Japan and India signed a 5-point action agenda to increase bilateral trade and investment between the two nations.
India and Italy inked 15 pacts and finalised an ambitious action plan to further expand their ties following a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte that primarily focused on ramping up economic engagement.
The India-United States relationship is set to expand under the Donald Trump administration, but there could be some unease on issues like imports, tariffs and immigration, strategic affairs experts said after the Republican leader won the fiercely contested presidential election.
India and Russia on Thursday decided to expand cooperation in various sectors as they signed 16 pacts, including on joint manufacture of 226 military helicopters.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
Modi was honoured with the 'Order of Zayed', the UAE's highest civilian award, in 2019 as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.
During 2013-14, imports from Japan, South Korea and Malaysia stood at $9.49 billion, $12.47 billion and $9.21 billion respectively.
'India's manufacturing will take 10-15 years to catch up with China.'
China is on the lookout for investment pastures where its money is welcome, safe and earns a decent return. India also needs vast investment - about $1 trillion over the next 10-15 years - in infrastructure, green energy, transportation and heavy industry, says Ravi Bhoothalingam.
India seeks to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he embarked on a high-profile visit to Russia to hold summit talks with President Vladimir Putin amid the conflict in Ukraine.
He urged China to bolster the flow of its tourists to the Maldives.
Indian exporters shipping goods to Israel may face higher insurance premiums and shipping costs due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to experts. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack by air, land and sea by the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. The International trade experts said the conflict may reduce the profits of domestic exporters but will not impact trade volumes unless war escalates.
The PM held bilateral meetings with three ASEAN leaders, including his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and discussed key bilateral and regional issues.
India will look to play a key role in the APEC, EU and Africa regions to increase its competitiveness.
The government is confident of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the nominal GDP target of 10.5 per cent despite pressure in the initial months of FY24, Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth told Business Standard. Normally the initial months of any financial year see proportionally a higher fiscal deficit because the expenditure is evenly paced while revenue picks up in the later months, he said. "This year the proportional fiscal deficit so far is much closer to the target than in most other years.
Prime minister likely to visit Beijing, Shanghai; also President Xi's home province, Shaanxi. Nayanima Basu reports
"I think very soon. We are doing very well. (US Trade Representative) Robert Lighthizer who is right here negotiating with India... I think, very soon we will have a trade deal," Trump told reporters when asked if there is any trade deal is expected between India and the US.
"There has been one meeting (on this). It is a matter of setting up the governance structures. Now ball is in the court of the Indian side to finalise the governance of the setting up of the fund. We are ready for it," the UAE ambassador Dr Ahmed Al Banna said.
'Disengagement is merely the first step in a lengthy process of arriving at a new normal along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and the entire land boundary.' 'The Indian government should insist on the restoration of the status quo ante in Eastern Ladakh.'
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the strategic Indo-Pacific region and standing up to competitors with "robust pragmatism". Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet on Monday evening, the British Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" far removed from the so-called "golden era" with China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are no longer working towards a Diwali deadline though negotiations are progressing well, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said as New Delhi expressed confidence on Friday of an "early date" for a mutually beneficial deal. "There are ongoing negotiations as we know on the FTA. There is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal, an FTA, that is beneficial to both the countries at an early date," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi. It came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, and referenced the Roadmap 2030 bilateral agreement signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former UK PM Boris Johnson in May last year, with no specific reference to the FTA.
The agreement formalises the US Trade and Development Agency's programme with Indian public sector undertakings and cover activities like project preparation, trade capacity building, investment analysis and sectoral development.
Britain has finalised 1 billion pounds worth of new trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in the UK, to be signed off at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part of an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will set the ambition to double the value of UK-India trade by 2030 and declare a shared intent to begin work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer," Johnson said.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for the release of eight Indian nationals, who were sentenced to death after being arrested in Doha in August 2022.
China and India have approached trade negotiations very differently: the former with confidence, the latter in a defensive crouch, says T N Ninan.
The matter came up for discussion during their wide-ranging dialogue that was aimed at expanding overall ties.
These concrete steps should include measures to address any number of pressing concerns, including prohibitively high tariffs and discriminatory forced localization requirements that are blocking US exports of a wide range of products.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce
Exports had recovered in November to grow at 0.59 per cent from a 12 per cent contraction in October.
Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India in November last year, Chidambaram said that India and Canada have longstanding bilateral relations, built upon shared traditions of democracy, pluralism and strong interpersonal connections with an Indian diaspora of more than one million in Canada.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The success of the Bali Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in the first week of December in 2013 will mean that in 2014 countries will identify areas for early conclusion so that within the next two years, the Doha Agenda of the WTO -- which has remained in a limbo for long -- can be concluded.
The Commerce Ministry earlier this week commissioned a study to assess the impact of free trade agreement with South Korea, with which India had a trade deficit of about $9 billion in 2012-13.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key sectors like trade and investment, hydropower and agriculture.
India, the US and 12 other members of the IPEF grouping have signed a supply chain resilience agreement that would help mitigate risks of economic disruptions from supply chain shocks and improve crisis coordination. The agreement would help member countries like India to reduce their dependence on China and provide timely information to the IPEF member countries about potential supply disruptions. The COVID outbreak severely disrupted the global supply chain, as most countries were dependent on China for various products like pharma raw materials.