News articles and essays on the Indian diplomacy at work around the world.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the proposed interoperability between UPI and Bizum is expected to simplify cross-border digital transactions for businesses, tourists and consumers, while strengthening financial connectivity between the two countries.
The visit focused on strengthening India’s economic engagement with Europe by expanding trade, investment, technology cooperation and business partnerships, while building on the momentum of the recently concluded India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
Developed jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the CSIR–National Physical Laboratory and the Indian Space Research Organisation, the network is designed to distribute Indian Standard Time securely and with extremely high precision. Institutions including the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the National Stock Exchange and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are also participating in the wider project.
Panama’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha Vásquez, will undertake an official visit to
The contemporary security environment now extends across military, economic, technological and social domains. Terrorism, organised crime, cyberattacks, maritime insecurity, trafficking networks and disruptive technologies increasingly operate across national borders.
The first India–Belgium Strategic Dialogue was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation, Maxime Prévot.
The 500-kilowatt pilot facility will generate electricity directly from the natural movement of river water, introducing an emerging renewable-energy technology suited to the mountainous terrain and extensive river network of the northeastern state.
The discussions were conducted virtually between June 29 and July 7, 2026. India’s delegation was led by Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce and the country’s chief negotiator for the agreement. The Maldivian team was headed by Chief Negotiator Yusuf Riza.
Both governments completed their domestic ratification and implementation procedures ahead of the July 15 rollout. The agreement was concluded on May 6, 2025, following 14 rounds of negotiations and formally signed in London on July 24, 2025. The Double Contribution Convention was subsequently signed on February 10, 2026.
A Memorandum of Understanding for the project was signed on July 13, 2026, by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Dr Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health and Mass Media. Sri Lankan Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa attended the signing ceremony.
