Page 10 - Bilateral Ties

PM Modi arrives in Washington DC to rousing welcome by Indian diaspora

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome from members of the Indian-American diaspora when he reached Blair House, the President's Guest House. Prime Minister Modi arrived in the US on Wednesday where he will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday for his bilateral meeting after last month's inauguration ceremony. As he reached Blair House, the President's Guest House, where he will be staying he was accorded a rousing welcome by members of the Indian-American diaspora. Braving freezing temperatures and rain, the community members gathered at Blair House and welcomed him with 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Vande Mataram' and Modi Modi' as they waved the Indian and American flags. A warm reception in the winter chill! Despite the cold weather, the Indian diaspora in Washington DC has welcomed me with a very special welcome. My gratitude to them, Modi said on X. Prime Minister Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump in the weeks after his inauguration last ...

US-India ties strengthen, driven by trade, and tech: Sinclair Chairman

David Smith highlighted the growing alignment between the two countries, emphasising their expanding collaboration across multiple sectors

India open to revive US trade deal talks during PM Modi's upcoming visit

Inter-departmental meetings being held to identify key trade-related proposals

Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin arrives in India for official talks

The Chairman of the Russian parliament's lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, arrived in India on Monday for an official visit.His discussions with Indian leaders will focus on improving cooperation in economic, cultural, educational, and technological fields, alongside strengthening inter-parliamentary dialogue between the two nations.Sharing the pictures of his arrival on X, the Russian Embassy in India wrote, "Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin arrived on an official visit to #India. In #NewDelhi, issues of #RussiaIndia cooperation in economic, cultural, educational & technological spheres, as well as the development of interparliamentary dialogue will be discussed."In another post, the embassy added, "Meetings of the Chairman with the Indian leadership and a visit to both houses of the Parliament of #India are planned."Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to visit India for the annual summit this year. The dates for the visit will be worked ...

India and China discuss Ladakh border during foreign secretary visit

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was on a two-day visit to Beijing to improve India-China bilateral ties

Govt examines Trump's trade memo to assess impact on bilateral trade

India is examining the Trump's memorandum - America First Trade Policy - to assess its impact on the bilateral trade with the US, which is its largest trading partner, sources said on Wednesday. They also said that the White House directive to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify countries with which the US can negotiate agreements on a bilateral or sector-specific basis is a positive development for countries like India. "We are studying and examining the memo. We have to evaluate things before framing any strategy...As of now from a plain reading of that, I do not see something we need to be worried about. Everything that we examine does not translate into action," one of the sources added. The government is also awaiting confirmation of appointment of key trade officials in the US. "Confirmations will take a bit of time. Once confirmations happen there will be discussion. India and the US are good trading partners," the source said. According to the memoran

India, Singapore to celebrate 60 yrs of diplomatic ties with film festival

The High Commission of India in Singapore will organise the Indian Film Festival 2025 (IFF 2025) in collaboration with the Singapore Film Society and screen 18 films for the Singapore public as part of the celebration of 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. High Commissioner Dr Shilpak Ambule said efforts would be made to make the festival, which begins on January 24 this year and runs until March 2, an annual affair. "A mixed range of movies have been selected from classics made decades ago to regional language hits. It is being organised on a non-commercial basis with support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the National Film Development Corporation of India," Ambule said on Wednesday. The festival will showcase three movies every weekend at Golden Village Cinema in Suntec City, a sprawling shopping and recreational complex in the Central Business District. In total, the festival brings 18 movies from across different genres in seven ..

US state secy Rubio to hold 1st bilateral meet with Jaishankar after Quad

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here later Tuesday. Jaishankar is here at the invitation of the US Government to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. Trump on Monday took oath as the president of the US. "Secretary Rubio meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at the Department of State," the State Department said, releasing the schedule of the new Secretary of State on the first day as the top American diplomat. The meeting between the two top diplomats representing the world's oldest and largest democracies would take place at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, soon after the first QUAD ministerial in the same building. "Secretary Rubio meets with Indo-Pacific Quad Foreign Ministers at the Department of State," said the advisory. QUAD is an informal group of countries representing Australia, India, Japan and th

Improving connectivity to boost India-New Zealand trade ties: GTRI

India and New Zealand should address market access issues for goods, promote collaborations in key sectors, and work on improving connectivity with an aim to boost bilateral trade, which is just USD 1.5 billion, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. Both countries should set a target to double two-way trade within five years by identifying products for early tariff relief and organizing business delegations and roadshows in India, it said. It also said that India's proposed free trade agreement with New Zealand would have limited benefit to domestic companies as they are already enjoying duty free access to a significant number of goods in that market. New Zealand's average import tariff is just 2.3 per cent, compared to India's 17.8 per cent. Besides, 58.3 per cent of New Zealand's tariff lines (or product categories) are duty-free, meaning Indian products already enjoy significant access without a trade pact in the New Zealand market, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.

