Category: Politics

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry has said that India has supported Sri Lanka enormously throughout its financial crisis and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support.

The Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka said this during his bilateral meeting with Union Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar in Colombo. The Indian foreign minister, who visited Sri Lanka on January 19-20, said India stands with solidarity with Sri Lanka amid these difficult times.

India has been active in helping Sri Lanka amid the financial crisis. The country had recently told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it strongly supports Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring plan. Sri Lanka has sought a $2.9 billion loan from the global lender. It will need the backing of India and China to reach a final agreement with the IMF. The Sri Lankan government said that it is confident of finalising support from the IMF in the first quarter of 2023.

Between January and July last year, India provided Sri Lanka with $4 billion in rapid assistance via credit lines, a currency swap arrangement, and deferred import payments. It owes Chinese lenders $7.4 billion. Under the restructuring plan, Sri Lanka will pay India around $1 billion, said news reports.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum (WEF), has said that India’s G20 presidency comes at a crucial time, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership is critical in this fractured world.

In a statement, the organisation said that its Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos is taking place at a time when multiple crises have deepened divisions and fragmented the geopolitical landscape. Its programme simultaneously addresses immediate crises and long-term future challenges, and helps set the scene for India’s G20 presidency.

Schwab met the Indian ministerial delegation and many of its top business leaders at the annual meeting. “I commend the country’s decisive action on the climate case for renewables, its contribution to the global healthcare ecosystem, the focus on an economic model for women-led development, and its leadership on digital public infrastructure. India remains a bright spot amid global geo-economics and geopolitical crises,” he added.

The WEF said that it values its nearly 40-year collaborative history with India and looks forward to continued cooperation with the country during its G20 presidency. India is promoting a just and equitable growth for all in the world in this period, the statement added.

New Zealand’s ruling Labour Party on Sunday selected Chris Hipkins to replace Jacinda Ardern as its leader and the next prime minister of the country. He was the only candidate for the job.

Hipkins named Carmel Sepuloni as Deputy Prime Minister, New Zealand’s first deputy prime minister of Pacific origin. The rest of his team would be announced later.

First elected to parliament for the Labour Party in 2008, Hipkins became a household name heading the government’s response to the pandemic. He was appointed health minister in July 2020 before becoming the COVID response minister at the end of the year.

The election of a new Prime Minister came after a surprise announcement of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. New Zealand’s former Prime Minister resigned, as she confirmed a national election for October. Ardern became the world’s youngest female Prime Minister of the country in 2017 at 37. She has led New Zealand through the COVID-19 pandemic, and a series of disasters, including the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, and the White Island volcanic eruption.

Before Hipkins officially becomes Prime Minister, Ardern must tender her resignation to King Charles III’s representative in New Zealand, Governor General Cindy Kiro. After this, Hipkins will be appointed for the role and sworn in.

India, Ghana and Vietnam are among the countries that have been able to evolve their food systems by unlocking the potential of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly those that are farmer-allied and operating in local food chains, said a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.

The report was released on January 16 on the first day of the annual meeting of WEF in Davos, Switzerland. It said that countries that tackle food crises can boost jobs, health and nature, and meet net zero goals better. Food systems, when transformed, can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, from climate change to resilient livelihoods, the report added.

“Transforming food systems provide healthy and nutritious diets and dignified jobs for farmers and producers. This report shows how economic development with environmental protection supports communities in climate adaptation and mitigation efforts,” said Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director of the WEF’s Centre for Nature and Climate.

The report, prepared in collaboration with Bain & Company, presented repeatable models from seven “early mover” countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe whose performances have been comparatively strong and whose examples and lessons are widely relevant.

In India, the report said, a multi-decade programme grounded in support for smallholder farmers and dairy enterprises has helped transform dairy into India’s largest agricultural commodity, accounting for roughly one-third of rural incomes and 10 per cent of total caloric intake in 2019.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to invest $30 billion in South Korea’s industries across sectors such as next-generation nuclear power, energy technologies and defense, South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday.

The investment decision was announced after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi during a four-day state visit. The figure is the largest-ever cross-border investment made by the UAE, surpassing its previous record of $12.2 billion for the United Kingdom.

The countries also signed 13 memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including an agreement between the state-run Korea Development Bank and the Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala to cooperate for investment in South Korean companies.

On Tuesday, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed to $6.1 billion worth of cooperation on energy, defense and new industry businesses, said Seoul officials. A total of 23 MoUs and a contract were signed between the two countries. Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, signed an agreement with UAE renewable energy firm Masdar on cooperation for hydrogen and new renewable energy, and a separate MoU with Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. on cooperation for power transmission and gas power generation. For the arms industry, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., LIG Nex1 Co. and Ktech Co. signed two memorandums and one contract with the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday named Sultan al-Jaber, a veteran technocrat who leads Abu Dhabi’s state-run oil company and oversees its renewable energy efforts to be the president of the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai. The COP 28 UAE is scheduled to take place at Expo City Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023.

