Category: Politics

During the 2-day state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Maldives, he was conferred with country’s Highest Honor “Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen”. The award was bestowed upon him by Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during a ceremony in Male for his role in strengthening bilateral relations between India and Maldives. It is Maldives’ highest honor accorded to foreign dignitaries. The award was given in 3 degrees that include a Collar, a Badge, and a Sash. Upon arrival, PM Modi and President Solih exchanged pleasantries and were also accorded the guard of honor. This was the first bilateral-level meeting held between the 2 countries in the last eight years. It was also the first meeting after the Maldives imposed an emergency by the then President Abdulla Yameen.

It was PM Modi’s first foreign visit after re-election as the 15th Indian PM.

Former Indian President Pratibha Patil was honoured with ‘Orden Mexicana del Auguila Azteca’ (Order of the Aztec Eagle), the highest civilian award of Mexico for foreigners. Mexico’s Ambassador to India, Melba Pria, presented the award at a special ceremony.

Ms. Patil, India’s only woman President, has also become the second Indian President after S. Radhakrishnan to receive this award. This is also the first time the Mexican government has proffered ‘Aztec Eagle’ award to a woman. The award is bestowed to foreigners to acknowledge their outstanding services to the Mexican nation and humanity, and for any contribution in strengthening bilateral relations between Mexico and the country of the recipient. The award was created in 1933 by the then Mexican President Abelardo L Rodriguez as a reward to the services rendered to Mexico or humankind by foreigners. A Sash of Special Category, Plaque, Collar, Venera, and Insignia are the five degrees of the award. It is offered to prominent heads of the state or government, ambassadors who have served in Mexico and eminent personalities who have contributed to serving countries or its people.

Previous recipients who have received this award under various categories include: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip (Great Britain), Emperor Mohammed Reza (Iran), King Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofia (Spain), Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia), President Charles de Gaulle (France), President Dwight D. Eisenhower (USA), King Mohammed VI (Morocco), etc.

Baku, Azerbaijan hosted the XVIII (18th) Summit of Heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement in October 2019. The theme of the summit was “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”.

The Summit was preceded by Preparatory Senior Officials Meeting and the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting. The 120-member group representing 55% of the world population attended the 18th Forum. The focus of the summit was on issues related to terrorism, threats to peace and security, UN reforms, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance, and south-south cooperation.

Representatives of about 160 countries and international organizations attended the event.

Current chair of the NAM, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro opened the Summit.

Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, led the Indian delegation and interacted with the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani; President of Vietnam, Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh; President of Cuba, Mr. Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros.

In October 2019, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second and final term amid tight security. As thousands celebrated with song and dance, helicopters flew overhead and troops kept a vigil in the capital Jakarta.

More than 30,000 security personnel were deployed in the capital. The city police even locked down some parts of the city over security concerns. With a sacrosanct Quran over his head, the 58-year-old Widodo along with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, recited the oath of office before lawmakers and regional senators, which make up the People’s Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat) at the Parliament building. Outside the Parliament, his supporters with red and white Indonesian flags dotted parts of the city. Citizens, many wearing T-shirts bearing the leader’s image, witnessed the swearing-in ceremony on a big screen near Jakarta’s national monument.

Dubai, UAE hosted the 7th Annual World Government Summit 2019. The three-day summit was attended by 4000 decision makers across 150 countries that include the head of the state, ministers and business leaders. It’s a global platform meant for shaping the future of governments worldwide.

The World Government Summit sets the agenda each year for the next generation of governments, focusing on how they can effectively use innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity. It’s a neutral non-profit organization that operates as a knowledge exchange platform for leaders in the public and private sectors to converge and collaborate with world-renowned experts to create a positive impact for citizens worldwide. This unique platform showcases and exchanges best practices and smart solutions to the challenges that nations face worldwide.

The World Government Summit was commissioned in 2013 by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as global knowledge exchange platform to showcase advance government services and technologies in an effort to bring policymakers, businesses and civil society together into the future. At the summit, a special track focuses on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ‘SDGs in Action @WGS’ is organized through the collaboration between the United Nations, the World Bank, and the OECD. The collaboration brings together various stakeholders which include governments, international organizations, subject matter experts, NGOs, academia, youth groups, and the private sector. The World Government Summit is graced by various leaders, Presidents, Prime Ministers, philanthropists, religious leaders, etc. Imran Khan, Christine Lagarde, Harrison Ford were the speakers.

On February 23, 2019, Saudi Arabia appointed its first female ambassador, Princess Reema Bint Bandar, to the United States. A former Vice-President of Women’s Affairs at General Sports Authority and a known philanthropist who lived in the US for more than two decades, her appointment came as a replacement of Price Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, which was a result of fallout over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder tests relations between the allies.

The princess, who has been a pioneer women’s rights advocate in the kingdom, is also a rising political star in the country. Her appointment is considered as an earnest effort from Saudi Arabia that tries to smooth relations with the US after facing wide criticism for the murder of the US journalist at the Saudi consulate in Turkey. The appointment is considered as a desperate measure to quell the international outcry.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s President, has been elected chairman of the African Union by the continental body at a summit in Ethiopia. He has been appointed the chair of the 55-member pan-African body after former Rwandan President Paul Kagame stepped down.

The Egyptian leader said he would target his fight against the armed groups on the continent and focus his efforts on rebuilding the countries recovering from conflict during his one year term as a chairman of African Union. According to Sisi, the African Union will use mediation and ‘preventive diplomacy’ as mechanisms for promoting peace and security in the continent. He added that his main focus would be on creating an Africa-wide free trade zone.

However, Amnesty International, the leading human rights group, expressed its concern regarding Sisi’s chairmanship as it would weaken human rights mechanisms in the African Union.

According to Amnesty’s Campaign Director for North African region, it was during the tenure of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi when he exhibited shocking contempt for human rights and the country underwent a catastrophic decline in rights and freedom. The human rights group stated that since 2015 Egypt has been organizing ceaseless political attacks against the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the body that monitors African States Human Rights records.