Diplomacy

A Ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between the armies of China and India were held in Ladakh sector on the occasion of “Chinese Spring Festival” on Thursday, a defence spokesman said.

Inaugurated by India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, the Dialogue organised by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Research Foundation seeks to provide an interface between the civilizations of India and Russia.

India has delivered 30,00 doses of Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccine to Maldives. Maldives Government had requested India for MR Vaccine after the outbreak of measles disease in Maldives. India responded to emergency request of Maldives and Supplied 30,000 doses of Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccine within 72 hours of the request.

Last week, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification, declaring the United Arab Emirates to be a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Tunisian counterpart Sabri Bachtobji on Wednesday during which the two leaders focused on expanding the bilateral economic cooperation and agreed to work closely in multilateral forums. Dr Jaishankar arrived in Tunis earlier yesterday on the concluding leg of his three-day two-nation trip to Niger and Tunisia.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Agreement between the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters has to be signed.

Jaishankar, the first Indian Foreign Minister to visit the West African country, arrived in Niamey on Monday on the first leg of his three-day two-nation trip to Niger and Tunisia. The tour is his first outreach to the African continent after becoming Foreign Minister last year.

Both sides are keen to add momentum to the strategic partnership signed in 2006 with focus on defence industry and robust partnership in the hydrocarbon sector. A big-ticket item at the visit could be the Bilateral Investment Treaty, which will be the first revised one that India will sign with any country, according to persons familiar with the matter.

India pledged a USD 50 million assistance to Sri Lanka on Saturday as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including strengthening cooperation in defence, intelligence sharing and maritime security.

After Malaysia, Turkey is on the government’s radar for possible trade curbs for interfering in India’s internal issues.