Page 27 - Bilateral Ties

India, France discuss defence cooperation & more under Atmanirbhar Bharat

During the meeting, the two sides discussed ongoing defence cooperation and further opportunities under the Atmanirbhar Bharat policy

India, France hold defence dialogue; discuss ways to bolster cooperation

Defence Minister Rajanth Singh and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu held the fourth India-France Annual Defence Dialogue here on Monday and the two leaders shared the commitment to work together on enhancing cooperation in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Singh said the discussions were "warm and fruitful". Singh and Lecornu co-chaired the annual defence dialogue. This is Lecornu's first visit to India as Minister of Armed Forces of the French Republic. Singh held the "Fourth India-France Annual Defence Dialogue with Minister of Armed Forces of the French Republic Sebastien Lecornu in New Delhi today. The meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere. A wide range of bilateral, regional, defence and defence industrial cooperation issues were discussed in the dialogue," the defence ministry here said in a statement. They also discussed means to "strengthen maritime cooperation" and increase the scope and complexity of bilate

India Australia bilateral training exercise 'Austra Hind 22' to start today

A bilateral training exercise between armies of India and Australia will kick-start in Rajasthan on Monday, the defence ministry here said. The 'Austra Hind 22' exercise will be conducted till December 11. The ministry said it will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia. "Bilateral training exercise 'AUSTRA HIND 22' between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is scheduled to take place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan) from November 28 to December 11, 2022. This is the first exercise in the series of AUSTRA HIND with participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies," the ministry had said in a statement on Sunday. The Australian Army contingent comprising soldiers from the 13th Brigade of the 2nd Division has arrived at the exercise location. The Indian Army is represented by troops from the Dogra Regiment, it said. The aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other

French Armed Forces Minister to visit India on Sunday for defence dialogue

Minister Lecornu will also meet National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, Ajit Doval for discussions on regional security issues and our close cooperation in combating terrorism

India, UAE central banks discuss rupee-dirham trade prospects: Official

The central banks of India and UAE are discussing a concept paper on promoting bilateral trade in rupee and dirham with a view to reduce transaction cost, a top official said on Friday. India's Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir said that the concept paper for trade in local currencies was shared by India. The central banks of both the countries will discuss the standard operating procedures and modalities, he told reporters here. The objective of the exercise is to reduce the cost of transactions, he added. India and the UAE had already signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in February to give a fillip to bilateral trade and economic ties. The free trade agreement was aimed at providing significant benefits to Indian as well as UAE businesses, including enhanced market access and reduced tariffs. Following the free trade pact, bilateral trade is expected to increase from the current USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years. Bilateral trade between India and the U

INS Trikand, INS Sumitra take part in bilateral exercise with Oman Navy

The Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate INS Trikand and offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra have participated in the 13th edition of bilateral exercise 'Naseem Al Bahr' off the coast of Oman. The exercise, which was conducted from November 19-24, had three phases -- harbour phase, sea phase and debrief, officials said. Activities undertaken during the harbour phase included professional interactions between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman operations teams and friendly sports fixtures between the two navies, they said. "The Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate, INS Trikand, offshore patrol vessel, INS Sumitra, and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), Dornier, participated in the 13th edition of the Indian Navy (IN)-Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) bilateral exercise 'Naseem Al Bahr' (Sea Breeze)," a Navy official said. Indian Navy ships Trikand and Sumitra, along with RNO ships Al Shinas and Al Seeb, sailed for the sea phase. IN-MPA Dornier, RNO MPA and shore-based RAFO fighte

Australian Parliament clears path for free trade agreement with India

Both nations prepare for New Year roll-out; DTAA with New Delhi amended, too

FATF chief, ministers of Nigeria, Ethiopia hold bilateral meet Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday held a number of bilateral meetings, including with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) chief, and discussed with them various issues of mutual interests such as terrorism. In his meeting with FATF chief T Raja Kumar, Shah emphasised that there is need for the FATF to continuously monitor the tendencies of some countries to sponsor terrorism. "In the bilateral meeting with FATF President, Shri T Raja Kumar, Hon'ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah while appreciating the role of FATF, emphasised that there is need for FATF to continuously monitor the tendencies of some of the countries to sponsor terrorism," Shah's office tweeted. The FATF president lauded the initiative taken by India for hosting 'No Money For Terror (NMFT)' conference and expressed the willingness of FATF to work closely for working on Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) issues under India's G-20 priorities. At the conference, Kumar also calle

Australian PM Anthony Albanese to visit India next March to lock trade deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Australia next year for the Quad Leaders' meeting. And then he will return to India later in the year for the G20 Summit, a statement by the Australian PM said.

