Today, with China centrally seated and located, the Global South has an intriguing road ahead. Odds of it becoming a Chinese bloc in the emerging new bipolar world are higher than we'd wish them to be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Santo Domingo on his first official visit to the Dominican Republic, also said that India has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, and cooperation across the region.
Modi on the global stage always comes across as a statesman, counselling peace and amity to world leaders even as his policies at home hurt certain sections, explains Virendra Kapoor.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu will visit India to hold the inaugural '2+2' ministerial dialogue between the two countries on December 6, the Russian embassy has said.
AK-203 assault rifles, with an effective range of 300 meters, are lightweight, robust and easy to use modern assault rifles with proven technology.
Hours after United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew out of Taiwan, leaving the Indo-Pacific region in a state of some unrest, External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken held extensive talks ahead of the ASEAN meeting in Cambodia on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
'Countries around the world are like passengers aboard the same ship. For the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together'
The United States has made it clear to India that it is "discouraging" it from proceeding with its acquisition of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia but Washington will have to weigh "important geostrategic considerations" while taking a decision on growing calls for a presidential CAATSA waiver to New Delhi, President Joe Biden's nominee for Coordinator for Sanctions Policy has told lawmakers.
He said that "the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship, that's natural".
Beijing will be intently watching Washington's response for any hint of weakness. Xi Jinping, who feels China has a limited window of strategic opportunity, will be emboldened to take additional initiatives in the Indo-Pacific and specifically against India and Taiwan, warns Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
We very much hope that wisdom dawns on the Chinese side, Jaishankar said in Bangkok.
Prime Minister Modi will embark on his first state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in June.
Iran has offered to help India meet its energy needs by relaunching rupee-rial trade for export of oil and gas, said Iranian ambassador to India Ali Chegeni. Chegeni said if both the countries resume rupee-rial trade, bilateral trade can touch $30 billion. Iran used to be India's second largest oil supplier but New Delhi had to halt imports after the former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on its oil exports.
Washington is signalling to Delhi that it can rely on American support in any great game vis-a-vis China. Delhi shouldn't fall into the trap, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The visit next week, which is yet to be formally announced by Downing Street, follows the successful completion of four out of 26 chapters in the ongoing India-UK free trade agreement negotiations.
An India-Japan joint statement said the two leaders expressed serious concern over the conflict and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Blinken came days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a two-day visit to India.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be on a two-day official visit to India from Thursday, his first trip to the country since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last month.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
Ties with Pakistan and China which were on the centre stage of Indian diplomacy saw a "deterioration" in the year gone by, according to foreign policy experts who feel that the relationships are unlikely to see any forward movement in the new year.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Modi has the chance to break out of India's passive mode and firmly tell Russia that in this day and age, India will not support unilateral invasions, asserts Harishchandra Dighe.
Singh, who arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a three-day visit to attend a crucial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), pressed for expediting supply of a number of weapons systems, ammunition and spares to India by Russia under contracts which were concluded earlier.
'How do you stay so energised? So young?' 'Dev Anand flashed that familiar crooked grin and told me, "The mind never grows old. It urges you to surge ahead".'
Russia is among the top buyers of Indian tea, accounting for about 18 per cent of the industry's total exports.
"China has been promoting peace and stability in this region. We hope that Pakistan and India will maintain friendly relations," he told a media briefing in Beijing.
The two leaders discussed the Ukraine crisis and several regional and global issues including increasing trade relations and cooperation in the field of mitigating the impact of climate change during their bilateral talks at the Danish Prime Minister's official residence in Mareinborg near Copenhagen.
While many Western countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, are diplomatically boycotting the Winter Olympics over China's human rights record, Putin will join a number of Beijing-friendly leaders at the Games.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the rising threat of terrorism including from groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Speaking at a joint press appearance with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington, DC, Blinken said that the US tried everything possible to avert the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy.
The Americans have expended a lot of diplomatic energy to coax India into toeing their line but India has refused to buckle under pressure. As Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, India has not taken anyone's side but its own side, points out Virendra Kapoor.
"The deal is being implemented. We witnessed attempts on the part of the US to undermine this cooperation and make India obey the American orders to follow the American vision of how this region should be developed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Macron held a tete-a-tete with Modi before the delegation-level talks at the Elysee Palace - the official residence of the French president.
China is expanding its nuclear force and is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said in a report that notes that Beijing aims to expand its national power through both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.
China, which has territorial disputes with many countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, has been opposing the Quad alliance since its formation.
Newly-elected Conservative Party leader and prime minister in waiting Liz Truss is among the senior British politicians known for championing deeper India-UK strategic and economic ties, describing them as a "sweet spot" of global trade dynamics.
The Reserve Bank is working with the government to thrash out a payment settlement solution for Indo-Russian trade, which is hit by the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow after it invaded Ukraine, but asserted that any such solution will be 'sensitive' to the prevailing economic blockade, the central bank said. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das was quick to add that it is a matter that the government has to deal with first, and as far as the central bank is concerned, obviously, we will not do anything which goes against the sanctions. RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said since the Ukraine war has disrupted trade and payments, we are discussing with all stakeholders, and at the same time, we are sensitive to the economic sanctions.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Moscow for home on Saturday after concluding a three-day visit during which he attended the 12th annual Indo-Russian summit and witnessed the inking of five agreements, including one for technical assistance in joint production of 42 more frontline Sukhoi-MKI 30 jets. Dr Singh, who held talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, cleared the uncertainty over the Kudankulam nuclear power project on Friday.
Brinkmanship in the Taiwan Strait will not only be a recipe for disaster to both China and Taiwan, but also to international peace and stability, warns Rup Narayan Das.
The United States has not made a determination yet on any potential Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) waiver to India with regard to its purchase of S-400 missile defence system from Russia, the Biden Administration said Tuesday.
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