After a group of French parliamentarians visited Taiwan in October, six French lawmakers are now in the country on a five-day trip. Francois de Rugy, the head of the Taiwan Friendship group in the National Assembly, the lower house of France's Parliament, is at the helm of the visiting delegation. They will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and other senior government officials. Upon arrival at the airport, de Rugby told reports that the lawmakers wish to have exchanges on all dimensions of the relation between Taiwan, the EU and France on the economy and culture and
Australia and South Korea signed a historic $1 billion defence agreement on December 13 when Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Moon Jae-in held talks in Canberra. As per the agreement, Korean defence company Hanwha will provide 30 self-propelled howitzer artillery weapons, 15 ammunition supply vehicles and radars. The deal, which is the largest ever between Australia and an Asian nation, also includes a new Centre of Excellence built jointly between the South Korean company and the Federal Government in the Victorian region of Geelong. Speaking on the 60th anniversary of
Russia has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution which seeks to formally link climate change and global security. The resolution, drafted by Niger and Ireland, called for "information on the security implications of climate change" to be addressed by the Security Council. Also, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been asked to make climate-related security risks "a central component" of conflict-prevention and peacekeeping strategies. The resolution won support from 12 of the council's 15 members. India voted no and China abstained from voting. Only the Security
As per several reports, Delhi is planning to invite leaders of five Central Asian countries as chief guests for the Republic Day parade and celebrations on January 26. While the diplomats of these five countries have already been informed informally, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to hold a dialogue with the foreign ministers of these five countries over the next weekend. If the invitations are accepted and everything pans out as planned, five Presidents — Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenista
On Monday, December 13, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan at his private palace in Abu Dhabi during his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates. At the airport, Mr. Bennett was received by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and an honour guard. For the uninitiated, Bennett has become the first Israeli prime minister to visit the gulf nation after diplomatic ties were established last year. Earlier in June, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also visited the UAE to inaugurate the nation's embassy in Ab
When G7 foreign ministers met in Britain on Saturday, Russian sabre-rattling against Ukraine and assertive China were top of the agenda. The two-day gathering of top diplomats from the world's richest nations in Liverpool is the last in-person gathering of Britain's G7 presidency, before it hands over the baton to Germany. British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said that the world needs to come together to stand up to aggressors who are seeking to limit the bounds of freedom and democracy. However, she did not mention any specific countries. Discussions at the meeting were focused on Russia
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Qatar on Wednesday, marking his first visit to the country after the two sides severed ties four years ago. For the uninitiated, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar in June 2017, saying the country backed radical Islamist groups and was a close ally of Riyadh's rival Tehran. Doha had denied all these allegations but the neighbouring states sealed their airspace to Qatari flights, shuttered Qatar's only land border and also expelled Qatari citizens. The relations were restored in January aft
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are suing Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook, for over $150 billion over allegations that the social media platform did not take action against anti-Rohingya hate speech that led to violence. The complaint filed in California by law firms Edelson PC and Fields PLLC, states that the company's failures to police content and its platform's design contributed to the violence faced by the Rohingya community. British lawyers have also submitted a letter of notice to Facebook's London office. A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that they are shock
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be making a work trip to Indonesia and Malaysia next week as the Biden administration ramps up engagement in Southeast Asia. Blinken is the third and most senior U.S. official to visit the region in two months. He will visit Jakarta on December 13-14, and Malaysia on December 14-15. The trip to Malaysia will be his first-ever. When in Indonesia, Blinken is due to deliver a speech on health, investment, and infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. He will also participate virtually in the Bali Democracy Forum on December 9. Commerce Secretary Gina Raim
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India today (Monday, December 7) to strengthen the military and energy ties with the country. This will be the only second work trip for Putin since the outbreak of Covid19 - he skipped both the G20 and COP26 summits this year. "The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time," Modi told Putin at a virtual summit in September. "You have always been a great friend of India." Due to Russia’s friendliness with China, and India’s good terms with the US, it has been speculated that the relation between India and Russia could