In first high-level engagement between India and Russia after National Democratic Alliance government came to power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry O Rogozin on Wednesday held extensive talks on crucial bilateral issues including trade and energy security.
Unsatisfied by the minister's reply during the Question Hour, the Congress members including former prime minister Manmohan Singh staged a walkout.
According to the details provided by Muraleedharan, the prime minister made five visits each to the United States, Russia and China, and multiple trips to some other countries like Singapore, Germany, France, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said the challenges of terrorism and nuclear proliferation were inter-connected and 'alarming aspect' was the linkages that radical terror groups have forged with 'a few nuclear scientists'.
Even though India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Obama Administration said on Wednesday that New Delhi had a key role to play in strengthening of global nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Following the recent declassification of 70,000 files, the ministry of external affairs is in the process of finalising a major project to declassify another set of 220,000 files-records covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka, East Asia, Eurasia and the Americas
China's state media on Tuesday defended Pakistan's nuclear record, saying it was A Q Khan who was responsible for atomic proliferation which was not backed by the government and argued that any exemption to India for Nuclear Suppliers Group entry should also be given to Pakistan.
The Biden administration is quietly pressing Pakistan to cooperate on combating dreaded terrorist groups such as the ISIS-K and Al Qaeda following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to a set of leaked documents and diplomatic cables to a prominent US media outlet.
Yashwant Sinha, who served as finance minister and external affairs minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, salutes Atalji.
Notwithstanding the resolution of G-8 countries on curbing transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology, India on Thursday asserted that it was proceeding with bilateral civil nuclear deals with various countries on the basis of 'clean waiver' granted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
The Text of the 123 Agreement was approved in a joint meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The BRICS also called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism including countering radicalisation and blocking terror financing sources.
A series of recent scandals engulfing officials working on the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Games
"The speculation doing the rounds in media regarding China's protest over NSG membership to India is not true," he said on the sidelines of a function at Balia in Uttar Pradesh.
On June 12, history was made when United States President Donald Trump shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and had extensive talks at Capella Hotel in Singapore. However, this meet has come after several twists and turns. Following is the chronology of key events leading to a historic summit between the two leaders.
Official sources said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the 'agendaless' talks
The decision to speak to the political convention in pre-recorded remarks from Jerusalem breaks with the longstanding precedent of sitting secretaries of state avoiding partisan politics and appears to violate guidance on political activities that Pompeo himself emphasised in a cable to diplomats just last month.
'The killings are a worrisome escalation of tensions, but little is known about the immediate causes or results of the fight in Galwan and it is not possible, at this point, to assign blame'
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday dismissed his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Asif's statement on use of nuclear weapons.
President Kovind, who arrived in Dhaka earlier in the day on his maiden State visit at the invitation of his counterpart M Abdul Hamid to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, held delegation-level talks with him which was followed by a banquet.
On his first visit to Washington after taking over as foreign secretary, Menon on Wednesday had a three-hour-long discussion with Burns, who is the key negotiator for the nuclear deal.
Two young South Asian Americansan Indian American and a Pakistani Americanwho are rising stars in the United States strategic affairs community, were the featured panelists on the discussion of Nuclear Risk Reduction in South Asia after Mumbai at the 2011 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building Convention Center.
"What is required is to convince the NSG of the non-proliferation benefits of the deal," Stratford, director at the Office of Nuclear Energy Affairs in the US State Department, said.
Pakistan should also be accorded the same 'privilege', the Global Times said.
World leaders said they were looking forward to working with Joe Biden, as they welcomed the 46th President of the United States with praise and took parting shots at his predecessor Donald Trump.
While denying, along with the non-proliferation lobby in the United States, that it conspired to deliberately release this correspondence on the eve of the NSG meeting to scuttle the US-India deal as administration and diplomatic sources had contended, Berman's office and Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which has been in the forefront of opposing the agreement, said the fault lay with the Bush administration and the Manmohan Singh government
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh told the international community to correct the nuclear imbalance.
The ex-foreign secy was the government's pointsman for China and the US.
India has received a positive response from the Non-Aligned Movement countries, which are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group on the Indo-US nuclear deal after it briefed them on the safeguards agreement, which the global nuclear watchdog will consider on Friday.
The 10-member ASEAN described the Indo-US nuclear deal as an extremely positive step, hoping that the two countries would be able to conclude the pact soon.
The US president lauded the announcement on Twitter, writing "Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!"
The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and the go-ahead for atomic commerce obtained by India from the NSG will help address world's shared interests in energy security and climate change, Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday advised the United States to leave the issue of Iran's nuclear programme to the International Atomic Energy Agency and not take up the responsibility of deciding Iran's position."Iran should convince the IAEA that their nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. We are advising Iran that being a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, you should satisfy the IAEA."
'India needs to closely monitor the discussions at the UNSC and make counter-measures as this touches its core interests', points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
His remarks without naming any country came against the backdrop of tension between India and Pakistan after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Even before the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement gets a nod from the Nuclear Supplier's Group, a hint of the US Congressional opposition has surfaced, in the form of a salvo fired by Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.Berman, a California Democrat, was the author of several 'killer amendments' to the enabling Hyde Act when it was debated and voted on the floor in 2006, all of which were defeated.
'He always had a choice to resign and walk toward the sunset in protest.' 'Instead, he chose to be a mute witness to one of the most sordid chapters of India's parliamentary history when MPs were bought up like cattle to steer the nuclear deal through,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi's visit to Bahrain is significant as it will be the first visit of an Indian prime minister to the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagements in the US on Thursday by meeting with leading American CEOs from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
