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The US has said it is "very excited" to have extended an invitation to India to join the Pax Silica initiative on supply chain security and will be soon signing with the Indian Government, underlining there is "very positive momentum" in relations with New Delhi. Highlighting the "great relationship" between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Washington also stressed that India is probably the only other country on Earth to be able to "rival China" in terms of the sheer volume of its human talent. "We are very excited to have extended an invitation for India to join" Pax Silica, and "I'll be travelling to India in just a couple weeks for a major signing with the Indian Government," Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told reporters on Friday. The US had last year in December launched 'Pax Silica', a strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chain-from critical minerals and energy inputs to .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held wide-ranging talks with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, focusing on boosting defence and security ties and enhancing economic and innovation partnership. The two sides are expected to ink a number of agreements that will provide for cooperation in several key sectors including semiconductor. Modi arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to a grand red-carpet reception, with Ibrahim receiving him at the airport, signalling a new momentum in the bilateral relations. Ahead of the talks, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Perdana Putra this morning. "India shares close bonds with Malaysia anchored in civilisational, historical and people-to-people ties," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. In his departure statement on Saturday, the prime minister signalled that the visit will focus on a major push for deeper defence cooperation and robust economic engagement. "The historic ties between India and Malaysia
India has agreed to provide import duty concessions to certain US agricultural products such as dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum and apples for animal feed. According to a joint statement, India and the US have agreed on a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, which is expected to be signed by mid-March. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that India will provide quota-based tariff concessions on US agricultural products such as DDGs, soybean oil, apples, long staple cotton and soybean oil. "We have opened our markets for the US in a calibrated manner on some products like Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), wines and spirits in which we have kept a minimum import price also," Goyal said. When asked if DDG's have GM (genetically modified) soymeal, the minister assured that the environment ministry has prescribed processes on allowing the import of GM materials in India, which will be followed. According to the US Grains an
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India and Sri Lanka are connected by "deep civilisational and spiritual bonds" as he thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for inaugurating the exposition of the holy Devnimori relics of Lord Buddha in Colombo. The first-ever international exposition of these sacred relics, which originate from the Devnimori archaeological site in Gujarat's Aravalli district, is taking place at Gangaramaya Temple from February 4-11. It was inaugurated by Sri Lankan President Dissanayaka along with Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and the state's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi in the presence of Chief Incumbent Ven. Kirinde Assaji Thero at the Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo on Wednesday. "Respectfully welcome the Sacred Relics of the Buddha to Sri Lanka today for public veneration until the 11th at Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple. I deeply appreciate PM @narendramodi and the Government of India for honouring their promise and enabling this sacred ..
The leaders of China and the U.K. were meeting Thursday as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony. Keir Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with China's leader Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing. The two countries are expected to sign a number of agreements later in the day. Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations. The U.K. leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China's legislature, the National People's Congress. Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China's support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that wa
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday discussed with a three-member American Congressional delegation various aspects of India-US relations, including trade and security, against the backdrop of continuing strain in ties between the two countries. US Ambassador Sergio Gor, who was also present at the meeting, said the talks were "productive" and that the focus was on strengthening the bilateral partnership in the domains of security, trade and critical technologies. The visit of the US Congressional delegation to India, comprising Jimmy Patronis, Mike Rogers and Adam Smith, came as both sides are looking to move forward in the negotiations for a bilateral trade deal. In a social media post, Jaishankar described the meeting as a "good interaction". "Discussed various aspects of India-US ties, Indo Pacific and Ukraine conflict. Congressional interactions have always been an important facet of our relationship," he said. On his part, Gor said on X: "Just wrapped a producti
Iran is ready to expand cooperation with India on counter-terrorism and regional instability, the country's newly appointed Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, has said. Fathali emphasised sharing experiences in confronting extremist violence while fully respecting each other's independent policies and national interests. In an interview with PTI Videos on Tuesday, Fathali highlighted strong potential for new initiatives with India in emerging technologies, renewable energy, academic and scientific cooperation, and cultural diplomacy. "Terrorism and regional instability are areas where Iran and India can expand cooperation, with full respect for each other's independent policies and national interests," the ambassador said, referring to India's actions against terrorism in May and Iran's own challenges amid regional tensions. "Iran has long been a victim of terrorism and has paid a heavy price in confronting extremist violence. In this fight, we have lost many of our best ...