Category: Politics

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Ahmedabad on a two-day visit to India for “in-depth talks”. Johnson will become the first British Prime Minister to visit Gujrat.

He will meet with leading businesses in Ahmedabad and discuss the burgeoning commercial, trade, and people ties between the UK and India. Gujarat, India’s fifth-largest state, was chosen because it is the ancestral home of roughly half the British-Indian diaspora in the UK.

PM Johnson is scheduled to land on April 21 and will begin his trip to Ahmedabad in Gujrat post where he will head to New Delhi to meet Modi on April 22.

Mr Johson said ahead of his visit, “My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations- from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence”.

According to a press release, both the leader will talk about India-UK strategic defence and diplomatic and economic partnership. They will also focus on ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year.

The press statement stated, “In Gujrat, the Prime Minister is expected to announce a major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology”.

According to sources, India confirmed participating in a virtual summit of the Brazilian-Russian-Indian-Chinese-South African grouping to be held towards the end of June, weeks after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Delhi.

The tentative date for the meeting will be June 23-24 which was suggested by the summit, however, the final decision on the date is yet to be finalised. Last year the meet was held virtually which was hosted by India.

Prime Minister Modi will share the platform with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since the Ukraine war began. Leaders of Brazil and South Africa will also attend the summit along with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In April 2020, tensions broke out at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the PLA’s transgressions. This is the first summit hosted by China since the conflict.

The BRICS summit is being prepared with further preparatory meetings. A meeting of BRICS ministers of health, including Mandaviya, was held on April 12 to launch a “BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre” to conduct “vaccine joint research, plant co-construction, authorised local production, and mutual recognition of standards”, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Counter-terrorism officials will also meet on Tuesday to discuss “targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorism financing” during a plenary session.

Australia will hold a general election on May 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison mentions, triggering a campaign expected to be fought over cost-of-living pressures, climate change and questions of trust and competence of the major parties. The economic uncertainties and security threats are the two main stakes with which Morrison is propagating his position. The opposition Labor party says it would offer a better economic alternative for the Australian people. He urged voters to stick with a government that delivered one of the lowest pandemic death tolls of any advanced economy rather than risk the opposition Labor Party.

Morrison led his government to a narrow victory at the last election in 2019 despite opinion polls consistently placing the center-left opposition Australian Labor Party ahead. Labor leader Albanese highlighted that food, fuel, childcare and healthcare costs had jumped while wages had stayed flat since the conservative coalition took office in 2013, and said a Labor government would ease pressure on family budgets. Morrison and Albanese were in a statistical tie as preferred prime minister for the next three-year term. A recent Newspoll survey showed Labor leading the coalition 54 percent to 46 percent on a two-party basis.

The Biden administration has reaffirmed its commitment to support India’s permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. It also praised India for its significant contributions as a member of the 15-membered apex decision making body of the UN. In a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the India-US 2+2 ministerial here, the United States congratulated India for its significant contributions as a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2021-2022. The Defense Ministers of both the countries reiterated their commitment to work together in close coordination at the UNSC and in international organisations. The US reaffirmed its continued support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed UNSC and for India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

US also expressed its appreciation for India’s management because the Chair of the 3 committees of the Safety Council: the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee and the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee. Bearing in mind rising nationwide safety threats from each state and non-state malicious cyber attackers, the ministers recognised the significance of an open, interoperable, safe, and dependable Web and strong our on-line world.

On Sunday, Electoral results released by The Gambia’s independent electoral commission showed Barrow’s NPP won 19 of the 53 contested parliamentary seats, overturning the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) majority.

A narrow victory for Adama Barrow’s party in the legislative elections in the Gambia has left it short of being able to govern the country alone.

Five other members of parliament can be appointed by the president, including its speaker, who will be selected in the coming days from his party. However, Barrow’s party does not have a majority in the 58-seat chamber.

According to the results, the UDP claimed 15 seats while independents placed third with 11. It is the second term for Barrow in office after claiming 53% of the vote in the presidential election the previous year. Thursday will see the swearing-in of the new parliament

57-year-old president will have to face numerous challenges including soaring inflation national reconciliation along with the fight against corruption. In September 2020, the outgoing parliament rejected a draft constitution that limited the president to two terms, which he promised to introduce before the end of his term.

His victory in 2016 bought an end to Yahya Jammeh’s rule of more than 20 years.

As part of the UN’s aid coordination office, Britain, Germany, and Qatar have launched their largest-ever appeal for funds for a single country in an attempt to collect USD 4.4 billion to help Afghanistan. A decidedly ambitious bid to assist the impoverished country again run by Taliban militants at a time when most of the world’s attention is fixed on the war in Ukraine.

