INDIA & THE WORLD BILATERAL AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 2016
- India-China discuss regional security situation
India and China on 27th September exchanged views on the international and regional security situation at the first meeting of the India-China High Level Dialogue on Counter-terrorism and Security in Beijing.
Both sides discussed ways to enhance security and cooperation to combat terror as officials from the two sides exchanged information on policies and legislation to deal with terrorism.
The meeting was co-chaired by R N Ravi, Chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee and Wang Yongqing, Secretary General of Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of China. The meeting gains significance since India's bid to get JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN may be renewed in October. India's attempts in March fell through with China vetoing the proposal. All other 14 members had supported India's bid.
Once on the sanctions list, Masood's assets would be frozen and he would also face a travel ban. Experts believe that unless China again seeks to block or veto the resolution, it could stand passed automatically, designating Azhar as a terrorist. - BRICS to boost education ties
The BRICS countries have pledged to develop an enabling framework to promote research cooperation and knowledge transfer among these countries in collaboration with other BRICS initiatives according to the HRD Ministry, India.
After a meeting of education ministers of the five countries, a ‘New Delhi Declaration of Education’ was issued on 30th September in which the nations decided to organise an annual conference of the BRICS Network University. The countries will “share the best practices available in BRICS countries on collaboration in education, research and innovation through the BRICS Network University organise an annual conference of the BRICS Network University in the country of the current BRICS Chair. - India, Sri Lanka sign MoU to set up training school in KandyIndia and Sri Lanka on 19thSeptember signed an MoU to set up a training school for traditional dance and culture at Buddhist holy city of Kandy in the island nation.
The MoU was signed in Colombo by Mr. Y.K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India and Mr. Wasantha Ekanayaka, Secretary, in the presence of Sarathie Dusmantha, Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana and Justice.
The project envisages grant of 12 crore Sri Lankan rupees to Sri Lankan government for establishing the school for preserving its centuries old dance and other art forms. Kandy is a holy Buddhist place in Sri Lanka known for its temple of Buddha’s tooth relic. An annual pageant is held in the temple which comprises of traditional dances, arts and crafts. - The Centre on 21st September gave its nod for signing and the ratification of Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Samoa, which is considered the world’s most secretive tax haven. Negotiations for entering into TIEA were finalised between India and Samoa in June 2016.
Green signal for tax information exchange agreement with Samoa
The agreement will stimulate the flow of exchange of information between India and Samoa for tax purposes, which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance, an official release said.
The proposed TIEA also provides for Mutual Agreement Procedure “for resolving any difference or for agreeing on procedures under the agreement”.
The concept of TIEA is a result of the work undertaken by Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to address harmful tax practices. An objective of the TIEA is to promote international co-operation in tax matters through exchange of information. The nature of this information varies from agreement to agreement. - India asks SAARC nations to strictly enforce sanctions against terrorist entities, individualsIndia has called upon the SAARC nations to strictly enforce internationally mandated sanctions against terrorist entities and individuals.
In his opening remarks at the second Meeting of the High Level Group of Eminent Experts to strengthen the SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism in New Delhi on 21st Setpember, Director of Intelligence Bureau, Dineshwar Sharma has called upon the member States to ratify and enable various Conventions enacted by the SAARC grouping, including the Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and mutual assistance in Criminal Matters.
Stating that terrorism has emerged as a big challenge for the entire world, Mr Sharma stressed the need for close cooperation and sharing of real-time intelligence. He said, countering financing of terrorism as one of the most important tools to fight the terror menace. - India, France ink deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth Rs 59,000 croreIndia and France on 23rdSeptember signed an around Rs 59,000 crore deal for Rafale fighter jets, equipped with latest missiles and weapon system besides multiple India-specific modifications.
The Inter Governmental Agreement was signed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his visiting French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian for 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly away condition.
Under the deal, there is a 50 per cent offset clause under which French industry will invest half of the contract value back in the country which is expected to develop some expertise domestically in the aerospace sector.
The features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometre. During the Kargil war, India had used a BVR having 50 kilometre range. The delivery of this aircraft will start in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.
Meanwhile, International French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation which manufactures Rafael aircraft has welcomed the acquisition of 36 Rafael aircraft by India.