Italian PM vows cooperation for India's G20 presidency, bilateral ties

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also reaffirmed support for what she described as the still unexpressed growth potential of bilateral relations

Indian mission holds musical night in Vietnam to celebrate bilateral ties

Musical evening by 'Indian Ocean Band' was held at Hanoi Opera House to mark 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Sitharaman, Yellen urge bilateral cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty

Visiting US official speaks about 'shared goals' on climate change, debt burden of developing countries

Vice Prez Dhankhar leaves for Cambodia to attend ASEAN-India summit

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday embarked on a three-day visit to Cambodia, where he will attend the ASEAN-India summit and the East Asia Summit. Cambodia is hosting these summits in its capacity as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During his visit, the vice president will hold a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He will also hold meetings with leaders from several other countries. This is Dhankhar's first foreign visit since he assumed office in August this year. He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The ASEAN-India summit is expected to review the status of the strategic partnership between the two sides and take stock of the cooperation in areas of trade, investment and connectivity. According to the government, Dhankhar will attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh on November 12. This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated

Looking for competition, not conflict with China: US President Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden has said he is looking for competition and not conflict with China. Biden is likely to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, later this month. During the meeting, Biden told reporters here on Wednesday, the two leaders are expected to talk to each other about their national interests and the red line. I've met with him many times. And I've told him I'm looking for competition, not conflict. So, what I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what kind of each of our red lines are, understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of China, what I know to be the critical interests of the United States and to determine whether or not they conflict with one another, he said in response to a question. And if they do, how do we resolve it and how to work it out. The Taiwan doctrine has not changed at all from the very beginning, the very beginning. So, I'm sure we'll discuss a number o

Iranian, Russian security officials discuss Ukraine crisis, bilateral ties

Shamkhani noted that Iran welcomes and supports any initiative that leads to a ceasefire and peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to play a role in ending the conflicts

FS Vinay Kwatra meets Pentagon official, discusses bilateral defence ties

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra met US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Colin Kahl and the two senior officials discussed initiatives to further advance the bilateral defence cooperation and underlined the importance of the 'India-US Major Defence Partnership' which has helped in shaping the future of the Indo-Pacific region. Kwatra, currently on an official visit to the US, met Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Monday and discussed Indo-US ties and ways to further advance their bilateral security and regional cooperation, the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and Ukraine. During the meeting on Tuesday Kahl and Kwarta discussed initiatives to advance bilateral defence cooperation ahead of the next 2+2 Ministerial meeting in New Delhi, a media release said. "It was a pleasure meeting w/Indian Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra this afternoon. We discussed a range of bilateral initiatives to advance the US-India defence partnership and promote a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific ...

Shehbaz Sharif meets Xi Jinping in Beijing, discusses mutual cooperation

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Sharif said that they also "agreed to increase multilateral cooperation between China and Pakistan, including CPEC, and further strengthen the strategic partnership".

India, Australia discuss early closure of trade deal signed 7 months ago

Both nations to hold annual joint ministerial commission meeting early next year

India, China trade crosses $100 bn during Jan-Sept; deficit up at $75 bn

India and China bilateral trade continued to boom, crossing USD 100 billion for the second year in the first nine months of 2022 while India's trade deficit climbed to over USD 75 billion, according to trade data released by Chinese customs. The total bilateral trade, amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, went up to USD 103.63 billion, registering a 14.6 per cent increase compared to last year during the same period. China's exports to India climbed to USD 89.66 billion, registering an increase of 31 per cent, data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) said. However, India's exports in the past nine months stood at USD 13.97 billion, registering a decline of 36.4 per cent. As a result, the total trade deficit went up to over USD 75.69 billion. Last year, the India-China bilateral trade hit a record high of over USD 125 billion crossing the USD 100 billion mark in a year when the relations touched a new low due to the standoff by the militaries in ..

Pakistan, China to launch 3 new corridors besides CPEC, says report

Pakistan and China have decided to jointly launch three new projects in addition to the existing multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the all-weather allies seek to ramp up bilateral ties in various sectors, including agriculture, health and science and technology. Speaking at the China Economic Net (CEN) in Beijing, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Moinul Haq said the three new projects are China-Pakistan Green Corridor (CPGC), China-Pakistan Health Corridor (CPHC) and China-Pakistan Digital Corridor (CPDC), The New International newspaper reported on Saturday. The first will focus on agricultural environment, food security and green development and the second will help Pakistan get efficiency in the medical field, while the third will boost Pakistan's IT industry, it said. Ambassador Haque said Pakistan has a rich repertoire of talent and human resources in different fields of science and technology, asserting that IT-based science and technology has becom