Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz named his son and heir Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the country’s prime minister and his second son Prince Khalid as defense minister, a royal order showed on Tuesday. The king's other son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, is the energy minister while Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, and Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih continue to be in their positions, the decree showed. The crown prince, known as MbS, was earlier the defense minister and has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia,
Calling attention to the importance of the India-US relationship, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that both countries are positioning their militaries to operate and integrate more intimately than ever. Austin met Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar in the Pentagon on September 26. “Ties between India and the United States, the world’s two largest democracies, including military ties, are growing stronger,” he said in the statement released by the US Department of Defence. “These conversations reinforce a growing depth, breadth, and ambition of our partn
On Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and held productive talks. He paid a visit to the state funeral of late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at Nippo Budokan in Tokyo which was attended by several other top leaders of the world. PM Modi tweeted, “Had productive talks with PM Anthony Albanese in Tokyo. We will keep working closely to boost Indian-Australian friendship in diverse sectors”. On many fronts, Australia plays a key role in India's development. An agreement between India and Australia for three years regarding critical minerals was a
On Monday, Dr S Jaishankar met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in order to discuss high technology cooperation between the two countries and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. During Jaishankar's 10-day visit to the US, he held bilateral consultations with several US cabinet members about resilient supply chains, high technology cooperation, semiconductors, and business promotion. A special honour cordon ceremony was held on Monday at the Pentagon for External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar to meet US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. As Jaishankar meets US counterpart Ser Ant
Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense Maj Gen Staff Pilot, Ibrahim Nasser Mohamed Al Alawi on Monday called on IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari and talked about ways to boost the existing bilateral ties. Both the chiefs also discussed ways to build up cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the IAF said. The Indian Air Force (IAF) also posted a couple of pictures of the chiefs' meeting on its Twitter handle. Meanwhile, in another tweet, the IAF saluted the Military Engineer Services (MES) on its 100th Raising Day. "Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and all air warr
Giorgia Meloni is all set to become Italy's first woman prime minister after her party, the nationalist Brothers of Italy, won the elections on Sunday. Pro-term results showed the rightist bloc should have a strong majority in both houses of parliament, possibly giving Italy a scarce opportunity for political stability after years of turmoil and frail coalitions. However, Meloni and her allies face a formidable list of challenges such as sky-rocketing energy prices, the war in Ukraine, and a revived decline in economic activity in Europe’s third-largest economy. "We must remember t
The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, has signed an agreement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that includes boosting energy security and industrial growth, the state news agency (WAM) reported on Sunday. The report added that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to German utility RWE. ADNOC will process the first shipment later in the year for use in the trial operation of a floating natural gas terminal in Brunsbuettel. During his two-day trip to the Middle East, Scholz balanced pro
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid has met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for the first time in 14 years, the latest sign of friendly relations between the two regional powers after long and bitter relations. Both leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the biggest annual gathering of world leaders, which is now underway in New York. In his meeting with Erdogan, Mr. Lapid said he praised the recent fixing of diplomatic ties between the countries and the appointment of a new Israeli ambassador to Turkey, this week. Erdogan has expressed his ke
India will be co-hosting the 6th IBSA Summit on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in November 2022 in Bali The 10th India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission (ITMC) meeting was held in New York on 21 September. It was co-chaired by India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar. Carlos Alberto Franco França, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, and Dr. Joe Phaahla, Minister of Health of South Africa. The Ministers assessed the whole range of IBSA cooperation. They welcomed new plans within IBSA, such as the maiden meeting of the IBSA N
On Thursday, the Indian Defense Ministry signed a contract with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd worth Rs. 1,700 crores. The deal is for buying additional dual-role capable missiles for the navy which will stimulate the Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) among the Defence sector. With dual-role capability, BrahMos missiles can be used for anti-ship and anti-land attacks. The ministry said, “Induction of these dual-role capable missiles is going to enhance the operational capability of Indian Navy fleet assets significantly.” Indian armed forces use all three BrahMos variants, which can be launche