensibly mentioned Boris Johnson, her “friend.” She said she would govern as a Conservative, stating that she would deliver on what she promised voters in 2019. Truss also stated that she would push for a “bold tax cut” and economic growth. In addition to dealing with short-term energy supply issues, she plans to deal with long-term ones. As for the upcoming election in 2024, Truss promised delegates that her party would win.

Liz Truss is the ally of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who congratulated her on her “decisive” victory and said she had “the right plan to tackle the cost of living crisis, unite our party, and continue our great work of uniting and leveling up our country.”. Rishi Sunak, who defeated candidate leadership, echoed that sentiment. “Now is the time for all Conservatives to stand by her 100 percent.”

On September 6, Rajnath Singh met with Mongolian counterpart Saikhanbayar Gursed in order to boost defense cooperation between the two countries. His visit to Mongolia between September 5 and 7 is the first visit by an Indian defense minister to an East Asian country.

Mr. Singh is on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan beginning Monday with the aim of enhancing India’s strategic and defense ties with the two countries amid a shifting regional security matrix and geopolitical turmoil.

He tweeted, “Productive interaction with Mongolia’s Defence Minister, Mr. Saikhanbayar Gursed in Ulaanbaatar today. We had in-depth deliberations on adding further momentum to India-Mongolia defense cooperation.”

On September 8 and 9, the Mongolian Defence Minister will visit Japan for two days. On September 8, there will be a ‘2+2’ dialogue. Five months after Japan’s prime minister visited India for the annual Indo-Japanese summit, the dialogue is taking place.

The Defence Ministry announced Mr. Singh’s visit to Mongolia on Sunday, saying it will further consolidate defense cooperation and strategic partnerships between the two nations. A statement said that Mr. Singh would meet with Mongolia’s Minister of Defence Lt. Gen. Saikhanbayar as well as President U. Khurelsukh and the Chairman of the State Great Khural (parliament) G. Zandanshatar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi put in writing to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to further cement the bilateral strategic relations and the possibility of growing them to serve their common interests, the official media reported.

 Modi’s letter was handed over to the UAE President Mohammed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday during his recent visit to the UAE.

Jaishankar visited UAE this week to attend the meetings of the 14th session of the UAE-India Joint Committee and the 3rd session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue.

“During the meeting, the two sides discussed various aspects of their bilateral relations and the importance of cooperating to enhance and advance them within the framework of their comprehensive strategic partnership and the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in addition to several regional and international issues of mutual concern,” UAE’s official news agency WAM reported.

“Thank HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for receiving me. Conveyed the personal greetings and warm wishes of PM @narendramodi. Highly value his guidance in taking our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to greater heights,” Jaishankar said in a tweet on Friday.

Bilateral trade in the last financial year was approximately USD 72 billion. The gulf nation is India’s third largest trade partner and second largest export destination.

The White House announced on Thursday that US President Joe Biden will meet his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa this month. The administration considers bringing African nations closer to the US when South Africa and most of its neighboring countries have taken a neutral stand on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The announcement of the September 16 visit followed close post-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Africa last month, in which he stated the Biden government sees the 54 nations of Africa as “equal partners” in tackling global issues.

However, South Africa and much of the continent have brushed aside the US condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has upset the U. S administration.

South Africa restrained itself in a United Nations vote to criticize Russia’s action, and Ramaphosa has abstained from any criticism of Russia and instead has called for a reconciliation.

Biden and Ramaphosa, who had a telephonic conversation in April, are expected to hold talks on trade and investment, infrastructure, climate and energy, public health, and South Africa’s pivotal role in Africa, officials said.

“The two Presidents will reaffirm the importance of our enduring partnership, and discuss our work together to address regional and global challenges,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement announcing this month’s meeting.

The governor of Arizona, Dough Ducey, arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday on a trip that is focused on securing critical chips that are the focal point of the inflamed tech rivalry between the United States and China.

Ducey is expected to meet the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, as well as business tycoons and university representatives in the semiconductor industry during his three-day visit to the self-ruled island. He becomes the latest US politician to visit Taiwan after recent trips by the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and some US senators.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a province that must be forcefully reunited with China, has reacted angrily to the visits.

