July 2018 India and the World

Sakshi Education

India extends $200 million credit lines to Rwanda; Narendra Modi holds talks with Rwanda President Paul Kagame
India on 23rd July, 2018 extended $200 million lines of credit to Rwanda

Mr. Narendra Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa

The two countries signed agreements on leather and allied areas and agricultural research.

India also extended two lines of credit — one of $100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for $100 million for agriculture.
Indian Air Force to participate in Australia’s Pitch Black Exercise
An Indian Air Force contingent comprising of four Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft landed at Darwin Air Force Base, Australia for participating in the Exercise Pitch Black-2018.

This is the first time that an Indian Air Force contingent is participating in this multinational air exercise in Australia.

The Indian Air Force contingent consists of 145 personnel.

The contingent will undertake simulated air combat exercises in a controlled environment.
Invest India and Business France Sign Mou to Promote Investment
Invest India and Business France have signed an MoU to promote investment facilitation and cooperation between startups of India and France.

The goal will be to facilitate direct foreign investment by providing practical investment information to enterprises and support the companies pursuing those opportunities which contribute positively to economic growth of the two countries.

Invest India is the official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India, mandated to facilitate investments in the country. It is the first stop for potential global investors in the country.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world which has not only sustained global downturn of 2008-09 but is also slated to grow at consistently higher rates during next few decades.
PM Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, and said the friendship between India and Russia is deep-rooted.

The two leaders then met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, China, in June.

The two leaders had a comprehensive discussion on bilateral issues of mutual interest, especially in trade, investment, energy, defense and tourism.

BRICS summit:
- BRICS is a grouping of emerging nations formed in 2009 and comprises five countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- Representing over 40 per cent of the world’s population, the block’s growth rates surpass those of the developed countries of the G7.
PM Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping, discusses ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26th July, 2018 told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the informal bilateral summit in Wuhan was a “milestone”, and both sides will keep up the level of engagement.

The two leaders, who met for the third time in three months on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, acknowledged the frequent meetings.

They decided to unveil the calendar of diplomatic engagement

The two sides also discussed bilateral trade. An Indian trade delegation will travel to China on August 1 and 2, where they will discuss issues pertaining to export of rice and soya from India, and import of urea from China.
India, South Korea Sign Five MoUs in Science & Technology
India and South Korea today signed five MoUs in the field of Science & Technology.
3 MoU’s signed by Environment ministry
Programme of Cooperation 2018-21;
Establishment of Future Strategy Group;
Cooperation in Biotechnology & Bio economy.
Two other MoUs were signed between Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
India & Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) reaffirm their commitment
The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development Shri Upendra Kushwaha is on an Official Visit to the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) from 10-11 July 2018.

India and Marshall islands reviewed bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further advance ties in a host of areas such as blue economy, adaptation-mitigation practices for climate change, disaster preparedness, health, education, renewable energy among others.

Topics discussed:
RMI side showed keenness in disseminating yoga to youth through schools and to also tap into India’s expertise in overcoming physical connectivity challenges through tele-medicine and tele-education.

RMI also shared its interest to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the earliest.

On the issue of UNSC reforms, RMI acknowledged the need for early reform of the Council and expressed strong support for India’s permanent membership at the reformed UNSC.

India committed to extend a grant of USD 300,000 for a Water and Sanitation Project Proposal of Aur Atoll Local Government. Since 2005, India has extended grant assistance to the tune of USD 1.35 million for various projects relating to purchase of equipment, disaster relief, national export strategy, community and local government projects harnessing solar energy among others.

India also offers five slots to nationals of RMI at the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.

Also discussed ways to cooperate under the framework of Forum for India Pacific Islands Co-operation (FIPIC). India engages with the Pacific Island Countries on a wide range of issues including climate change.

What is FIPIC?
FIPIC was formed in November 2014, to strengthen India’s relationship with the Pacific Island Countries.

The first FIPIC summit was held at the level of Heads of Government in November 2014 in Suva, Fiji,

The FIPIC-II summit held in August 2015, in Jaipur, India.

Government of India also hosted an ‘India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference’ in Suva, Fiji from 25 to 26 May, 2017.

Significance of the visit:
This is the first ever ministerial visit from India to Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI).

India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) in April 1995.
Pact signed, Indian marine exports eye South Korea market
India signed Early Harvest Package of the Upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea.

They both agreed to expand bilateral trade, including through the early conclusion of ongoing negotiations to upgrade the ROK-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

They have goal of raising bilateral trade to $ 50 billion by 2030. Currently, bilateral trade stands at $ 20 billion.