Sultan al-Jaber, a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which pumps about 4 million barrels of crude a day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily. Jaber once also led the project to have a $22 billion “carbon-neutral” city on Abu Dhabi’s outskirts. The effort was later shelved due to the global financial crisis that hit the Emirates in 2008. He now serves as the chairman of Masdar, a clean energy company that grew out of the project.

Each year, the country hosting the UN negotiations called the Conference of the Parties or COP nominates a person to chair the talks. The hosting countries typically pick a veteran diplomat as the talks can be exceptionally difficult to steer between nations and their interests. The nominee’s position as COP President is confirmed by delegates at the start of the talks.

Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs Sherine ElSharkawy has called India an interesting destination both for ‘tourism and investment’. She also stressed that India has a lot of opportunities, especially in the information technology sector.

Sherine El Sharkawy made the remarks during the cultural programme and dinner organised for the G20 delegates on the cruise ship, The Bengal Paddle, in Kolkata. The Bengal Paddle was a British-era ship named PS Bhopal that has been renovated by a private company. International delegates visiting Kolkata for the first Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion meeting of G20 were also impressed by Bengal’s culture, art and craft, food and textile.

In an interview, the Egyptian minister said that she is “really impressed” with India, as it has invited even non-member G20 countries to share their views and concerns with other countries. She called the working groups meetings held under India’s G20 presidency “very useful.”

Calling India-Egypt ties “very strong”, Sherine El Sharkawy said both nations are “alike as individuals with a culture, with a like of food and music and religion. All this is very diverse and we have a lot of discussions going on for cooperation between India and Egypt.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s longest river Cruise, MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi via video conferencing on Friday. He also inaugurated the tent city at Varanasi and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crore.

MV Ganga Vilas is the first-ever cruise vessel to be made in India. The river cruise will go through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bangladesh till Dibrugarh. It will begin its journey from Varanasi in UP and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh. MV Ganga Vilas has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities. The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire length of the journey.

The 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots, including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, River Ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Guwahati in Assam. The journey will give the tourists an opportunity to experience the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.

The Tent City, developed by Varanasi Development Authority, has been conceptualised on the banks of the River Ganga, opposite to city ghats to provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourist influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The tourists will reach the Tent City by boats from different Ghats situated in the vicinity. The city will be operational from October to June every year and dismantled for three months due to rise in river water level in the rainy season.

Japan has the world’s strongest passport, followed by Singapore, South Korea and Germany, says the Henley Passport Index 2023. India is on the 85th position in the index, which ranks 109 countries. The Afghanistan passport has been ranked the lowest in the index.

The index jointly listed Singapore and South Korea passports as the second most powerful in the world. Both Asian countries were followed by Germany and Spain, then Finland, Italy and Luxembourg.

According to the Henley Passport Index, Japanese passport holders can visit 193 out of 227 countries and regions visa-free. An Indian passport holder, on the other hand, can visit 59 destinations without a visa.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Japanese passport is the most powerful among all passports in the world. India, on the other hand, improved its position by two spots from last year. Mauritanian and Uzbekistan passports are as powerful as that of India.

Invented nearly 20 years ago by Dr Christian H Kaelin, Chairman, Henley & Partners, the Henley Passport Index is based on the exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association. It is the original ranking of all the passports according to the number of destinations their holders can visit without a prior visa.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will sign a reciprocal access agreement for military officers, said a newspaper report. The leaders are expected to sign the pact during Kishida’s visit to the UK on January 10.

The reciprocal access agreement (RAA), which relaxes immigration controls for military officers, aims to strengthen security ties between the two countries to counter rising threats from Russia and China.

The two countries are expected to sign the RAA, which would serve as a legal basis for joint exercises and logistics cooperation. An agreement, intended to allow for the smooth implementation of bilateral defense cooperation, would simplify immigration procedures when troops from one country visit the other for exercises or disaster relief activities, while also stipulating jurisdiction in the event a service member commits a crime or causes an accident in the other’s country.

In December 2022, Japan, Britain and Italy called for the joint development of next-generation fighter aircraft in a summit statement. Kishida’s visit to the UK will be part of a tour that will include stops in France, Italy, Canada and the United States. With Japan chairing the Group of Seven in 2023, Kishida is expected to confirm the importance of unity among G7 members during the trip.