Head of the U.N. Office for the coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffith said that Ukraine is of vital importance, but Afghanistan calls out souls for commitment and loyalty. Ahead of the pledge drive, the humanitarian program is appealing to save lives.

Griffith said that he has no doubt that they will not achieve the target of $4.4 billion tomorrow in pledge but, they will work on it. It is three times what the agency asked for Afghanistan a year earlier, an amount donors met.

​​The Afghanistan economy is in free fall less than a year after Taliban fighters toppled its internationally supported government. The UN estimates that 23 million people are food insecure.

The aid agency suggested that while donor countries have mostly shunned the Taliban, fearful that its repressive rule might return, political and economic engagement from abroad should return one day as well.

On Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to meet Moroccan King Mohammed VI on his two-day visit to Rabat. The meeting will signify a resolution of diplomatic issues surrounding Morocco’s contested Western Sahara area.

Morocco now seeks reassurance that Spain’s backing for the autonomy proposal represents a fundamental shift in the country’s foreign policy. Last year, King Mohammed stated that Morocco will not enter into any commercial agreements with countries that oppose Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

As per the Spanish government official, the king will invite Sanchez with his family for an iftar meal to break the day’s fast during the month of Ramadan.

Officials call the meeting an opportunity to open a “new stage” in ties with Morocco on the basis of “mutual respect”. It further said they will also discuss “restraint from any unilateral action to honour the importance of all that we share and to avoid future crises”.

Last April, relations between the two countries, which are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, were extremely strained. At the request of Morocco’s neighbour Algeria, an ally of pro-independence Sahrawis, Spain allowed the leader of the pro-independence movement for Western Sahara to obtain medical treatment for COVID-19 at a Spanish hospital.

On Tuesday, Indian Army Chief General Manoj M Naravane called Singaporean Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen to discuss regional geopolitical development between the two countries.

As per the Indian Army, the strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship among the nations was re-affirmed in the meeting.

General MM Naravane is in Singapore for a three-day visit from April 4–6. During his visit, he was given an overview of the area’s cultural and historical significance.

The Indian Army tweeted, “General MM Naravane#COAS called on Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, #MINDEF, #Singapore & discussed regional geopolitical developments. The strong & long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both Nations was re-affirmed”.

The Chief of the Army Staff also met with Brigadier General David Neo, the Singapore Army’s Chief of Army, to discuss the strategy for enhancing defence cooperation between the two countries.

The Guard of Honour at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in Singapore was also reviewed by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). The COAS praised the Guard for their outstanding turnout and parade.

The Chief of Army Staff also paid a visit to the Battle Box Bunker at Fort Canning on Monday, which served as an emergency, bomb-proof command centre during WWII.

The US, UK and Australia alliance announced they will develop hypersonic missiles by working together via the recently created security alliance AUKUS.

AUKUS was launched by the three countries in September by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Indo-Pacific alliance decision was made after holding a check-in on the progress of AUKUS.

The announcement comes amid the growing concerns by US allies and growing military assertiveness in the pacific.

According to the statement given by the leader, they are “committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on the hypersonic and counter hypersonic. They also commit to electronic warfare capabilities along with the expansion of sharing information and to deepening the cooperation on defence innovation.

The three nations further decided to develop hypersonic missiles which can be so fast that they cannot be intercepted by any current missile defence system.

As per the top US commander in Europe, Russia has used “multiple hypersonic missiles in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the country’s arms manufacturers to develop more advanced hypersonic missiles as they wish to maintain the country’s edge in military technologies which has raised concerns among US intelligence officials.

The US State Department approved a $95 million boost to the potential sale to Taiwan of equipment, training and other items to support the Patriot Air Defence System.

According to the Pentagon’s notification released by Congress, it will include training, planning, fielding, operation, deployment, maintenance and sustainment of the Patriot Air Defence System.

It said, “The proposed sale will help to sustain the recipient’s missile density and ensure readiness for air operations. The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and strengthen homeland defence”.

Chinese-claimed Taiwan has claimed that Beijing has upped military pressure on the democratically run island in an attempt to force it to embrace its sovereignty.

Despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties and the indignation that such military deliveries invariably provoke in Beijing, the US is legally obligated to give Taiwan the ability to defend itself.

This is the third arms deal announced since President Joe Biden took office, according to Taiwan’s presidential office, demonstrating their “rock strong” connection.

However, there is no indication that the contract was signed or the negotiation was concluded by the US State Department.