India and South Korea already have a “special strategic partnership”.

The two sides signed 11 agreements covering a broad spectrum of areas for cooperation, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, railways, culture and trade.

To ensure peace and stability in the region, they agreed to explore further possibilities to coordinate efforts in the defense and strategic spheres.

Initiatives for peaceful resolution of conflict through dialogue, underlying the centrality of sovereignty and territorial integrity, in accordance with the universally-recognized principles of international law is expected from both nations.

They also agreed to explore a tripartite partnership for development in third countries, beginning with capacity building programs in Afghanistan.

While there was no mention of South Korea’s position on India’s bid to become a permanent member of United Nations Security Council, the joint statement expressed broad support for India’s bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre Inaugurated by Giriraj Singh
The India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre was Inaugurated by the Minister of State (I/C) MSME Giriraj Singh and Minister of SMEs and Start-ups of Republic of Korea, Hong Jong- haktoday in New Delhi.

The India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre has been established at the National Small Industries Corporation premises in New Delhi.

A MoU was signed between the Small Business Corporation (SBC) of Korea and the NSIC for cooperation in the field of MSME Sector.

The SBC will mobilize the South Korean MSMEs for technical and business alliances with their counterparts in India and organize partner matching events in Korea for Indian delegations.

Purpose of the center:
It helps in identifying
Indian technologies which can be exported to Korea and find suitable Korean partners for the same,
Initiating various cooperative MSME projects complimenting each other’s strengths in MSME sector,
Creating Technology Data Bank from each side to encourage technology transfers,
Production of high quality products in India and
Encouraging Joint Ventures and business matching between Indian and Korean SMEs.
India, UK to take forward the exchange of legal practitioners
India, UK to take forward the exchange of legal practitioners; MoU for enhancing bilateral cooperation in legal affairs which, inter alia, provides a framework for promoting greater co-operation between the judicial and legal professionals in both countries through exchange of expertise and training; exchanging information regarding current issues of international significance.

The MoU also provides for establishment of a Joint Consultative Committee to facilitate such exchange.

The progress made in India in the field of ensuring access to justice for all, particularly using the power of technology through initiatives like Tele-Law, e-Court services and digitization of Courts in India.

There is a commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in legal matters, including Arbitration, Legal training and exchange of best practices, taking advantage of the shared common law heritage of the two countries.
Nepal, India to expedite Raxaul-Kathmandu rail project
Nepal and India have agreed to seal an agreement for preliminary engineering cum traffic survey for building a rail link that will connect Raxual in Bihar to the Nepalese capital

Nepal and China agreed on a feasibility study for a railway line connecting Tibet with the Himalayan nation.

India has already started building five cross-border railway lines between Nepal and India. One line from Jayanagar to Janakpur-Kurtha will be completed within a year.

Discussions about other lines are going on.
Exchange of Lists of Prisoners between India and Pakistan
India and Pakistan exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen of each country lodged in the jails. This is in keeping with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement under which such lists are exchanged on 1 January and 1 July every year.

Lists of 249 civilian prisoners and 108 fishermen were handed over to Pakistan.

Pakistan has shared lists of 53 civilian prisoners and 418 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or believed to be Indians.
High Level Chinese Military Delegation Arrives at Sukna
In consonance with the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping during Wuhan summit, where both leaders reaffirmed the need to strengthen bilateral ties, a high level Chinese Army delegation led by Lt Gen Liu Xiaowu, Deputy Commander of Western Theatre Command arrived at Sukna on 3rd July.

This visit is seen as a major initiative to strengthen relationship between the militaries of both nations. The delegation comprising 10 senior military officials from China will interact with their military counterparts at HQ 33 Corps.

India and China had endorsed the need to resume military ties when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Chinese President Xi Jinping for an informal summit at Wuhan in China in April this year (2018).

Towards that end, this visit by the military delegation to local military headquarters is a significant step forward towards increasing interactions at military commander’s level and implementation of various agreements to maintain peace and tranquility on the borders.
India to take back helicopters gifted to Maldives
The government has in principle decided to withdraw the helicopters, as well as accompanying personnel from two atolls in the Maldives

This is because there is a consistent demand of the Yameen government for withdrawal.

This will impact and squeeze the ties between India and Maldives.
Bhutanese PM TsheringTobgay 3 Day Visit To India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his Bhutanese counterpart, TsheringTobgay in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest and enhancing special friendship between the two countries.

India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by utmost trust and mutual understanding.