In a release, the company said, the new contract illustrates the strategic relationship and the exemplary partnership maintained between India and France and marks the natural culmination of the relationship of trust initiated in 1953 when India became Dassault Aviation’s first export customer.
It said, this further success of the Rafale confirms the technological know-how and competences of Dassault Aviation’s employees and of its 500 industrial partners. It represents a decisive step forward in achieving Dassault Aviation’s goal of establishing itself in India with a view to developing wide-ranging cooperation under the Make in India policy promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. - Govt approves exchange of tariff concessions under APTA
Government on 12th September approved the exchange of duty concessions under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), a move aimed at enhancing commerce among six member countries including India and China. The current membership of APTA consists six countries or participating states - Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka.
The APTA (formerly the Bangkok Agreement) is an initiative under the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of the Asia Pacific region.
Since this is a preferential trade agreement, the basket of items as well as extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds which are launched from time to time, it said.
Till date, three rounds of trade negotiations have taken place. Up to the third round, India offered tariff preferences on 570 tariff lines (or products) at an average margin of preference (MoP) of 23.9 per cent and an additional 48 tariff lines to least developed countries (LDC) at an average margin of preference of 39.7 per cent.
The Cabinet approved India's offer of 28.01 per cent of dutiable national tariff lines with an average MoP of 33.45 per cent. The Cabinet's approval was also given to amend the preamble of APTA to effect accession of Mongolia as the 7th participating state.
Other amendments to incorporate the sectoral rule of origin to the agreement were also approved. It said the fourth session of the ministerial council of APTA, which is scheduled to be held shortly, will formally implement all the decisions, it added. - Extradition Treaty between India and Afghanistan approved
The Cabinet on 12th September approved the signing and ratification of the Extradition Treaty between India and Afghanistan. The treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders and other criminals from and to the Afghanistan. Also, the Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Technical Arrangement between India and Switzerland on the identification and return of Swiss and Indian Nationals and its implementation - India, Russia work towards "Energy Bridge"
In a major boost to their energy ties, India and Russia launched a working group for creating an "energy bridge" for a possible direct gas delivery from Russia. The two countries also signed agreements of mutual interests enhancing bilateral cooperation in Delhi on 13th September.
India and Russia held a thorough review of the state of bilateral relations at their 22nd Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation, while Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, led the Russian delegation - India, Sri Lanka sign MoU to support fishermen
India and Sri Lanka on 15th September signed MoU to support livelihood of the fishing and farming communities in Hambantota district. The MoU was signed in Colombo by Mr. Y.K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India and Ms. W.M.M.R. Adikari, Secretary, in the presence of Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development.
The project envisages gift of equipment and tools such as grub hoes, bicycles, life jackets and sewing machines, worth rupees 15 crore, to the fishing and farming communities in Hambantota district. Part of the grant is expected to be used for developing fisheries villages under a national programme.
More than 75,000 people across the district will get direct benefit from the project. The project will be implemented in consultation with the relevant local authorities. - Key issues discussed at NAM summit
Terrorism, UN reform, Climate change and Nuclear disarmament are the few issued which were discussed 17th NAM summit that is being held from September from 13th September to 18th September. Vice President Hamid Ansari has reached Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit - Narendra Modi skips NAM summit, the first Indian PM to do so: As the 120 members of the Non-Aligned?Movement (NAM) meet in Venezuela, one absence will be noted: that of Narendra Modi, prime minister of India—one of the five founding countries of the movement.
This is the first NAM summit that will not be attended by an Indian PM, except for 1979 when caretaker PM Charan Singh skipped the summit in Havana.
The host country Venezuela is, meanwhile, reeling under a severe economic crisis with its economy shrinking (-8%, according to International Monetary Fund figures) and the world’s worst inflation rate (482%). There have been reports of food riots and the government has declared a state of emergency. In fact, to host the NAM summit, President Nicolas Maduro has reportedly shut down Margarita Island. News reports state that nearly 14,000 National Bolivarian Armed Forces troops, police and intelligence personnel have been deployed on the island. - India calls for concrete action in fight against terrorism at NAM summit
India has called for concrete action in the fight against terrorism and asked the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to set up a mechanism to ensure effective cooperation in combating the menace. Addressing the 17th NAM Summit at Porlamar in Venezuela last night, Vice President Hamid Ansari said terrorism is the main threat to security, sovereignty and development of the nations.
