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
To reduce the dependency on Russian gas post-invasion on Ukraine, France is in talks with Spain to construct a gas pipeline connecting the two countries. The French ambassador in Madrid, Jean-Michel Casa, said that France has long refused Spanish calls to build the link but is now ready to discuss the feasibility of the Midcat pipeline if Madrid officially requests it. Casa said, “Now that the underlying situation has changed, is it necessary to talk about Midcat? Let’s talk”. Both energy regulators in Spain and Portugal rejected the investment proposal for a central section of
A package worth €2 billion (S$3 billion) has been announced by the French government to assist consumers suffering from high fuel prices. The price at the pump is expected to drop. On Saturday (March 12), French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that petrol and diesel prices would be lowered by 15 centimes per litre. The state will be reimbursing gas station owners for the difference when vehicle owners pay. Petrol prices have risen to over 2 euros per litre in some areas, putting pressure on the government to reduce the impact on households. A lot of the price at the pump is ta
South Korea chose Suk-yeol as the country’s next president following a tightly-contested race. He is a conservative opposition candidate who edged out his victory over the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-Myung. Both the candidates were counted as widely unpopular throughout the campaign. According to the analyst, voters appeared disenchanted by the frontrunners that the local media dubbed the vote “election of the unfavourable”. Mr Yoon, a political novice promised to tackle class inequality and called his win a “victory of the great South Korean people”. However, the results are
On Monday, Tata Sons chief Natarajan Chandrasekaran is appointed as the new chairman of Air India. The board cleared his appointment last week. The development comes days after Ilker Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, declined an offer from the Tata Group to lead Air India as its CEO and Managing Director. However, the reason for Ayci rejection of the post was not revealed. Chandrasekaran started his career as a software programmer in 1987. When he was 46, he took over as head of the Tata group and was one of the group's youngest CEOs. In 2016, he joined the Tata Sons board and
On Friday, India and Canada finally agreed to step up talks to consider a free trade agreement between both countries to boost trade in goods and services along with an early harvest deal. The official statement issued by the commerce minister said, “The Interim Agreement would include high-level commitments ion goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any areas mutually agreed upon”. The negotiation for India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will formally be launch