On Thursday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and US secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed regional and global issues along with the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. This was the second bilateral meeting between the two diplomats in less than a month’s time. Mr. Blinken blames Sri Lanka's economic crisis on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine causing global food insecurity. The meetings were held in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Mr. S Jaishankar tweeted on his account, “A warm conversation to start meetings on the sidelines of A
Joe Biden is on his first trip to the Middle East as president, where he told the leaders that the United States would remain an active partner in the Middle East. The Biden administration was initially against selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but things have been changing as per the latest development. The White House has approved the sale of $3 billion Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia and a $2.2 billion sale of missiles for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the United Arab Emirates. "The United States is invested in building a positive future of
India wants to ramp up its ties with Uzbekistan in sectors like digital payments, start-ups, agri and pharma to mark the 30th year of their diplomatic relations. Amidst rising geopolitical tensions, the ties between India and Uzbekistan have become important to the government’s vision of an integrated extended neighbourhood. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that increasing cooperation in seven emerging areas will help boost economic ties between the two nations. Goyal said this while addressing the 13th session of India-Uzbekistan Inter Governmental Commissio
External affairs minister S Jaishankar will pay a two–day visit to Uzbekistan on July 28-29 to take part in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) council of foreign ministers. The meeting will talk about preparations for the forthcoming meeting of the SCO council of heads of state in Samarkand during September 15-16, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday. The foreign ministers will analyze and evaluate the ongoing cooperation to expand the SCO organization and share ideas on regional and global developments of mutual interest, the ministry said. Jaishan
African nations, Macron will make his second stop in Benin. With a goal of reviving France's postcolonial connection with the continent, the four-day trip, which ends in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, is Macron's first to Africa in his new role as French president. During the joint news conference, Macron mentioned the "unique partnership" between France and Benin and expressed a willingness to support initiatives to make Benin an "example of development" in western Africa. Talon and Macron planned to expand their partnership by contributing to Benin's culture, education, and security. Acco
French President Emmanuel Macron has set off on a three-nation African tour, his first trip to the continent after being as he seeks tore-elected, to restore France’s post-colonial relationship with the ‘dark continent’ Macron’s July 25-28 tour will begin in Cameroon and then move on to Benin and then Guinea-Bissau. A French presidential official, who refused to be named stated, that the tour "will show the commitment of the president in the process of renewing the relationship with the African continent" It will indicate that Africa is a “political priority" for his pre
Croatia has opened a long-awaited bridge connecting its southern Adriatic coast, including the famous tourist destination of Dubrovnik, with other parts of the country, bypassing a small portion of Bosnian territory. The 2.4km (1.5-mile) bridge reaches out from the mainland of Croatia to the Peljesac peninsula that links with Croatia’s southern coastline lying between the sea and the Dinaric Alps. The opening of the bridge on Tuesday comes as Croatia is trying to restore tourism, hoping to attract large numbers of visitors, like in the pre-pandemic time. "The importance of the brid
Indonesia and the United States are prepared to hold their largest military exercises next month, dismissing worries about a split in their relationship over China's increasing investments in the Southeast Asian country. The increasing hostility between China and the US compelled the Indo-Pacific nations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to sail through, as both superpowers advanced diplomatic lead in the geopolitically important region. Indonesia has been neutral amid the rivalry, throwing light on its long-term foreign policy ideology of being "independent and active." The US chairman
On Friday, the government announced that four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had endorsed India's bid for a permanent seat in the body. The only country that has not yet supported India's bid to join the UNSC is China. Currently, the UNSC consists of five permanent members and ten non-permanent members, who the UN General Assembly elects for a two-year term. Russia, the UK, China, France, and the United States are the five permanent members and can veto any resolution. There is a growing demand for increased permanent membership to reflect the c
On Thursday, the NDA’s presidential candidate, Draupadi Murmu, emerged victorious with 64.03% of the vote in the presidential election. She created history by becoming the first tribal woman to win President-elect. Belonging to a tribal community in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha, Smt. Murmu fought against all odds to become the 15th President of India. The 64-year-old Murmu bagged 6,76,803 votes against her opponent, Yashwant Sinha, who could manage only 3,803,177 votes. In the election counting, Murmu received votes from 2824 electors, including 540 MPs, out of 4809 electors, includ