India and Germany on Thursday began their 2nd round of Inter-Governmental Consultations during which crucial bilateral, international and regional issues like the long pending India-EU Free Trade Agreement and the situation in Afghanistan would be discussed.
US President Donald Trump described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 'a Great One', while Russia hailed him as the 'doyen of all Indian prime ministers' as world leaders congratulated him on becoming India's longest continuously serving elected representative at the top post.
In their talks, Modi and Merz are likely to deliberate on trade and investment ties as New Delhi is looking at deepening economic engagement with Europe against the backdrop of Washington's 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, people familiar with the matter said.
India and Germany will hold their first inter-governmental consultations at the cabinet-level when Chancellor Angela Merkel visits New Delhi on Tuesday on an invitation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The leaders also noted the "negative impacts" of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least-developed countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Berlin on Monday on the first leg of his three-nation Europe trip during which he will hold detailed bilateral discussions with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and co-chair the India-Germany inter-governmental consultations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called for India and Russia to adopt a creative and innovative approach to address complex geopolitical challenges, emphasizing diversification and expansion of cooperation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on stepping up bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas with a special emphasis on ramping up trade and investment when global slowdown is emerging as a major concern.
The enduring relationship between the two countries have survived the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the regime change in both countries, points out Rup Narayan Das.
The countries will do joint research in higher education.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit India in October for an inter-governmental consultation
Merkel expected to hear from Prime Minister Modi plans for Jammu and Kashmir during their 'restricted meeting'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she arrived here on a three-day visit, saying he looked forward to strengthening the bilateral ties.
Dream11, Baazi Games, Zupee and WinZO among others are invited for the discussion with the anti-money laundering watchdog.
Modi is attending the G7 summit following an invitation by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the partnership between India and Germany could serve as an example of success in a complex world as the two sides inked several agreements focused on sustainable development under which India would receive USD 10.5 billion assistance by 2030 to boost the use of clean energy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-day visit to Germany, Denmark and France from May 2 to 4 to further expand bilateral ties in diverse areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and they reviewed the full range of bilateral ties, including giving an impetus to trade as well as cultural linkages.
In a statement, Modi said he will be visiting Berlin on May 2 at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following which he will travel to Copenhagen on May 3-4 at the invitation of his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen to hold bilateral engagements and also participate in the Second India-Nordic Summit.
Merkel will co-chair the 5th IGC with Prime Minister Modi following which the two leaders will make press statements and a raft of agreements will be signed between the two sides.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a tour of three European nations, India on Sunday once again called for the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, noting that was an appreciation of its position on the crisis by its partner countries.
Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova has conveyed to her Indian interlocutors Kyiv's desire to build a stronger and closer relationship with New Delhi.
India believes no country would emerge victorious in the Russia-Ukraine war as all will suffer losses and there will be a "more serious" impact on developing and poor countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as both leaders reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
Pakistan was put in the inglorious list in 2018 for its failure to check risk of money laundering, leading to corruption and terror financing.
Four out of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have supported India's candidature for a permanent seat in the top world body, the government told the Lok Sabha on Friday.
PM indirectly referred to North Korea's proliferation linkages with Pakistan.
The prime minister said that India has invited Germany to take advantage of opportunities in defence production in the defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Severe heatwaves, responsible for thousands of deaths across India over the last few decades, are increasing with alarming frequency and soon the country could become one of the first places in the world to experience heatwaves that break the human survivability limit, according to a new report.
India is among 35 United Nations member states that are preparing a draft, which could form the basis for starting inter-governmental negotiations on the reforms of the powerful Security Council including its expansion, diplomats said. The group, which is consulting wider membership as it finetunes the draft, aims to break the logjam in the open-ended working group, which has been discussing the issue since 1994 without achieving any breakthrough.
Pakistan will also engage an international consultancy firm to conduct a feasibility study on its section of the project. The firm will carry out a feasibility study within Pakistan's borders and submit a report by the first quarter of next year, Dawn News channel reported on Thursday. Pakistan and Iran recently held two-day technical-level talks here on the gas purchase agreement and other legal aspects of the project.
Significantly, for the first time, the FATF put Myanmar in the "high risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action", often referred to as the watchdog's black list.
Pakistan has been on the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.
Pak FM Qureshi informed Parliament that he requested the OIC to either rescind the invitation or postpone the session in view of the prevailing situation, neither of which was done.
Pakistan will remain on the 'grey list' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) until it further demonstrates that action is being taken against Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar who are listed as global terrorists by the United Nations, the global anti-money laundering and terror financing watchdog said on Thursday.
In his address to the high-level UN General Assembly session, Jaishankar said those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of United Nations-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
"The FATF plenary decided continuation of Pakistan in 'Grey List' till its next meeting to be held in October," an official privy to the development told PTI.
India has been maintaining that Pakistan extends regular support to terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, whose prime target is India, and has urged FATF to take action against Islamabad.
The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff for 73 days in Doklam.
The global agency said there are "serious deficiencies" on the part of the country in checking terror-financing and it lacks an effective system to deal with it.
