In 2020, the Emirati delegation became the first Emiratis to visit Israel's parliament since the US-brokered normalization of relations. On Monday, at the Israeli foreign and defense committee, Ali Rashid al-Nuaimi, chairman of the council’s defense interior and foreign affairs committee said, “When we talk about Abraham Accords agreements, we want you to look at the big picture. It’s not a political agreement only, it's not an issue related to security and defense issues. No, it is an agent of change for the whole region”. Nuaimi said that following the 11-day Israeli assault o
On Monday, February 7, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi hosted Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh. The Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project, which is being built on the Nile River, was discussed by the heads of state. On Monday, the president of Egypt met with his Djiboutian counterpart. It was part of Egypt's efforts to strengthen African alliances in the midst of a water dispute with Ethiopia. During the Cairo talks, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Ismail Omar Guelleh discussed Ethiopia's controversial dam on the Nile River's main tributary. Egypt considers the dam to be an "existen
Qatar's emir has met the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Winter Olympics in Beijing for the first time since a dispute between Doha and four Arab countries were resolved last year. As reported on Sunday by Qatar's state news agency, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday during a lunch hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. There is a video clip of the two Gulf leaders speaking on UAE news websites. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that leaders from Uzbekistan, Ecuador, and
On Monday, the United Kingdom’s trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and her counter South Korean counterpart Yeo Han-Koo will sign a deal to reinforce pandemic-damage supply lines for major projects like semiconductors in London. The upcoming meeting is a precursor to formal negotiations. They are expected to commence by the end of the year to improve the existing agreement which will effectively keep in place the term that Britain had as an EU member. The ministers will also begin work on a revised trade agreement as Britain seeks to use its exit from the European Union to strengthen
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris is expected to meet India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. A recent credit line of USD 500 million has already been approved for the island nation. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Peiris will visit India from February 6 to February 8. Foreign ministers from both countries are likely to discuss how to expand bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, such as trade and investment. On Monday, Harsh Vardhan Shringla will also meet with the dignitary, according to the MEA. In a move to assist Sri Lanka with its p
During the first trip to Asia as president, Joe Biden will stop at several stops, including a summit with three key regional allies in Japan this spring. According to the US official, Biden accepted an invitation to visit Japan in spring to attend the summit of the Quad which consists of Japan, Australia, India, and the United States. However, the officials said that the details are still being worked out. The trip is roughly planned in May as keeping the concern over China and North Korea on top of the agenda as Washington was looking into having Biden visit South Korea at the same tim
United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed greetings for India on Republic Day as he focused his message on the launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks along with the India-UK partnership over vaccines. The FTA between India-UK is billed in the UK as creating huge benefits for both the nations as they have the potential to boost bilateral trade up to GBP 28 billion by 2035. It also aims to increase the wages to GBP 3 billion across the UK. Johnson said that he feels proud of the friendship shared between the two “diverse democracies” and is looking forward to f
Officials from the US and Europe are coordinating with natural gas suppliers worldwide to cushion the impact of the Russian government cutting off energy supplies amid the conflict over Ukraine. As a result of Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, the US and European allies have threatened harsh economic and political sanctions for the country. However, the European nations are worried about the repercussions of any such sanction as Russia can potentially cut off delivery of its natural gas to Europe amid the peak winter season. Europe is likely to look for natural gas supplies in
on Wednesday, in a meeting in Paris, Moscow and Kyiv committed to observing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine after an eight-hour-long discussion where a French diplomat sent a "good signal." French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the condition of anonymity and stressed that the talks in Paris had been regarding the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014. He further added that the question was if the Russians wanted to signal a thaw”. According to him the “difficult” discussions had finally resulted in something positive. As Moscow presses demands over NATO's presenc
Iran's southeastern port of Chabahar and two western Indian ports of Nhava Sheva and Kandla have established a direct container shipping route to bypass Pakistan. Jalil Eslami, Deputy Head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO), has announced that the first container service will arrive in Shahid Beheshti port on February 16. The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) container services are performed with a traffic schedule of 10 to 15 days. The shipping line between CHabahar and the Indian ports of Mumbai and Mundra was previously launched by India in 2017. The second di