On Monday, US President Joe Biden proposed $1.8 billion for the Indo-Pacific strategy and another $400 million to counter the malign Chinese behaviour. Joe Biden said, “In the Indo-Pacific, America is strengthening its role and expanding its cooperation with longtime allies and partners, including new diplomatic, defence and security, critical and emerging technology and supply chain, and climate and global health initiatives, while supporting stronger ties between our European and Indo Pacific allies”. According to the White House, the budget promotes integrated deterrence in the I
In an official statement, Egypt’s foreign minister confirmed to take part in groundbreaking talks in Israel alongside his counterparts from the US and three Arab states. In 1979, Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, after decades of enmity and conflict. In 1994, Jordan followed suit. The UAE and Morocco foreign ministers are visiting Israel for the first time. The meet was announced as a "historic summit" by Israel on Friday. For the event, Egypt, UAE, Morocco and Bahrain’s Foreign Ministers’ have travelled to Israel to express their commitment t
On Monday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude to India for extending financial assistance of $1 billion of credit to deal with its economic crisis. On Monday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to hold bilateral talks with Sri Lanka’s top leadership. He is also scheduled to attend the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. On a three-day visit, S Jaishankar will examine the possibilities of enhancing bilateral ties with one of India's key mariti
S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs, met with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in Addu City on Sunday to discuss the special relationship between the two countries. He also conveyed personal greetings and good wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Solih. He tweeted, “An honour to be received by President @ibusolih of Maldives. Conveyed the personal greeting and good wishes of PM @narendramodi. Discussed the special partnership between our two countries that has produced so many substantive outcomes during his tenure”. Jaishankar said he was honoure
On Sunday, The EU envoy visited Iran with an aim to bridge gaps in the talks on the nuclear deal. In Tehran, the EU coordinator met Iran’s Foreign Minister and its chief negotiator for a talk to restore the 2015 nuclear deal. EU diplomat Enrique Mora tweeted ahead of the trip, “Working on closing the remaining gaps in the #ViennaTalk. We must conclude this negotiation. Much is at stake”. Mr Mora looks after the indirect talks between Iran and the US, visited Tehran on late Saturday and met Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdoolahian on Sunday. No further details regarding the mee
On Tuesday evening, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a telephonic conversation with the Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi to discuss that the “UK and India should intensify efforts to promote peace and de-escalation in the region”. Meanwhile Mr Modi “reiterated India’s appeal for cessation of hostilities and the return to dialogue and diplomacy” but did not make any reference to Russia. The official statement said, “PM emphasized India’s belief in respect for international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, as the basis of the con
On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Nahyan hold talks with Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Eygpt. Keeping the Ukraine war in mind, the leaders are likely to discuss the repercussions of the Russian invasion. These meetings were initiated as Israel seeks to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, which were held without prior announcements. Earlier, Egypt and UAE shared a strong relationship with Russia. However, both nations now had joined a UN General Assembly vote to end the Russian invasion. Officials from Israel and Eyp
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special envoy Prak Sokhonn met Myanmar’s military rulers on a controversial first trip to the crisis-hit country. On Monday, Sokhonn began his three-day visit by holding talks with armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing. In February 2021 Hlaing seized power in a coup. According to the junta’s information team, the two men discussed “the situation of protests and violence stemming from political disagreement” along with humanitarian cooperation. ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi was also present at the meeting with the military’s fo
On Friday, Syria’s President Bashar Assad visited the United Arab Emirates, marking his first visit to an Arab country since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011. An official statement was posted on social media page that said that Assad met the ruler of Dubai, and Vice President and prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the UAE. The statement said that they discussed bilateral relations between the nations. After the conflict broke out in 2011, Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League and boycotted by its neighbours. Assad was blamed by Arab and West for the
On Tuesday, Tunisian President Kais Saied met Italian defence minister Lorenzo Guerini. During the 23rd session of the Tunisian-Italian Military Commission, the two countries discussed the military cooperation at Carthage Palace. The talks between Tunisian Defence Minister Imed Memmich and Italian Ambassador Lorenzo Fanara followed military discussions in which the latter said Rome is willing to help Tunisia in developing its military capabilities. Some major topics like migration and regional, international issues of common interest were also discussed in the meeting. Saied reaffirmed