He said, terrorism is one of the most egregious sources of human right violations today and its use as an instrument of state policy should be unequivocally condemned. Mr Ansari asserted that no cause justifies the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians as a means to achieve a political goal or change of policies. He said it is therefore imperative for the NAM to galvanise the international community to strengthen the international legal framework to address this menace.
Mr Ansari said, the NAM must also ensure that all existing structures that are the building blocks of UN's Global Counter Terrorism Strategy function in a non-partisan and professional manner.
The final draft declaration of the 17th NAM summit also strongly pitched for decisive and coordinated action to prevent and combat the financing and illicit transfer of weapons. The NAM countries also reaffirmed that terrorism and violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion or nationality.
They also recognised the threat posed by the scourge of terrorism, particularly the activities carried out by terrorist groups such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Islamic State and affiliated entities.
During his speech, Mr Ansari also strongly flagged the issue of UN reforms and said the NAM must use the forthcoming 71st UN General Assembly to ensure that discussions at the Inter-governmental Negotiations move forward.
He asked whether an organisation designed in 1945 with just 51 member states, is really appropriate to serve the needs of an international community that comprises 193 independent sovereign states facing the challenges of 21st century.
On 16th September, Venezuela assumed NAM's rotating presidency from Iran which had hosted the bloc's summit in 2012. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accepted the presidency and vowed to strengthen the bloc
NAM:
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members. The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia's president, Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern Blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat V. K. Krishna Menon in 1953, at the United Nations - BRICS ministers agree on MoU on environmental issues
Environment ministers of BRICS countries on 16th September agreed on a memorandum of understanding and announced the setting up of a joint working group institutionalizing their co-operation on environment-related issues
The ministerial declaration highlights key arrangements which were adopted with mutual consensus. The areas agreed for mutual co-operation are abatement and control of air and water pollution, efficient management of liquid and solid waste, climate change and conservation of biodiversity
The two day conclave of BRICS environment ministers at a South Goa resort, on 15th and 16th September.
The BRICS countries resolved to set up a platform for innovations, knowledge sharing and capacity building, a common website, network of technical institutions and undertake joint projects in areas of mutual interest
The ministers called upon the developed countries to honour their commitments relating to means of implementation and facilitate operations with a clear roadmap for successful achievement of various global environment agreements and sustainable development goals - India and 10 South-east Asian countries decide to set up fund for health emergencies in region
India along with 10 other member countries of WHO's South-East Asian Regional Committee has decided to set up a dedicated fund aimed at building preparedness for health emergencies in the region. Taking part in the 69th session of WHO Regional Committee Meeting at Colombo, they also passed a resolution for promoting physical activity and expanding health workforces across the region.
In the recent years, earthquakes, cyclones and floods have caused health emergencies in south-east Asian region and it has also been threatened by a range of emerging diseases, including SARS, MERS CoV, pandemic influenza and Zika virus.
Another resolution passed by the session was promoting physical activity. Insufficient physical activity is a major contributor to rising rates of non-communicable diseases in the region, with four-fifth of adolescents not getting enough of it. - Modi met various leaders, side lines of G-20 summit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping on sidelines of G-20 Summit in Hangzhou that both countries have to be sensitive to each other's aspirations, concerns and strategic interests. Modi reiterated that response to terrorism must not be motivated by political considerations.
Saudi Arabia in Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman in Chinese city of Hangzhou and held discussions on UNSC reform and on enhancing bilateral ties in various areas including energy and maritime security.
In the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Mr. Modi called for strengthened partnership with Saudi Arabia in various areas such as maritime security, infrastructure, low-cost housing and energy sector. - India, Chile expand preferential trading pact to boost economic ties
India and Chile have expanded their Preferential Trade Agreement with both agreeing to substantially lower tariffs on a number of items. Chile has offered concessions to India on 1,798 items with margin of preference (extent to which duties are lower than those offered to other countries) ranging from 30 per cent to100 per cent. India’s offer to Chile is on 1,031 products with a margin of preference between 10 per cent and 100 per cent.
