Category: Politics

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for a rethink of the EU’s mechanisms to address unprecedented challenges such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and soaring energy costs.

Draghi addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg and said,  “The institution set up by our predecessors in previous decades have served well European citizens, but are inadequate to the current reality we are now facing”. He visions the EU in a form of “pragmatic federalism” that will include joint decision-making for sectors including the economy, energy, defence and foreign policy. He said that if this requires changing EU treaties we should embrace it.

He added that closer coordination of defence and foreign policy decisions is needed to address crises facing the EU, Draghi said, calling for an acceleration of the European integration process. This year, France, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has prioritized enhancing the EU’s defence coordination.

Since the Russian invasion, the bloc’s unity has been challenged by both Vladimir Putin’s demand that gas is bought in rubles and an EU push to ban Russian oil, with member states divided over how to proceed. It has indicated that Hungary is ready to veto oil sanctions if the measures restrict its ability to import energy too much, while Poland wants to move faster since it had its gas supplies cut by Russia last week.

On Monday, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha announced a new defence agreement along with plans to upgrade their economic relations. Kishida wrapped up the last leg of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

The joint statement by Prayuth said, “This will help improve national defence and support investment from Japan in this activity which is an important goal for Thailand”. He said he discussed betterment in supply chains along with the drafting of a five-year economic partnership with Japan.

As per the agreement, Japan will transfer defence gear and technology to Thailand, which has one of the largest armies in Southeast Asia and a longstanding relationship with the United States military. Further details on the agreement are not disclosed yet.

Southeast Asia, home to some of Japan’s biggest names in the industry, from infrastructure and engineering to transportation and electronics, has been an important region for decades.

As a result, the region remains a battleground between Japan’s close ally, the United States, and the region’s biggest trading partner, China. As part of his three-day visit, Kishida also visited Vietnam and Indonesia, where Japanese firms maintain a large presence

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday. President is also scheduled to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz of which no confirmation was made.

The meeting will mark a turnaround in relations that hit a low following the murder of a prominent Saudi critic at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018. However, this meeting will be with direct knowledge of the Turkish president’s programme.

Since President Joe Biden took office, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been working on a rapprochement. The efforts are part of a broader realignment that has seen rivals in the region heal rifts and step back from conflicts.

Erdogan’s office released the statement, “Turkey and Saudi Arabia will seek to develop all aspects of relations between the two countries during the visit and exchange views on regional and international issues”.

Earlier this month, the trial of the Saudi agents who killed Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi on Turkish soil ended in Turkey. As a result of it transferring the case to Saudi Arabia, it removed a major obstacle to improved ties and Erdogan’s visit.

The White House released a statement in which it said, President Joe Biden will officially visit South Korea and Japan next for the Quad Summit where he is also scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration’s rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The leader will discuss opportunities to deepen our vital security relationships, enhance economic ties and expand our close cooperation to deliver practical results”.

Psaki further added that in Tokyo, Biden will meet the leaders of the Quad group of Australia, India, and Japan.

Biden’s trip to Japan and South Korea is scheduled from May 20 to 24 where he will be holding bilateral meetings with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

With China’s growing military presence in the strategic region, the US, Australia, India and Japan gave shape to the long-pending proposal to create a quad for the purpose of developing a new plan to ensure the sea routes in the Indo-Pacific remain free from influence. Artificial islands and military installations were built in the South China Sea by Beijing.

The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) twelfth ministerial conference will take place from June 12-15 in Geneva. The Ministerial Conference (MC) is the highest decision-making body of the Geneva-based multilateral organization.

Trade ministers and other senior officials from the member nations will be attending the conference. The MC usually takes place every two years, and it brings together all WTO members, all of which are countries or customs unions.

WTO said in a statement, “In a communication forwarded to WTO members on April 25, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Lweala, Chair of the 12th MC Mr Timur Suleimenov of Kazakhstan and General Council CHair Ambassador Didier Chambovey of Switzerland informed delegations that the WTO’s 12th MC will take place on June 12-15, 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva”.

Initially, the meeting was scheduled from November 3- to December 3 in 2021. However, it was postponed due to an outbreak of the Omicron variant which imposed several travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Switzerland and other European countries.

The WTO formulates rules for global exports and imports and adjudicates disputes regarding trade between two or more countries. The last MC was held on December 10-13, 2017 in Buenos Aires.

On Wednesday, the External Affairs Minister confirmed a three-day visit to Germany, Denmark and France of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from May 2-4. This will be the first visit abroad of the Prime Minister in 2022.

