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
United States - Iranian talks on saving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal broke off until next week as European officials showed dismay at sweeping demands by Iran's new government. The seventh round of talks in Vienna is the first with delegates sent by Iran's anti-Western President Ebrahim Raisi on how to review the agreement under which Iran limited its nuclear program in exchange for aid from economic sanctions. After Raisi’s election in June, there was a five-month gap within the talks, which led to suspicions amongst US and European officers that Iran is taking part in for time while adva
Myanmar’s junta has protested the United Nations’ decision to deny its chosen representative a seat at the world body and keep in place an envoy appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government. Similarly, the representative chosen by the Taliban has also been ignored by the New York body. The committee responsible for approving nominations of ambassadors met on Wednesday but deferred a decision over the rival claims to Myanmar and Afghanistan’s seats. The deferral keeps in place envoys appointed by both the Myanmar and Afghanistan governments before they were ousted. Myanmar junt
On Wednesday, Russia and a few South-east Asian countries started their first ever joint naval exercise along the Strait of Malacca, which will continue till Saturday. All 10 members of ASEAN, South-east Asia's regional bloc, were a part of Wednesday's drills. While the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia took part as virtual observers, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia provided warships or aircraft. The ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to ASEAN Alexander Ivanov and Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobyeva. Russia's a