A broad consensus has been achieved by India and China on restoring the 'ground situation' along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) pursuant to talks, including for patrolling and grazing cattle in the traditional areas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.
Condolences have poured in from across the globe, including from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
India and China have agreed to work towards a "roadmap" for rebuilding mutual trust following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, according to a statement from the Indian Defence Ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of a regional security conclave. Singh called for drawing lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020 and emphasized the need for cooperation rather than conflict. Both sides agreed to work towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, and a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.
During his just-concluded visit to China, Muizzu, regarded as a pro-China leader, sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing and both countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
While India's High Commissioner Bisaria is in Islamabad, his Pakistani counterpart Moin-ul-Haq is yet to take charge in New Delhi.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated that peace and tranquility in border areas are essential for the development of bilateral ties with China. He said India will be discussing de-escalation and effective management of activities in border areas with China in the coming days, following the completion of troop disengagement in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar emphasized the importance of respecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC), maintaining the status quo, and adhering to past agreements. The disengagement phase allows for discussions on other aspects of bilateral engagement, with national security interests prioritized. However, the statement sparked an uproar in the Rajya Sabha, with Opposition MPs demanding clarifications that were disallowed by the Chair, leading to a walkout.
India and the Maldives on Friday agreed to set up a core group to further deepen their partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 'productive' meeting with newly-elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and discussed ways to enhance the bilateral friendship across diverse sectors.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just about 4 km from the international border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
India on Saturday announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and set up a nuclear energy mission, a move that came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the United States.
'April 9 announcement of slapping a 125% tariff on Chinese goods has brought the focus back to China, making this new phase feel like a repeat of the original conflict.'
'International cricket is incomplete without Pakistan.'
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his country's soil will not be used against India's interests, addressing concerns over China's growing influence in Colombo. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including a defense cooperation agreement, energy ties, and debt restructuring. They also agreed to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and to adopt a "humanitarian approach" to the fishermen issue.
Domestic exporters on Monday expressed concerns over the crisis in Bangladesh and said the developments in the neighbouring country would have implications on bilateral trade. However, exporters expect that the situation may normalise soon. According to exporters, they are already facing disruptions in exports to Bangladesh due to a shortage of foreign exchange in that country.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to look into India's concerns over compliance to rules related to the import of silver products, platinum alloy and dry dates, the commerce department said on Tuesday. During a joint committee meeting under the India-UAE trade deal, officials from New Delhi raised concerns over the recent surge in imports of these products. These were being shipped to India, taking advantage of the lower tariffs under the pact.
With the new government taking charge in Britain, senior officials of India and the UK will hold the next round of talks this month for the proposed free trade agreement to resolve the pending issues and close the negotiations, an official said. The India-UK talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
'Tensions and dialogue are likely to go hand-in-hand with China.' 'The goal should be to cultivate power so that one can negotiate from a position of strength.'
Dar also said Pakistan views Russia as an important player in the West, South and Central Asia, and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia remains an important priority for Pakistan's foreign policy.
The Income-Tax Department on Sunday cautioned taxpayers that failure to disclose assets held abroad or income earned in foreign shores in the ITR can attract a penalty of Rs 10 lakh under the anti-black money law. The department issued a public advisory as part a compliance-cum-awareness campaign launched recently by it on Saturday to ensure that such information is reported by the assessee in their Income Tax Return (ITR) for assessment year (AY) 2024-25.
The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
In his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan, Xi said that China-India relations are essentially a question of how the two large developing countries and neighbours, each with a 1.4-billion-strong population, treat each other, it added.
The deadlock over the hosting of next year's Champions Trophy ended on Thursday when the ICC announced that India will play its matches of the 50-over showpiece at a neutral venue instead of host country Pakistan, which will have a similar arrangement for tournaments to be held in India till 2027.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden will have a substantive engagement on the sidelines of the Quad summit on Saturday, and the two sides will sign at least two agreements following the talks.
Describing the comments as "uncalled for", he said that the ruling party has these "extreme elements" who are calling for India out.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
"We are waiting for our good friend Modi and best regards to him," the Russian media quoted Putin as saying in the meeting with Doval.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
Alamgir said that even after the fall of the Hasina government following a people's uprising, the 'Indian establishment is yet to reach out to BNP, even though China, the US, the UK, and Pakistan have already done so.'
Banerjee stressed she wished for harmony, fraternal ties and cordial relationship to remain between all communities living in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider an announcement of India's intention to join one or both of the two Asian mega-regional free trade agreements, suggests Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
'Once we deal with the disengagement, there is the larger issue as both of us have brought a very large number of troops up to the border.' 'So there is what we call the de-escalation issue, and then there is the larger, the next step is really, how do you deal with the rest of the relationship?'
There was no visible forward movement in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points as the Chinese side did not show flexibility in their approach on it at the 11th round of military talks.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply concerned by the war in Ukraine and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York demonstrates his commitment to finding a way forward and contributing in any way possible to a resolution of the conflict, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
