Diplomacy

Kovind, who arrived here on Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, is the first Indian head of state to visit the West African nation. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace upon his arrival.

New Delhi has taken up several projects in Africa including two regional hospitals in Guinea with the help of Indian line of credit worth $35 million. The national assembly of Gambia has been build with the help of the Indian line of credit.

The development is important in view of the recent joint operations conducted by the Indian and the Myanmar armies against the north-east insurgent groups in Myanmar.

Ahead of undertaking a three-day visit to the southern African country of Mozambique, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the two countries will sign agreements in the fields of “exclusive economic zone surveillance, sharing of white shipping information and hydrography”.

VK Singh, Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways, who attended the meeting instead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar due to last-minute cancellation of plans, said, “We at BRICS need to continue to work together against economic offenders and fugitives since this is a serious threat to world economic stability.”

“During his visit, the Union Minister will hold bilateral talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Minister of National Defence Atanasio Ntumuke. The visit allowed both countries to review the state of bilateral cooperation and to reiterate the warm and friendly ties between Mozambique and India,” Defence officials said.

The Senior General interacted with Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, ENC, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain and held discussions on issues of mutual interest. India-Myanmar relations are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties with both nations sharing a long land boundary as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Russians are increasingly apprehensive of encroachment from contiguous China into Far East Russia which is resource rich but sparsely populated, claimed persons familiar with the dynamics of Sino-Russian ties. President Vladimir Putin, is keen to expedite development and economic projects in Far East Russia and the region serves as Moscow’s outreach to the Indo-Pacific region.

New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met ambassadors of Germany and Portugal here on Monday, Ministry of Defence tweeted.

The US State Department on Tuesday sought to suggest that the Trump administration welcomed India and Pakistan to sit down and discuss Kashmir.