During his Taiwan visit, Ducey is looking to lure suppliers for a new $12bn semiconductor plant being constructed in Arizona by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC), the world’s biggest supplier of the critical chips used in almost all electronic devices.

The governor will then visit South Korea, where he will meet South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and business leaders later in the week.

“Arizona has excellent relationships with Taiwan and the Republic of Korea,” Ducey said before starting the trip. “The goal of this trade mission is to take these relationships to the next level — to strengthen them, expand them and ensure they remain mutually beneficial.”

Bali, the capital of Indonesia, hosted a meeting of senior officials from the Group of 20 major (G20) economies, to discuss climate talks. Indonesian cited that failure to work together to reduce emissions would push our planet toward “unchartered territory”.

Indonesia’s Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said countries must come together to address global warming or witness the planet pushed to a point “where no future will be sustainable”. “It is our responsibility to be part of the solution. We build bridges, not walls,” she said.

The G20 climate meeting was held as weather events like fires, floods, and heatwaves had reached the highest degree and rising across several parts of the world, including the damaging floods in Pakistan in recent days that have killed at least 1,000 people. Scientists say most such harsh weather events result from climate change caused by humankind and will only augment in frequency and gravity if necessary action is not taken right away.

The meeting in Bali is attended by environment officials from Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Indonesia, the current host, has also invited representatives from the African Union to take part in the discussion for the first time, stating that opinions and feedback from all countries, irrespective of their wealth and size, must be heard.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be on a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates from August 31 to carry out a review of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Mr. Jaishankar, alongside his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will review the partnership during the 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) and the third India-UAE Strategic Dialogue.

“These meetings will provide an opportunity to both the ministers to review the entire spectrum of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and UAE and regional and global developments,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.”

Jaishankar will also meet other dignitaries of the UAE. India and the UAE have regularly had top-level discussions this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi on June 28 and met the gulf country’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Earlier, on February 18, both leaders had participated in a virtual summit during which the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed and a vision statement was implemented. Thereafter, on July 14, both leaders were a part of the I2U2 virtual summit which was also attended by US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

The new grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ with ‘I’ denoting India and Israel and ‘U’ for the US and the UAE.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will go on a three-day trip to Uzbekistan on Tuesday for SCO Defence Ministers’ meet aiming to broaden the defense partnership with Eurasia.

In September, Singh is planning to tour Egypt for a long-awaited bilateral engagement that has received enormous attention since last year.

Singh will meet his Chinese and Russian counterparts at the SCO meet. The meeting held in the countdown to the SCO Summit gathers importance amid current geopolitical stress. He will also meet the defense Minister of Uzbekistan, Lieutenant General Bakhodir Kurbanov. Furthermore, there is a schedule of meetings with Defence Ministers of other member countries of SCO on the sidelines of this meeting, where discussions will be held on bilateral issues and issues of common interest. There is also a possibility of terrorism, the spread of fundamentalism in the region, and the situation in Afghanistan is discussed at the SCO Defence Ministers meeting.

Meanwhile, the expected trip to Egypt in September will enable the restoration of defense ties that flourished during the 1960s. There have been several engagements between Indian and Egyptian militaries in the past year. Egypt is a significant player in the Arab world, with one of the strongest and biggest militaries in the region.

Israel has launched flights allowing Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to fly abroad from an airport in the Negev region in Southern Isreal.

The first flight, which had a tourist group from the West Bank consisting of doctors, pharmacists, and their families, took off on Monday from Ramon Airport to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.

Ghassan Olyan, the Israeli government’s activities coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said that the Palestinian’s travel from the West Bank through an Israeli airport “is historic and unprecedented. It was a dream and became a reality.”

However, the launch of the Palestinian tourist flight service from the West Bank to Turkey has been delayed because of unfinished preparations, which are underway to operate two weekly flights from Ramon Airport to Istanbul and Antalya. It is expected that flights to the two Turkish cities be launched next month, and services to Dubai and Sharm El-Sheikh may begin gradually.

Israel opened Ramon Airport, which is regarded as the second largest Israeli airport after Ben Gurion, in 2019 for $500 million. However, Israelis do not prefer to travel through Ramon Airport due to its proximity to Jerusalem.

Over 1 million Palestinians travel to Jordan every year, most of whom stop to visit relatives or finish business in Jordan. Others come to Jordan while returning from other countries.