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
With Prime Minister Marion Draghi as the most prominent candidate in a wide-open market, Italy’s parliament will begin voting on Monday for a new head of state which will be closely monitored by financial markets. Italian politicians are concerned about the election result might spark new uncertainty in the third-largest economy in the eurozone, which is grappling with a resurgence of COVID-19 infections and deaths. At 1400 GMT, more than 1,000 parliamentarians and regional representatives will convene for the first of several rounds of secret voting to replace outgoing Italian Presid
On Friday, the World Economic Forum has announced that for May 22-26, the Davos summit will be held in person for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annual meetings of the world's political, economic, and business elite are held in Davos, a resort in the Swiss Alps, in January. However, the forum did not take place in 2020’s January despite repeated postponements along with a proposed one-off shift to Singapore. The WEF founder Klaus Schwab said, “After all the virtual meetings taking place in the last two years, leaders from politics, business, and civil society have to c