Category: Politics

US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on August 18 agreed to deepen military and economic cooperation. During their meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, the leaders also made their strongest joint condemnation yet of “dangerous and aggressive behavior” by China in the South China Sea.

In a summit statement, the countries committed to consult promptly with each other during crises and coordinate responses to regional challenges, provocations and threats affecting common interests. The allies also agreed to hold military training exercises annually and share real-time information on North Korean missile launches by the end of 2023. The countries promised to hold trilateral summits annually.

The summit at the Maryland presidential retreat was the first standalone meeting between the US and Japan and South Korea. It came due to a rapprochement launched by Yoon and driven by shared perceptions of threats posed by China and North Korea, as well as Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

It was Joe Biden’s first Camp David summit for foreign leaders. The US President said the woodsy venue had long symbolised “the power of new beginnings and new possibilities.” Praising the visiting Asian leaders for their political courage, he said they understood well that the world was “at an inflection point, where we’re called to lead in new ways, to work together, to stand together.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed his participation in the upcoming G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi in September. His visit to India will be part of a three-nation tour, which will also include Indonesia and the Philippines.

During the tour, Albanese will meet regional leaders to discuss global challenges and advance Australia’s economic, security, and climate agenda, said the Australian government in a statement.

The G20 is an intergovernmental association of the largest developing and developed nations on the globe. The upcoming leaders’ summit will be one of the highest-profile international gatherings to be hosted by India. The leaders gathering at the summit will focus on navigating the global economy back to strong, sustainable, and resilient growth.

“It is more important than ever that Australia works closely with international partners, including through multilateral economic forums like the G20, to address shared challenges and opportunities,” said PM Albanese.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, PM Albanese will attend the 3rd Annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. His visit to the Philippines will be the first bilateral visit of an Australian Prime Minister to the country since 2003.

During the No-Confidence Motion debate in Parliament on August 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in jest that stocks of India’s public sector companies are good to invest in, keeping in mind the robust numbers these stocks have delivered.

The Prime Minister cited the examples of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, two enterprises that were criticised by the Opposition in the past. On LIC’s mega IPO and listing, he said, “They said many things about LIC that the money of the poor will sink but today LIC is getting stronger.”

The Prime Minister added that Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke about HAL, saying that the Opposition had falsely claimed that HAL had been destroyed. “The workers of HAL were instigated that they will lose their jobs. Today, HAL is touching the new heights of success. It has registered its highest ever revenues this year,” he said in Lok Sabha during the No-Confidence Motion speech.

Hirsh Vardhan Singh, a 38-year-old Indian-American engineer, has declared his bid for the White House in the 2024 US Presidential election, becoming the third person of Indian descent after Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy to join the crowded Republican field of candidates for the top post.

Singh, in a three-minute video message on X, called himself a “lifelong Republican” and a staunch “America First” conservative. He highlighted his past efforts in leading the restoration of the conservative wing within the New Jersey Republican Party. In his message, he focused on the urgent need for strong leadership to restore fundamental American values. He also referred to himself as the only pureblood candidate, apparently alluding to his stance on COVID vaccinations.

Singh had previously run in the Republican primaries for several positions, such as governor of New Jersey in 2017 and 2021, a House seat in 2018, and a Senate seat in 2020, but could not secure the Republican Party’s nomination. In his most recent bid for the governorship, he positioned himself as a more conservative alternative, aligning closely with former President Donald Trump. He ultimately finished third in the nomination race, with Jack Ciattarelli emerging as the nominee.

The Republican National Convention will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15 to 18, 2024, to formally select its nominee for the presidential election.

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has approved 1,600 scholarships for undergraduate students in the University of Sharjah (UoS) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) for the academic year 2023-24.

The scholarships include various programmes offered in all four universities. The scholarships were announced by Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, through the “Direct Line” programme, which is broadcast on Sharjah Radio and TV.

Sheikh Dr. Sultan has also approved 305 scholarships for students at the University of Khorfakkan (UoKH). The beneficiaries include 70 students from the city of Kalba, who will be transferred with scholarships to the University of Kalba (UoK), based on study requirements, and 100 scholarships for students at the UoK. The door is still open to receive applications.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BRICS Summit in the South African capital, Johannesburg on August 22-24. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced to attend the summit virtually.

The forthcoming BRICS summit has become crucial, as other countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates want to join the institution. It is understood that some 25 countries have applied to join BRICS and a decision whether or not to expand the five-nation body will be taken at Johannesburg.

