The Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, will visit India on April 8-9, during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and participate in a business roundtable seeking to bolster India-United Arab Emirates ties.
With United States President Donald Trump reiterating his claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the Congress on Wednesday asked what do the 'typically loquacious' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have to say about this revelation and did they 'mortgage' India's security interests in the face of US 'pressure'.
The sources said Misri reiterated the government's stand that the decision to stop military actions was taken at a bilateral level, as some opposition members questioned US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions about his administration's role in stopping the conflict.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
The Finance Ministry's annual report has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in India during the 2023-24 fiscal year. The projects, implemented in partnership with the Indian government, cover areas like agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, health, sustainable forests, and climate adaptation. This disclosure comes amidst controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, with claims that the agency allocated USD 21 million to India for 'voter turnout'. However, the report clarifies that no funds were dedicated to enhancing voter turnout.
He went on to say that even though this has not been discussed, he is going to 'increase trade substantially with both of these great Nations.'
Dr Jaishankar, right, appears to look away from Wang Yi, second from right, at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 14, 2023.
Describing India as a voice of the 'Global South' (comprising about 125 countries), he said the countries of the Global South trust India to take up their cause and positions in the world.
'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised India's long-standing concerns about pro-Khalistan extremism in the United Kingdom during his meetings with the country's leaders, stressing that they should be on guard against the misuse of freedom of expression and speech.
In a move sending a strong signal to China, foreign ministers from Quad countries -- India, Australia, Japan and the United States -- in a joint statement on Tuesday strongly opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
An Indian Air Force C-130 J aircraft carrying 15 tonnes of relief material, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food packets, hygiene kits, generators, and essential medicines, landed in Yangon on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
When the country has been at war, the Opposition has buried its differences with the government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on both countries "not to escalate" the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. The US State Department said Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation" and telling them "not to escalate the situation."
US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha, the first Indian-American Second Lady, are set to visit India early next week. Vance will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. The visit comes amid global concerns over President Donald Trump's policy on tariffs. Vance's visit is likely to be more of a private trip though it will have official components.
India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
"If you have a reason to make such an allegation please share the evidence because we are not ruling out an investigation," Jaishankar, who is on a five-day official visit to the United Kingdom, said while responding to a question.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has assured the nation that India will respond strongly to the recent terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. He stated that India will not be intimidated by such acts and will take every necessary step to trace those responsible and those who conspired behind the scenes. Singh described the attack as "extremely inhuman" and reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
Pakistani military targets at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian were engaged using air-launched precision weapons from Indian fighter jets and the retaliation largely focused on command and control centres, radar sites and weapon storage areas, Qureshi said.
'It brings precarious peace because the red lines have shifted. 'The next Pahalgam attack would mean a full scale war.'
The external affairs minister said the SAARC is in trouble as one of its members has been supporting terrorism.
The external affairs minister also recalled how Pandit Nehru was hesitant in taking assistance from the United States following the 1962 war with China as he was unsure how it would be seen.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meeting that at least 100 terrorists were killed in the Indian strikes on terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under 'Operation Sindoor'. Leaders from various parties showed maturity and extended all support to the government and armed forces.
Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday expressed concern over the vandalism of a Hindu temple with anti-India graffiti in the United States, and said extremists and separatist forces outside India should not get such space.
Jaishankar said the US ambassador will say what he feels is the thinking or position of his government.
Vance is expected to be accompanied by at least five senior officials, including from the Pentagon and the State Department, the people cited above said.
Under the direction of the ministry of external affairs, the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts are being progressed in conjunction with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force, the defence ministry stated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in Washington on Thursday. US President Donald Trump has chosen Musk to head a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. Musk arrived at Blair House with his three young children, who were sitting with Musk when he met Modi. Earlier, Modi met US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. The meeting with Waltz was the first engagement of the day. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval were also present at the meeting. Modi arrived in the US capital Wednesday evening for a bilateral meeting with President Trump. After arriving at Blair House, the President's Guest House, Modi met the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Just hours before her meeting with Modi, Gabbard took the oath of office as the 8th Director of National Intelligence in the presence of Trump.
Hitting out at Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said it is necessary to call out things like violence, threats and intimidation against Indian diplomats and missions and wondered if this had happened to any other country would the world have taken it with equanimity.
'The lesson Beijing would have learned is that there is, cost-benefit wise, no better option than to keep the Pakistan military supplied with its most advanced armaments, certain that in hostilities with India these would be used for maximum effect.'
Assam is hosting over 60 ambassadors from various countries on a trip to showcase its potential. The ambassadors will visit Kaziranga National Park, witness a Jhumur dance performance, and attend a business summit. The state government aims to highlight the peaceful atmosphere and convince countries with negative travel advisories to withdraw them.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
Acutely conscious that he's left with less than four years to create his legacy, Trump is undoubtedly a man in a hurry, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a critical view of some of the key decisions made by the Jawaharlal Nehru government, and said one needs to get out of this "cult worship" that the period from 1946 onwards was "great years" and the country did "splendidly".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to take stock of the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The meeting also included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The attack, which killed at least 26 people, including tourists from the UAE and Nepal, has sparked nationwide shock and outrage.
India on Tuesday told the UN General Assembly that the days when a few nations set the agenda and expected others to fall in line are over, underlining that its presidency of the G20 sought to focus on key concerns of the many, not just the narrow interests of a few.
In a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre, India's armed forces early Wednesday destroyed nine terror sites including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) using deep strike missiles in a 25-minute-long 'measured and non-escalatory' mission.
The "weaponisation" of economic activity - through tariffs and sanctions - is now a reality, with countries leveraging these tools strategically, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Raisina Dialogue recently.
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