Will collaborate with depts to reassess India-US ties: Pete Hegseth

Hegseth highlighted the importance of joint military exercises, defence sales, and strategic talks which have bolstered India-US ties significantly

India, Spain to mark 2026 as 'dual year' to celebrate culture: Jaishankar

He was confident in the trade ties and said that the ten billion business that is taking place today will see a rise in the coming days

India, Maldives to hold high-level defence talks to boost ties on Wednesday

Maldivian Defence Minister Mohammed Ghassan Maumoon will pay a three-day visit to India from Wednesday to deepen bilateral engagement ties amid a thaw in relations between the two countries. Maumoon will hold wide-ranging talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh besides meeting several senior officials in the national capital. The visit by the Maldivian minister comes over eight months after India withdrew its military personnel from the island nation following a demand by its pro-China president Mohamed Muizzu Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with Maumoon in New Delhi on January 8, the defence ministry said. It said the two ministers will review the various facets of bilateral defence cooperation, including training, exercises and defence projects to enhance the capability of the Maldives National Defence Forces as well as supply of defence equipment. "The Maldives occupies a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, which aims to bring .

India protests China's new counties in Hotan, cites Ladakh overlap: MEA

MEA also stated it will closely monitor the situation and take necessary steps to protect India's interests in response to China's plan to build a mega dam on the Brahmaputra river

EAM Jaishankar to pay 3-day visit to Qatar to review overall bilateral ties

The visit also aims to review various aspects of bilateral relations between India and Qatar with discussion on key areas

Japan's foreign minister seeks to improve bilateral ties during China visit

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met with top Chinese leaders Wednesday during his visit to Beijing, the first since the heads of the two countries met at a summit in Peru last month, in an effort to make positive inroads in the bilateral relationship. The two neighbours have had a tense relationship in recent years. At the top of Iwaya's agenda is China's ban on Japanese seafood in response to the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, as well as China's increasingly assertive military activity in the East and South China Seas. Iwaya met with China's premier Li Qiang Wednesday as well as Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart. "Currently the China-Japan relations are at a critical period of improvement and development, said Li, in his remarks. China is willing to work together with Japan to move towards the important direction proposed by the leaders of the two countries. "I want to build a relationship where the peo

Dissanayake's presidency opens new chapter in India-Sri Lanka relations

When India invited left-wing leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake for a visit in February, no one anticipated that the political landscape of Sri Lanka would experience a significant transformation, culminating in his surprising rise to the presidency by the end of the year. The development has brought renewed attention to the dynamics between the two neighbouring countries. Dissanayake, 56, popularly known as AKD, was declared the winner of the presidential election in September, marking a complete revolution from his party-led coalition's vote share of three per cent in 2019 to over 60 per cent. Weeks later, Dissanayake's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led National People's Power (JVP-NPP) coalition swept the parliamentary elections by winning 159 out of the 225 seats, the first time any party won a two-thirds majority under the proportional representation system introduced in 1978. The NPP also dominated the Jaffna electoral district the heartland of the nation's Tamil minority. India's

Foreign Secy Misri meets top US diplomats, discusses wide range of issues

Ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's visit to the United States, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday had meetings with top American diplomats on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues. Jaishankar is scheduled to visit the United States from December 24-29, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced a day earlier. During the visit, Jaishankar will meet his American counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues, an official statement said. On the eve of Jaishankar's visit, Misri on Monday had meetings with the Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Deputy Secretary for Management Richard Verma at Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. India's ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, was also present in the meetings. We look forward to continuing to grow #USIndia ties rooted in mutual trust, shared values, and prosperity for all, Verma said. Earlier in the day, Verma hosted a group of eminent India

PM Modi meets President of Kuwait Heritage Society, praises his work

PM Modi appreciated his work in preserving the rare manuscripts related to India and Kuwait

India has signed 31 bilateral pacts on transfer of sentenced persons: Govt

India has signed 31 bilateral agreements on transfer of sentenced persons by virtue of which the Indian prisoners lodged in foreign countries can be transferred to India to serve the remainder of their sentence and vice-versa, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in the Rajya Sabha. He was asked whether the government has put in place a robust mechanism to transfer the Indians languishing in jail in foreign countries to India so that they can serve the remaining sentence in the country. "The government attaches high priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indians in foreign countries, including those in foreign jails," he said. The minister said India has "signed 31 bilateral Agreements on Transfer of Sentenced Persons by virtue of which Indian prisoners lodged in foreign countries can be transferred to India to serve the remainder of their sentence and ...

Dutch PM Schoof discusses strengthening ties with PM Modi over phone call

The Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where they talked about strengthening relations between the two countries.Schoof said that they also discussed about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.In a post on X, Schoof said, "I just had my first phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. We spoke about further strengthening the good relations between the Netherlands and India and about opportunities to work together more closely through a strategic partnership in areas like security, water, green hydrogen, agriculture, semiconductors and healthcare. We also discussed other matters such as the war in Ukraine."PM Modi called the Netherlands a 'trusted and valued partner'.In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Pleased to speak with PM Dick Schoof. The Netherlands is a trusted & valued partner. We are committed to advance and provide strategic dimension to bilateral ties in diverse sectors including water, ...