The BRICS group of emerging economies currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On August 3, Russia said that the BRICS group of countries would be strengthened by adding new members. In a press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the expansion will contribute to the further development and strengthening of this organisation. The statement came after a remark by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that it was “extremely important” for Saudi Arabia to join BRICS, along with Argentina and the UAE, if they wished to.

Strengthening BRICS forms part of Russia’s vision of building a new “multipolar world”. It values ties with developing countries and wants to increase trade with them to neutralise the effect of Western sanctions on its economy.

On his recent visit to India, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi called India, an “indispensable” partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific. He added that Japan intends to deepen cooperation with New Delhi in all areas to expand the special strategic and global partnership between the two sides.

Speaking at the India-Japan Forum, convened by Ananta Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on July 27 in New Delhi, Hayashi complimented India’s focus on the Global South. He said the call for upholding the free and rules-based international order may sound like a mere slogan unless there was adequate commitment to address the challenges facing the developing countries.

In his remarks at the event, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar elaborated on Japan’s support to various sectors in India and identified the semiconductor sector as one of the potential areas for cooperation.

In his opening remarks, Hayashi said there has been progress on India-Japan initiatives in new sectors such as cyber and space, adding discussions toward the realisation of “substantial cooperation” in the areas of defence equipment and technology are underway. “The free and open international order based on the rule of law is the key to realising such a world,” he said.

Elaborating on the concept, Mr Hayashi said “free” means each country is free to make decisions based on its own sovereignty and “open” means respect for principles including inclusiveness, openness, and diversity.

After the collapse of Black Sea deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised free grain to six African nations. In the next few months, Russia will be able to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25,000-50,000 tonnes of grain free of charge, Putin told the African leaders present at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg on July 27.

Speaking at the plenary session of the summit, the Russian president claimed that his country would be able to replace Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Moscow’s decision to abandon the UN-brokered arrangement that had allowed the export of grain and other products from Ukraine through the Black Sea to markets, many of them in Africa.

On July 17, Russia had announced to pull out of the grain deal. The Russian leader partly blamed the withdrawal on western sanctions that he said restricted the sale of Russian agricultural products abroad. The deal, brokered by Turkey, was in place for about a year and allowed billions of dollars worth of grain to safely transit out of Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Putin tried to win support among African leaders by claiming that the grain deal prioritised “well-fed European markets” and not African countries. While the West has acknowledged that grain export to the poorest developing countries has not returned at the desired rate, the deal has helped reduce global food prices by more than 23 percent. Wheat prices have been climbing on global markets since Russia withdrew from the deal.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s Indian-origin former minister, formally launched his presidential campaign on July 26. The 66-year-old had stepped down from active politics in June after 22 years.

Officially launching his campaign for office, Tharman in a press conference said that he has stepped into this race, as he strongly felt the need to evolve Singapore’s culture. He has vowed to evolve the country’s culture as a “shining spot” in the world and be “a president for a new era.”

The politician outlined the supposed challenges faced by Singapore both globally and domestically, and said that its real challenge was to avoid becoming a divided society.

Tharman was an economist and a civil servant, mainly at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, before joining politics in 2001. He has served as the Minister for Education and Finance, and was the Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019. He also held prominent posts at global bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations.

The other two prospective candidates for the post of Singapore President are businessman George Goh and investment manager Ng Kok Song. The country will go to polls in September 2023. The tenure of President Halimah Yacob will end on September 13.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the red carpet to global semiconductor industry executives in an effort to establish India as a ‘trusted partner’ for their supply chains at the SemiconIndia 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on July 28.

The Prime Minister also announced that technology firms will be given 50 percent financial assistance for setting up semiconductor manufacturing facilities in India. The country has also introduced multiple tax reforms for new manufacturing industry, he said, adding that it is establishing an entire ecosystem for the semiconductor industry to grow. The world needs a trusted and reliable chip supply chain, he said.

For the semiconductor ecosystem, the Government is changing the engineering curriculum. It has identified more than 300 big colleges where courses will be offered on semiconductors, as the country is working on a wide roadmap together with friendly countries. It is expected that in the next five years, the nation will have more than 1 lakh design engineers, PM Modi said.

India recently approved the National Quantum Mission and is going to introduce the Nation Research Foundation Bill in Parliament. The National Quantum Mission aims to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial research and development and create a vibrant and innovative ecosystem in quantum technology.