'Both sides had candid and in-depth discussions over easing the current border situation and reached positive common understandings,' it said. 'Both sides welcomed the progress achieved in the recent military and diplomatic meetings, agreed to stay in dialogue and consultation, and stressed the importance to promptly act on the consensus reached in the commander-level talks between Chinese and Indian border troops, and complete disengagement of the front-line troops as soon as possible,' it said.
Britain has finalised 1 billion pounds worth of new trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in the UK, to be signed off at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part of an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will set the ambition to double the value of UK-India trade by 2030 and declare a shared intent to begin work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer," Johnson said.
India is already importing 80 per cent of oil and 25 per cent its gas requirements.
The Taliban have the ISIS in its crosshairs. The Taliban has shown the skill to assimilate extremist elements if they are reconcilable as well as the ruthlessness to eliminate troublemakers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pak-US ties are sliding down the hill due to difference over handling of peace issue in Afghanistan and US' growing defence tie with India.
'Both Doval and Jaishankar are savvy enough to know what is good for them and won't want to meet the fate of Icarus in Greek mythology,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Amid the Sikkim standoff, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday held talks with his Chinese Counterpart and State Councillor Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meeting.
India on Tuesday assured that its assistance was neither "transitory" nor in "transition" to Afghanistan, which said it was looking forward to increasing training and capacity building of its security forces apart from equipping them with Indian help. The two countries also set in motion the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, inked last year during Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Delhi, by launching the Partnership Council.
It is difficult to recall an Indian minister in modern times pushing back at the US publicly, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"As far as the US is concerned, we have certainly reached a level of no return. In other words, we have developed today what we call a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. "We are cooperating across the board on areas that are of mutual interest to both our countries," said Shringla.
Sources said India will not lower its guard and will maintain the current state of very high-level of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh till there are visible changes in the ground situation.
Both leaders also exchanged views on the situations in South Asia, an official Chinese statement said about the meeting between Xi and Khan.
Independent directors of Future Retail Ltd are collating information and will expose the details of contradiction and misrepresentation made by Amazon before the Competition Commission of India (CCI), said FRL independent director Ravindra Dhariwal. Speaking to PTI, Dhariwal said the independent directors are "collating" all the pieces of information together, going "deeper into each and every representation" which Amazon had made before the CCI and showing how its "intent was totally contradictory." "We are going out to point exactly to CCI, this is what they have told you and this is what the internal documents are saying. "We are going to expose the details of contradiction and details of misrepresentation, which they have made," Dhariwal said adding "We are going to show the true face of Amazon to the whole world". In November 2019, Amazon had acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL), a company that holds a stake in FRL.
For all of the euphoria by both sides over the third US-India strategic dialogue in Washington, DC last month that was co-chaired by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, and the several collaborations announced in various areas and agreements initialed, when it comes to the totalisation agreement where over $1 billion has been contributed each year by Indian temporary workers in the US as social security payments over decades that h
'There is a clear plan being followed by the Indian government.' With these attacks, we are trying to dispel the myth that the Pakistani army can cause problems.'
As US President Joe Biden launched a new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations, including India, to enhance trade, economic and investment opportunities, China, which sees the pact as a threat to its dominance in the region, went on the offensive against it, promising more opening up, while the official media here termed it as "economic Nato".
'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.
The stagnation in US-Russia relations does not augur well for New Delhi's strategic interests, says Harsh V Pant and Raj Kumar Sharma.
The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff for 73 days in Doklam.
'China might soon have to seriously consider whether it prefers an Indo-US hyphenation to a Sino-Indian one.'
'The Modi government will do well to thrash out a national consensus before taking the leap and put itself in America's pouch,' says Rajeev Sharma.
US-India defence cooperation must not adversely affect the India-Russia interface, which has its own strategic meaning and content, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China, both members of the influential bloc.
During his talks and public speeches, Mukherjee urged Japan to look at India's "impeccable" non-proliferation record and back the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting.
This will be the fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014.
Pompeo said that the United States was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Mukherjee.
Terrorists are hiding in villages close to the "vulnerable" Pathankot airbase, which can come under fresh attack from them, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs said on Tuesday.
The talks between S M Krishna and Hillary Clinton covered important bilateral issues like Afghanistan, nuclear waiver, defence purchases, terrorism, cyber security and US demands for market access, particularly in insurance and retail trading. Sheela Bhatt reports.
A framework agreement on Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) is expected to be signed between the two sides during the visit.
Fair, who is a senior Fellow with the Counterterrorism Centre at West Point, said all of Pakistan's strategic and security threat perceptions have always centered around India and all of the military aid and weapons systems it has received from the US has been to beef up its arsenal vis-a-vis New Delhi.
During the visit, the prime ministers will reaffirm the close friendship between the two countries, and discuss ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
'A veiled secret of India's defence and strategic culture is the lack of a serious interest in them by the political class. The Indian National Defence University would fill this void,' feels Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
What goes behind the scenes for an American President's visit?
It is the first visit abroad by a senior Union minister in four months as foreign travels were restricted in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
'India has ramped up infrastructure on its side, so the Chinese military is finding Indian soldiers in locations where they are not used to seeing an Indian footprint,' points out Harsh V Pant.
On a two-day official visit to India, she is accompanied by 25-member delegation including top security officials in the US Administration and will hold talks with her counterpart External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on a host of key bilateral, regional and international issues.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in New Delhi on Monday to attend the second round of Indo-US strategic dialogue on Tuesday during which a host of key bilateral, regional and international issues including situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and security cooperation in the backdrop of recent Mumbai blasts will be discussed.
"No other relationship of India has as many layers as our relations with China. We are the world's two most populous countries and among the fastest growing major economies. Our cooperation is expanding," he said.