Mr Modi is scheduled to hold various high-level meetings with top dignitaries of the respective companies. He will hold bilateral talks in Berlin with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz which will be the first in-person meeting with the chancellor after taking the office in 2021. Mr Modi and Chancellor Scholz will also jointly address a Business Event.

The India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultation will be co-chaired by the two leaders during his visit. Various leaders from both countries will participate in this unique mechanism, which has helped to deepen bilateral relations between India and Germany in many fields. Prime Minister Modi and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the fifth round of the biennial earlier in 2019 in New Delhi.

Post Germany, Mr Modi will visit Copenhagen, Denmark on invitation by the Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for the second India-Nordic Summit. During the 2nd India-Nordic Summit, PM Modi will have an opportunity to interact with leaders from the Nordic countries: Prime Ministers Katrin Jakobsdóttir of Iceland, Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, Sanna Marin of Finland, and Jonas Gahr Store of Norway.

On Monday (April 25), The U.K. and U.S.A. began two days of trade talks. The talks aimed to secure a coveted post-Brexit free trade deal. Anne-Marie Trevelyan hosted her US counterpart Katherine Tai in Aberdeen, northeast Scotland, and London.

Ms Trevelyan said, “This dialogue gives us a platform to explore more modern, digital ways of trading. It will identify and resolve barriers to trade to make it cheaper and easier for businesses in Scotland and throughout the U.K. to do business with our U.S. friends”.

In comments on Sunday evening before the meeting, Trevelyan did not mention a free trade deal, calling the meeting a “second transatlantic dialogue” that would focus on “agreed priority areas”. Digital and innovation sectors, sustainable trade, supporting small- and medium-sized businesses, and supply chain resilience is among them.

Trevelyan and Aberdeen previously met in Baltimore at the end of March and announced plans to end the tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump on steel and aluminium imports.

The United Kingdom left the European Union in full in January 2021 and has been seeking deals across the globe to boost international trade. President Joe Biden’s administration is more lukewarm than his predecessor when it comes to reaching an agreement with Washington.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden’s government confirmed accepting Isararli’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Invitation to visit Israel in the coming months. The statement was confirmed by Bennett’s government as well. However, the date for the expected trip was not mentioned.

The statement comes after the two leaders spoke on Sunday where they discussed Iranian issues and the removal of IRCC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) from the US Foreign Terror Organization (FTO).

Bennett said, “I am sure that President Biden, who is a true friend of Israel and cares about its security, will not allow the IRGC to be removed from the list of the terrorist organizations. Israel has clarified its position on the issue: The IRGC is the largest terrorist organization in the world”.

Biden was also updated on the efforts to stop the violence and incitement in Jerusalem. Over 300 Palestinians have been arrested and more than 200 have been injured since Israeli forces launched incursions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on April 15.

According to Israeli authorities, they entered the compound to facilitate incursions by far-right Jews to the holy site- 14-hectare houses of the al-Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

On Monday, the meeting between the Indian leadership and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will discuss counterbalancing China’s belligerent moves and Beijing’s model of economic expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region.

Von der Leyen will discuss the threat to Europe from Russia posed by the Ukraine conflict, while India will seek a broader commitment from the EU to make the Indo-Pacific more inclusive. New Delhi aims to expand the EU’s footprint in the Indo-Pacific region.

She made it clear that the EU’s tense relations with Russia and its attempts to reduce its energy dependence would be among her talking points on Monday. At the International Solar Alliance, she said, “Russian war on Ukraine is a stark reminder to us Europeans to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels”. Meanwhile, India neither condemns the war nor supports the West-backed resolutions in the UN against Russia.

India and the EU, however, have more in common over China’s aggression and the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe. With China’s inroads into Europe reaching a peak in 2020, many European countries have adopted a cautious approach towards Beijing since the pandemic hit. The EU launched its Indo-Pacific strategy against this backdrop and sought to collaborate with India including in the connectivity sector.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected with a comfortable margin against his competitor. Macron secured a second term by defeating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

France has earlier seen two French presidents secure a second term before Macron. However, his margin looked tighter than his first win against Le Pen in 2017, underlying how many French were unimpressed with him and his domestic record.

In the wake of Britain’s exit from the European Union, Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and the rise of a new generation of nationalist leaders, the victory was immediately hailed by allies as a respite.

President of European Council- Charles Michel tweeted, “Bravo Emmanuel. In this turbulent period, we need a solid Europe and a France totally committed to a more sovereign and more strategic European Union”.

Meanwhile, a mixed emotion was seen in France where the celebration took place at the foot of the Eiffel tower where Macron supported chanted “Macron” and waved French and EU flags on the other hand Le Pen’s supporters erupted in boos and whistles at a sprawling reception hall on the outskirts of Paris.