The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Richard Verma, the highest-ranking Indian-American official in the State Department, has expressed optimism about the future of US-India ties and emphasized the need to base the relationship on shared values rather than mere transactional dealings. Verma, who previously served as America's Ambassador to India, stressed the importance of the Quad in defending the international order, highlighting its shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president and a champion of peace and human rights, has died at the age of 100. Carter, who was known for his work with the Carter Center, promoting democracy and conflict resolution, was also a close friend of India. He visited the country in 1978, forging a lasting relationship between the two nations.
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
India and Australia would now implement the free trade agreement on a mutually agreed date as the Australian Parliament on Tuesday approved the pact between the two countries. "BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a tweet. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) needed ratification by the Australian parliament before its implementation.
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Bari during which they discussed defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration.
'With India's growing capabilities in the space sector, this creates promising opportunities for enhanced collaboration and market access.'
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
India, President of the G20, will host global leaders for the Summit scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.
'Trump has no more elections to fight and his soaring ambition, which is no secret, will be to carve out a presidential legacy that outshines by far all his mediocre predecessors.' 'Trump's turnaround on the H-1B visa debate shows that he can take tough decisions and there are no holy cows in his domain,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Barring a few, such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (74), Union Minister C R Patil (69) and Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna (71), most other ministers attending the WEF represent the next generation of India's politicians.
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".
It would be a challenge to India's policy makers how to deal with Trump so that mutual economic growth remains sustained and mutual understanding on global issues are not hampered, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong urged that the government should launch a crackdown against all anti-China terrorist groups after two deadly attacks took place in Pakistan within only six months, The Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan's deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is in China on a four-day visit, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chaired the fifth round of the foreign minister-level China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
'Unsurprisingly, Trump shared Modi's podcast with Fridman on his Truth account.' 'The intentions of Trump, a transactional president, are never easy to tell.' 'We will know in the next fortnight if and when he unfolds reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, whether Modi's flattering words made any significant difference to Trump's compass,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
Besides India and China, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has projected weak growth for Brazil and Russia as well.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat stressed the importance of respecting differences and fostering cohesion in a diverse society while addressing the Republic Day celebrations in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. He also emphasized the values of equality, freedom, and fraternity, highlighting the significance of the 'dhammachakra' on the national flag as a symbol of these principles. Bhagwat urged the younger generation to strive for greatness and use their success for the betterment of the country, highlighting the need for selfless contribution and the collective responsibility of the people in shaping the nation's future.
Although most of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian, many Serbs consider it their native homeland and a cradle of their culture. Some 13,000 people were killed in the 1998-1999 war, sparked by clashes between the forces of the rump Yugoslav state -- Serbia and Montenegro -- and Kosovo separatists. The conflict ended when NATO carried out an air campaign against Serbia.
Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
'Given China's past behaviour and their territorial claims, should we be sceptical regarding China's willingness to adhere to these agreements fully? The answer is yes.' 'As Ronald Reagan famously said in the context of the SALT talks, 'Trust, but verify!' India should also do the same.' 'This has already begun with foot patrolling, drones, satellite imagery and so on. India's military deployment did mirror China's and will continue to do so in the future.'
Leaders from the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation on Tuesday vowed to jointly combat the growing threat of terrorism, transnational crimes and drug trafficking and agreed to intensify efforts to enhance connectivity and cooperation in areas like trade, energy and environment.
Newly appointed Ambassador of the United States (US) to India Eric Garcetti visited Mumbai on Tuesday and met Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan at the actor's residence 'Mannat', besides offering prayers at Mumbadevi Temple and Jama Masjid.
Shringla began his two-day official visit to Nepal on Thursday. He was accorded a warm welcome on his maiden visit to Nepal which is happening at the invitation of Nepal Foreign Secretary Paudyal, amid a strain in bilateral ties following a bitter border row between the two countries.
During their talks, the two leaders decided to significantly expand their ties in several key areas including defence, trade, energy and education.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
Better protection for depositors and investors was one of the chief considerations in Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introducing, on Friday, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha to amend four pieces of legislation. This amendment is also to improve audit quality in public-sector banks (PSBs), offer consistency in reporting by banks to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and provide for an increase in the tenure of directors in cooperative banks.
'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 United States-China Summit meeting concluded at a sprawling mansion in Woodside, California with Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreeing to work towards ensuring that the differences between the two countries remain manageable and the relations do not derail.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, urged India to use 'all its capacities' to end the Israeli actions in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $1 million ad-hoc grant for the operational budget for the BIMSTEC secretariat and another $3 million assistance to revive the grouping's centre for weather and climate.
China on Tuesday inked an agreement worth a whopping USD 4.8 billion with cash-strapped Pakistan to set up a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant as a sign of increasing strategic cooperation between the two all-weather allies.
Russia's state-owned oil firm Rosneft has agreed to supply up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to Indian upstream oil and gas major Reliance Industries (RIL) in the largest-ever energy deal between the two countries, Reuters reported on Thursday. The 10-year agreement amounts to 0.5 per cent of global oil supply and is valued at roughly $13 billion per year at current prices, it said.
Jaishankar also met his Iranian counterpart H Amirabdollahian and held productive discussions on bilateral economic cooperation, Afghanistan and the joint comprehensive plan of action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
