The Indian industry is paranoid about the USA's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs and wants early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement, sources said on Wednesday. They said that the talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement are going well.
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.
The impact of United States President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is not yet known and New Delhi's strategy to deal with the situation is to firm up a bilateral trade pact with Washington, DC by fall of this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with his global counterparts on the margins of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, with discussions focusing on a range of issues such as trade, investment, counter-terrorism and global challenges.
India on Wednesday outright rejected China's attempts to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such 'preposterous' attempts will not alter the 'undeniable' reality that the state 'was, is, and will' always remain an integral part of India.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced plans to visit India later this year. The announcement follows a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where they discussed potential collaborations in technology and innovation.
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held bilateral talks with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and chaired a conclave of top global intelligence chiefs focusing on strengthening cooperation in confronting various security challenges including terrorism and threats posed by emerging technologies. The meeting also focused on security in the Indo-Pacific region, cooperation to counter terror funding and money laundering, and issues relating to extradition and immigration.
India's trade with Nordic countries stands at over USD 5 billion (2020-21) and a cumulative FDI of over USD 3 billion (April 2000- March 2021).
India finalised a free trade agreement with the UK, its 16th so far as the country aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. The other regions and countries with which India has signed such agreements include the four-nation European bloc EFTA, Japan, Korea and Australia.
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.
Posing a series of questions to the prime minister, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked if Modi would convey to the US president that India would send its own aircraft -- like Venezuela and Colombia did -- to bring back Indian deportees in the future.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine of the US, Modi said for India, the relationship with China is significant.
Why India can't deny Pakistan entry to multi-lateral events on its soil
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
In the short run, the Trump presidency has already ensured one thing: The assumptions of the past can no longer guide the strategies of the future, points out Manish Dabhade.
Brendan Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, will pay a five-day visit to India beginning Tuesday, days before US President Donald Trump's tit-for-tat tariff kicks in. The senior US trade official is expected to hold talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal besides meeting a number of senior Indian officials.
India's measures announced against Pakistan on April 23 will remain effective, the sources said.
The problem in holding talks with Pakistan is not the language but finding a common vision for decency and peace, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday, stressing that New Delhi can engage in dialogue with Islamabad if it takes significant action against the infrastructure of terrorism that is visible everywhere in the country.
'Pakistan is no longer a front-burner issue for America.'
It won't be easy for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to remain fit and find a place in India's ODI World Cup squad in 2027, said former captain Sourav Ganguly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold bilateral talks on Wednesday on the margins of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit in Russia, in their first structured meeting since the eastern Ladakh border row erupted in May 2020.
While growth in India is largely domestic and hence the overall GDP effect may not be more than 0.15-0.2%, but overall trade will be impacted due to every country going back to the drawing board, points out Madan Sabnavis.
To those who ask, "Is all this really worth it? Why can't domestic demand fill the gap?", it is important to remind them that only 13 economies since the Second World War have grown at 7 per cent or more for 25 years -- like India needs to. They all had one thing in common: Strong export growth underpinned by strong global engagement, explains Sajjid Z Chinoy.
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
China has expressed its support for Russia's initiative to revive the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, emphasizing its importance for regional and global security and stability.
In a statement after a meeting between Trump and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir at the White House on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations -- the media wing of the Pakistan Army -- said they also discussed joint counterterrorism efforts.
'As far as I'm concerned, how effective the Rafale was or frankly, how effective other systems were -- to me, the proof of the pudding is the destroyed and disabled airfields on the Pakistani side'
India on Thursday welcomed Kabul's firm rejection of attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan during a phone conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that India-China relations have made positive strides and achieved a series of encouraging outcomes at all levels after last year's breakthrough ending the over four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Wang's remarks came during his annual press conference as he replied to a question on how Beijing views the course of bilateral ties after the two countries ended the prolonged stalemate in the ties.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Modi should take inspiration from former prime minister Indira Gandhi and stand up to the president of the United States.
Ajinkya Rahane is backing the flamboyant Yashasvi Jaiswal to shine on the tour of England thanks to his ability to perform multiple roles as opener.
India's major imports from the US include crude oil and petroleum products, gold and jewellery, plastics, aircraft, and electrical machinery and components. The key exports to the US comprise pharmaceuticals and biologicals, telecom equipment, precious and semi-precious stones, petroleum products, gold and precious metal jewellery, and ready-made garments.
India and the US have finalised the terms of reference outlining the roadmap for negotiations of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), according to a statement issued by the US. US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said that these ongoing talks will help achieve balance and reciprocity by opening new markets for American goods and addressing unfair practices that harm US workers.
'Looking at how quickly the hostilities were escalating, the nuclear threshold did not seem that far.'
The Foxconn move may have been prompted by the Chinese government's focus on strengthening its supply chain.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to visit Bangladesh next week for a foreign secretary-level meeting, amidst ongoing tensions between the two countries. The visit comes after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took power in Bangladesh, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister. The meeting will focus on a range of bilateral issues, including the potential extradition of Hasina and visa-related matters. Tensions between the two nations escalated further with the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh, leading to concerns from India regarding attacks on minorities in the country.
'The government is actively engaging with EU to ensure that concerns of Indian companies and hard-to-abate sectors are adequately addressed under CBAM'
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.
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
India and the US have agreed to work together to draft a comprehensive framework on defence cooperation, aimed at structuring the bilateral collaboration for the 2025-2035 period. The framework will cover multiple domains in land, air, maritime and space, and will focus on intelligence, logistics, operational and industrial engagement. The agreement comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to Washington, where he is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss boosting India-US cooperation in the areas of trade, energy and defence.
