On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to strengthen its ties with the littoral states of the Bay of Bengal and welcomed the unveiling of the Charter of the organization. The Ministry of External Affairs officials issued a statement at the conclusion of the summit in Colombo that BIMSTEC will be the "security pillar" of the grouping. A master plan for transport connectivity was also announced at the summit that would provide a framework for regional and domestic connectivity. PM Modi s
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit is expected to adopt a charter and a roadmap for connectivity within neighbouring countries. The sumit will be hosted by Sri Lanka on March 30 to mark the continuing pivot away from Saarc. The meeting will be held virtually in which the BIMSTEC charter will give greater cohesion to the group including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. These nations are expected to sign during the summit. The BIMSTEC master plan for transport connectivity will also be adopted
On Saturday, India and Japan collaborated to extend clean energy partnership to cover EVs, green hydrogen and battery storage as the two Asian economic powerhouse pivot net-zero carbon emission pathways. Japan aims to achieve the target of net zero-carbon emission by 2050 meanwhile India expects to achieve it by 2070. After the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit, Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio met India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and issued a joint statement that outlined areas of cooperation between the two nations. The statement said, “India and Japan acknowledged the nee
For the first time in history, India logged its highest-ever goods export target of $400 billion on March 23. The target was nine days ahead of schedule. Mr Modi said on Twitter, “India set an ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports and achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success. This is a key milestone in our Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey”. During the month of February, India's services and manufacturing activity remained steady despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict raising inflation and
On Monday, Germany's economy minister said German companies had signed agreements with UAE firms to build up hydrogen supply chains. During the visit of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck to the gulf state, the deals were signed. Both parties discussed long-term energy supplies. Habeck said, “The accelerated expansion of hydrogen supply chains is a very pivotal factor in the transition to sustainable energy”. Berlin aims to cut carbon emissions and cut down its dependency on Russian energy and is investing in cleaner energy as part of Western efforts to put pressure on Moscow ove
Officials report that in a bid to buy food and medicine, Sri Lanka has received a $1bn credit line from India, meanwhile, IMF announces that it will consider a possible bailout. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Sajith Attygalle told reporters in Colombo that India and Sri Lanka have formally entered into the credit agreement during finance minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi. India’s foreign minister Mr S. Jaishankar said on Twitter, “India stands with Sri Lanka. the US $1 billion credit line signed for the supply of essential commodities”. Meanwhile, IMF spokesman G
In an attempt to boost Britain's domestic energy security, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks to nuclear and wind energy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, PM will meet the leader from the nuclear industry to discuss how to speed up the progress of new projects. The premier of Britain is also scheduled to speak with CEOs from the wind sector soon. Mr Johnson had banned the import of Russian oil by the end of the year and the cabinet is also looking forward to halting imports of Russian gas by the end of the year. Since Russia's war with Ukraine, which caused pric
The central bank of Indonesia kept its policy rate unchanged, keeping an eye on global inflation and the consequences of the Ukrainian conflict. According to the Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, consumer prices are on the rise and relations between the world's biggest economies are deteriorating, which may slow Indonesia's recovery and undo decades of globalization that made the country a "clear winner". She added that record prices for coal and key minerals, including nickel, help fill Indonesia's coffers just enough, for n
India and Japan have set an investment target of $42 billion (five trillion yen) in the next five years. The announcement came after the 14th annual summit meeting in New Delhi where several agreements were signed. Both the nations discussed various regional issues including the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, PLA’s attempts at “multiple transgression” on the LAC. The situations were briefed by PM Narendra Modi to PM Fumio Kishida. According to foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, any normalcy in the India-China relationship will depend on the progress on th
On Wednesday, parliament was informed that the bilateral trade in goods will increase from $60 billion to $100 billion over the next five years after the free trade agreement is implemented. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was signed during the India-UAE Virtual Summit on February 18. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said the India-UAE CEPA is a comprehensive and balanced partnership agreement that will give India enhanced market access for both goods a