Category: Politics

The world community should focus on building inclusive food systems that protect the most vulnerable, such as marginal farmers, to tackle the challenge of food security, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 20 at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Speaking in Hindi, PM Modi made the remarks while unveiling a 10-point call to action at an outreach session of the G7 Summit that focused on pressing global challenges such as food and health security, developmental issues and gender equality. India was among the eight guest countries participating in three outreach sessions of the summit hosted by Japan.

“Global fertiliser supply chains have to be strengthened. Political obstacles in these have to be removed. And the expansionist mentality that is occupying fertiliser resources has to be stopped. This should be the purpose of our cooperation,” he said. The leader said that the global community can create a new model of natural farming as an alternative to using fertilisers, and the benefits of digital technology should be provided to every farmer in the world. “It should be our endeavour to separate organic food from fashion statement and commerce, and connect it with nutrition and health,” he added.

At least 40 countries have signed the Register of Damage, an instrument approved by the 46-nation Council of Europe to document the damage in Ukraine so that Russia can be held liable for compensation.

The instrument, signed on May 17 at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, set up an evidentiary record ahead of possible future prosecution of Russian leaders. The document is a “necessary” step ensuring “justice that is centred on the victims” of the war, said Marija Pejčinović Burić, the council’s head.

European leaders hailed the new instrument for Ukraine they signed on to as “historic” and a first step to making Russia pay for its war. The instrument sets up an evidentiary record ahead of a possible future prosecution of Russian leaders, thus laying the groundwork for compensation, said Buric.

The countries that signed the document include the United States and all other G7 nations. Other countries were finalising internal procedures to do so. Marija Pejcinovic Buric and other leaders at the summit emphasised that countries outside the Council of Europe, which is a pan-continental rights body separate from the European Union but incorporating all 27 EU member states, could support the register. Russia was removed from the council last year after invading Ukraine.

The register of damage will also be lodged in The Hague, with a satellite office in Ukraine. It will detail war-time claims of harm and destruction wrought by Russia.

A US court has given its consent to the Indian request for the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

On June 10, 2020, India filed a complaint seeking the provisional arrest of 62-year-old Rana with a view towards extradition. Rana was arrested in the US for his role in these attacks. The Biden Administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India.

“The Court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the Request, and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing,” said Judge Jacqueline Chooljian, US Magistrate Judge of the US District Court Central District of California, in a 48-page court order released on May 17.

“Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court makes the findings set forth below, and CERTIFIES to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offences that are the subject of the Request,” the judge wrote.

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing into Rana’s role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in 2008. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.

During court hearings, US Government attorneys argued that Rana was aware that his childhood friend, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley was involved with LeT, and by assisting him, he was supporting the terrorist organisation and its associates.

In a Union Cabinet reshuffle on May 17, Arjun Ram Meghwal became the new Union Law Minister of India, while Kiren Rijiju was moved to the Earth Sciences Ministry. Meghwal will now have the charge of Culture, Parliamentary Affairs as Minister of State, and Independent Charge of the Law Ministry.

The new law minister, Meghwal hails from a middle-class family in Rajasthan’s Bikaner. The 65-year-old politician received his primary education at a government school in his village and completed his secondary education at Jawahar Jain Secondary School in Bheenasar. He completed his graduation in law in 1977, after which he did his post-graduation. He began his professional career in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and served as a District Magistrate in the Rajasthan government. However, he later decided to shift his focus to social service and entered politics. The BJP leader was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, for the first time in 2009 from Bikaner. He was re-elected in 2014 and made the political party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.

The senior politician has held various positions and responsibilities throughout his political career. Meghwal has been a member of several parliamentary consultative and advisory committees, including the Consultative Committee on External Affairs, Standing Committee on Defence, Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forest, Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, to name a few.

Israel and India on May 9 inked an agreement that will allow 42,000 Indian workers to work in the Jewish state in the sectors of construction and nursing, in a move expected to help deal with the rising cost of living and assist thousands of families waiting for nursing care. Of the 42,000 Indian workers, 34,000 workers will be engaged in the construction field and the rest 8,000 will serve the country’s nursing needs.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who reached New Delhi on May 9, held talks with his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar. The ministers discussed ways to strengthen India-Israel ties by adding direct flights, continuing cooperation in agriculture and water management, and expanding cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence and cyber defence.

In reference to the proposed rail and port link, the Israeli foreign minister said that it would decrease the route between Asia and Europe, and make Israel a commercial, technological and transportation hub in the changing trade routes in the Middle East.

