India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated that the US administration under President Donald Trump is moving towards multipolarity, which aligns with India's interests. He also revealed that India and the US have reached an agreement on the need for a bilateral trade pact. Jaishankar touched upon various foreign policy issues including India's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the trajectory of the BRICS grouping, and relations with China during a session at the Chatham House think-tank in London.
His comments came hours after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the Pakistani capital to attend the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
"From President Trump's perspective, the one big shared enterprise that we have is the Quad, which is an understanding where everybody pays their fair share. There are no free riders involved. So that's a good model which works," he said. The Quad alliance consists of the US, India, Australia and Japan.
India on Thursday said it expects the United States to consider visa applications of Indian students on merit amid growing concerns over the Trump administration halting new student visa interviews.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Taranjit Singh Sandhu were colleagues at the ministry for external affairs for many years.
A Belgian court has declined the bail plea of Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by 'appropriately' managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China's tariff war with the United States escalated.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, will resume on June 30 after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The yatra will be conducted in five groups of 50 people each, with the first group entering China via Lipulekh Pass on July 10 and the last group departing on August 22. The pilgrimage, which holds great religious significance for Hindus, involves circumambulating Mount Kailash and taking a bath in Lake Manasarovar, believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
'As one former Indian diplomat put it to me, Delhi has access to the White House, but Islamabad has access to Mar-a-Lago.'
A UN Security Council report states that The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack and published a photograph of the attack site. The report also cites assertions that the attack could not have happened without the support of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
Enforcement Directorate officials said on Friday they are probing a 'complex network' of agents and facilitators in India, Canada and the US who help Indians illegally enter the US via 'bogus' admissions in Canadian colleges.
