Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum (WEF), has said that India’s G20 presidency comes at a crucial time, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership is critical in this fractured world. In a statement, the organisation said that its Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos is taking place at a time when multiple crises have deepened divisions and fragmented the geopolitical landscape. Its programme simultaneously addresses immediate crises and long-term future challenges, and helps set the scene for India's G20 presidency. Schwab met the Indian ministerial deleg
New Zealand’s ruling Labour Party on Sunday selected Chris Hipkins to replace Jacinda Ardern as its leader and the next prime minister of the country. He was the only candidate for the job. Hipkins named Carmel Sepuloni as Deputy Prime Minister, New Zealand’s first deputy prime minister of Pacific origin. The rest of his team would be announced later. First elected to parliament for the Labour Party in 2008, Hipkins became a household name heading the government’s response to the pandemic. He was appointed health minister in July 2020 before becoming the COVID response minister at
India, Ghana and Vietnam are among the countries that have been able to evolve their food systems by unlocking the potential of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly those that are farmer-allied and operating in local food chains, said a World Economic Forum (WEF) report. The report was released on January 16 on the first day of the annual meeting of WEF in Davos, Switzerland. It said that countries that tackle food crises can boost jobs, health and nature, and meet net zero goals better. Food systems, when transformed, can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, fr
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to invest $30 billion in South Korea’s industries across sectors such as next-generation nuclear power, energy technologies and defense, South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday. The investment decision was announced after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi during a four-day state visit. The figure is the largest-ever cross-border investment made by the UAE, surpassing its previous record of $12.2 billion for the United Kingdom. The countries also signed 13 m
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday named Sultan al-Jaber, a veteran technocrat who leads Abu Dhabi's state-run oil company and oversees its renewable energy efforts to be the president of the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai. The COP 28 UAE is scheduled to take place at Expo City Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023. Sultan al-Jaber, a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which pumps about 4 million barrels of crude a day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily. Jaber once also led
Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs Sherine ElSharkawy has called India an interesting destination both for ‘tourism and investment’. She also stressed that India has a lot of opportunities, especially in the information technology sector. Sherine El Sharkawy made the remarks during the cultural programme and dinner organised for the G20 delegates on the cruise ship, The Bengal Paddle, in Kolkata. The Bengal Paddle was a British-era ship named PS Bhopal that has been renovated by a private company. International delegates visiting Kolkata for the first Global Part
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s longest river Cruise, MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi via video conferencing on Friday. He also inaugurated the tent city at Varanasi and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crore. MV Ganga Vilas is the first-ever cruise vessel to be made in India. The river cruise will go through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bangladesh till Dibrugarh. It will begin its journey from Varanasi in UP and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh,
Japan has the world’s strongest passport, followed by Singapore, South Korea and Germany, says the Henley Passport Index 2023. India is on the 85th position in the index, which ranks 109 countries. The Afghanistan passport has been ranked the lowest in the index. The index jointly listed Singapore and South Korea passports as the second most powerful in the world. Both Asian countries were followed by Germany and Spain, then Finland, Italy and Luxembourg. According to the Henley Passport Index, Japanese passport holders can visit 193 out of 227 countries and regions visa-free. An Indi
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will sign a reciprocal access agreement for military officers, said a newspaper report. The leaders are expected to sign the pact during Kishida’s visit to the UK on January 10. The reciprocal access agreement (RAA), which relaxes immigration controls for military officers, aims to strengthen security ties between the two countries to counter rising threats from Russia and China. The two countries are expected to sign the RAA, which would serve as a legal basis for joint exercises and logistics cooperation. An agr
India will host the Voice of Global South Summit on January 12-13. As many as 120 countries are expected to participate in the summit. Ten to 20 countries will be part of one session, and two lead sessions will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vinay Kwatra, the Foreign Secretary of India said on Friday. The Voice of Global South Summit will focus on issues such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, and increasing food, fertilisers, and fuel prices. The Global South largely refers to countries in Asia, Africa and South America. This summit, under the theme