On Wednesday, Singapore and New Zealand signed two new agreements to work closely in trade, food and technology. Business leaders from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Enterprise Singapore have signed the Enhanced Partnership for Growth Agreement as a means of sharing expertise and knowledge, as well as deepening business alliances in areas of common interest - such as trade, connectivity, and emerging technologies. The signings were witnessed by the visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor during a break
With the weak economic recovery, the tax collection was at a record high in U.S., U.K and India. The tax collection for India was more than the revised estimate of about Rs. 2 trillion which turned out to be Rs. 3 trillion, more than the budgeted estimates of the last year. Justin Theal and Alexandra Fall of Pew Charitable Trusts note that in the latest year, tax collections in more than half the states topped what they would have collected if the economy had grown at pre-pandemic levels. The record high collection is considered due to all country's goods purchases outstripping that of
Italy and Algeria have signed agreements to strengthen energy ties and increase the North African state’s energy exports to Italy. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced the deals in Algeria on Monday, adding that they were a significant step in Italy’s drive to reduce its dependency on Russian gas. The country clinched an agreement to ramp up gas imports from Algeria by around 40% in its first major deal. Italy, which sources about 40% of its gas imports from Russia, has been scrambling to diversify its energy supply mix. Ministers have tapped numerous countries like Congo, Angola
India’s agricultural export spurt by 20% during 2021-2022 despite logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commerce and Industry Ministry said the export rose to $50 billion with which exports of rice being the top forex earner with a $9.65 billion and grew by 9.35% from the previous year. In 2021-2022, wheat exports jumped to $2.2 billion against $567 million in the previous year. Dairy products export rose by 96% to $634 million from $323 million in the previous year. Poultry products rose to $71 million in 2021-2022 fr4om %58 million in the previous year and sheep/got
On Tuesday, in a new staff paper, the International Monetary Fund asked the countries around the world to provide $15 billion in grants this year and $10 billion a year thereafter to manage the long-term risks of COVID-19. The paper, which was co-authored by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Fund, and the charitable organisation Wellcome, stated that a new, more comprehensive approach was required right away to strengthen global health systems and limit the pandemic's already staggering $13.8 trillion costs. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Go
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