Officials from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and India met early May in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and discussed a rail and port network linking the Gulf states and India. It is believed that the same may be extended on the other side to include connectivity with Israel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States of America on a state visit from June 21 to 24, following an invitation from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, the US government said in a statement on May 10. The US President and the First Lady will also host PM Modi for a state dinner on June 22.

“The upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement while announcing the visit.

She said that Prime Minister Modi’s visit will strengthen two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and their shared resolve to elevate strategic technology partnership, including in defence, clean energy, and space.

“The leaders will discuss ways to further expand our educational exchanges and people-to-people ties, as well as our work together to confront common challenges from climate change to workforce development and health security,” she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited US President Joe Biden at the White House in 2021 as part of the Quad summit bringing together the US, Australia, Japan and India. The forthcoming visit is his full state visit.

In nearly a fortnight, India’s Operation Kaveri brought back stranded citizens from conflict-ridden Sudan, informed the Indian government on May 5 as it wrapped up the evacuation programme.

The Indian Air Force C130 flight brought the final batch of 47 passengers home. The highly laborious and dangerous operation rescued 3,862 people from Sudan, informed External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Twitter. He also appreciated the countries that helped India evacuate its citizens safely.

“From Jeddah, airforce and commercial flights have brought people home. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for hosting them and facilitating this process. Also appreciate the support of Chad, Egypt, France, South Sudan, UAE, UK, USA and UN,” he added.

The Indian Air Force chauffeured 17 flights from Sudan, while five Indian Navy ships were involved in the operation.  The evacuation programme – named after the South India river – was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 24. To facilitate the evacuation of passengers smoothly, New Delhi set up separate control rooms in Jeddah and Port Sudan, while the Indian embassy in Khartoum remained in close contact with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to be the guest of honour at France’s traditional military parade held during Bastille Day on 14 July. An Indian armed forces contingent will also take part in the parade alongside French forces, said the French presidency in a statement.

 The Indian Prime Minister’s visit will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the “strategic partnership” between France and India. The visit will also allow joint initiatives to address challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and achieving sustainable development targets, said the French presidency.

India and France entered into a Strategic Partnership in 1998. The primary pillars of this partnership are defence and security cooperation, space collaboration and civil nuclear cooperation. Both countries are expanding their collaboration in sectors such as maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, counter-terrorism, climate change, renewable energy and sustainable growth and development.

July 14 is marked as France’s National Day. Every Bastille Day, Paris’ famous avenue des Champs-Elysées hosts a military parade, which is similar to India’s Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path. Since 1951, French heads of state have been the Republic Day guests of honour five times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the 2nd Indian PM to be the guest of honour at Bastille Day, after Manmohan Singh in 2009.

The President of COP28, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, has said that climate diplomacy should focus on phasing out emissions from oil and gas, leaving the door open for the continued use of fossil fuels while ramping up technologies to capture the carbon pollution produced from burning these fuels.

Speaking at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on May 2, Dr Al Jaber, who also heads Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), said, “In a pragmatic, just and well-managed energy transition, we must be laser focused on phasing out fossil fuel emissions, while phasing up viable, affordable zero-carbon alternatives.”

The meeting of 40 countries hosted in Germany’s capital was one of several assemblies ahead of the United Nations’ COP climate summit to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of the year. The European Union and others have lobbied for countries to agree at the annual talks that they should phase out the use of oil and gas – an idea that failed to make it to the final communique from 2022’s COP27 meeting.

Dr Al Jaber said the UAE will “encourage smart government regulation to jump-start the hydrogen value chain and make carbon capture commercially viable”. While the technologies are needed to mitigate emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, their deployment globally is currently far from the scale required to cut emissions quickly enough to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. He also called on rich nations to finally deliver on their promise made more than a decade ago to raise $100 billion to help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to climate change.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that he will host US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a security summit on May 24 in Sydney. This will be the first time that Australia will host the Quad Leaders’ Summit.

Albanese attended a summit in Tokyo hours after he was sworn in as prime minister following elections last year. “Quad partners are deeply invested in the success of the Indo-Pacific,” Albanese said in a statement, adding, “Leveraging our collective strengths helps Australia advance its interests and more effectively respond to the region’s needs. We are always better off when we act together with our close friends and partners.”

The Quad, comprising the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, is committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is respectful of sovereignty and ensures security and growth for all, the Australian Prime Minister said. “I look forward to discussing with Quad leaders how we – alongside important regional institutions, such as ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Indian Ocean Rim Association and our regional partners – can shape the Indo-Pacific region we all want to live in.”