The agreement on the expansion of India-Chile Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was signed in a meeting between Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia and Chilean Ambassador to India Andrés Barbe Gonzalez on 6th September.
India’s exports to Chile, its third largest trading partner in Latin America, includes a variety of items such as transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, textile and apparel, tyres and tubes, metal products, chemicals, plastic goods, leather products, engineering goods, imitation jewellery, sports goods and handicrafts.
Major items of import from Chile are copper ore and concentrates, iodine, copper anodes, copper cathodes, molybdenum ores & concentrates, lithium carbonates & oxide, metal scrap, inorganic chemicals, pulp & waste paper, fruits & nuts, fertilisers and machinery. India’s bilateral trade with Chile was $2.64 billion in 2015-16, with exports at $0.68 billion and imports at $1.96 billion. - India inks open skies pact with Greece
India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Greece to allow unlimited number of flights into each other’s countries
Under the new civil aviation policy, India plans to enter into ‘open sky’ air service agreements (ASA) with SAARC countries and with countries beyond 5,000 km radius from Delhi.
Countries sign ASAs through bilateral negotiations to decide on the number of flights that airlines can fly into each other’s countries. Under the open sky pact, there is no restriction on flights or seats.
At present, India has an open sky agreement with the U.S. and a near open sky agreement with the U.K. under which there are certain limitations on the number of flights that can be operated at the Mumbai and Delhi Airports. For ASEAN or SAARC countries, India has an open sky agreement with more than a dozen countries.
India will soon hold talks with Dubai to increase the bilateral seat entitlements with them. Before that, the Civil Aviation Secretary said, it will call a meeting with the domestic airlines by September 20 to ascertain their future flight plans to the Dubai Airport. - Export of terror common security threat: PM Modi to ASEAN nations
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8th September expressed deep concern at the rising "export of terror", in an apparent reference to Pakistan, saying it is a common security threat to the region as he sought a coordinated response from ASEAN member nations to combat the menace.
While addressing the 14th ASEAN-India summit in Vientiane, Laos, the Prime Minister also noted that growing radicalism through the ideology of hatred and spread of extreme violence are the other security threats. He said that in the face of growing traditional and nontraditional challenges, political cooperation has emerged as key in relations.
India supports freedom of navigation based on United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he added. Laotian premier Thongloun Sisoulith complimented India's Act East policy and its contribution to ASEAN and hoped the summit will provide future direction. - First BRICS film festival begins in New Delhi
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore and Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh inaugurated the first BRICS film festival in New Delhi on 2nd September. The film festival is the run up to the BRICS summit which is to be held in Goa next month.
The five day festival will act as a platform for people of the film industry of member countries to explore areas of cooperation in the domain of cinema, culture and cuisine. - India extends $500 million Line of Credit to Vietnam for defence cooperation
India and Vietnam on 3rd September signed 12 agreements in different areas of cooperation. The agreements include exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, double taxation avoidance, co-operation on UN peacekeeping operation, health, cyber security, advanced IT training, sharing of shipping information between the Navies of the two countries and mutual recognition of standards.
Both countries have also agreed to elevate bilateral relations from Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Modi also announced a line of credit of 500 million US dollars to Vietnam to facilitate deeper defence cooperation. - India, African nations agree to take steps to boost health & research collaborations
India and African nations have decided to take major steps to boost collaborations in joint medical research and work to harmonise regulatory frameworks to develop the pharmaceutical market in Africa.
At the conclusion of the first India-Africa Health Sciences Meet in New Delhi said, India and over 20 African nations, agreed to take concrete steps to boost health and research collaborations.
The statement said both India and Africa decided to make efforts to ensure accessible and affordable health services for all.
It was also agreed to initiate more scholarships, exchange programmes and collaborative research projects to facilitate and expedite research work for improved understanding of common diseases.
Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Soumya Swaminathan said that the principles for this partnership are clear and it will be reciprocal and built on complementary strengths for developing excellence in clinical and biomedical research in both regions.
Jointly organised by ICMR, Health Ministry, and External Affairs Ministry, the three-day meet offered a common platform to policymakers, technocrats, scientists, medical specialists, researchers and industry leaders from the two regions.
The ministries of Commerce and Industry, Science and Technology, and Chemicals and Fertilisers, were also involved to bring synergies to engage with Africa.
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