Afghanistan
Over 20B Afs to Be Invested in Electricity Production in Country-Tolo News
Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) signed contracts for 10 electricity production and transmission projects on Thursday with both domestic and international companies. Abdul Bari Omar, CEO of DABS, stated that the total cost of these projects is 20.7 billion afghani. He assured efforts by the company toward self-sufficiency in power production, noting that eight contracts were signed for electricity generation and two for transmission plants, with a combined capacity of 228.45 megawatts. Click here to read…
Russian LGP exports to Afghanistan rise 52% following EU sanctions-The Khaama Press
Following the European Union’s sanctions on Russian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), exports of the gas to Afghanistan and Central Asia have surged. According to Reuters, over the past two months, Russian LPG exports to Afghanistan have increased by 52%, reaching 71,000 tons. Click here to read…
Bangladesh
Chief Adviser holds talks with Chinese President – The Daily Star
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this morning. During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, they discussed issues related to bilateral interest. Click here to read…
US to give $73 million to aid Rohingya refugees: state dept – The Daily Star
The Trump administration said on Thursday it will provide $73 million in new financial aid to Rohingya refugees through the UN World Food Programme, amid concerns that aid cuts could deepen the crisis for the world's largest stateless population. The infusion comes as US President Donald Trump and his administration have made sweeping cuts to foreign assistance as part of his "America First" agenda and wider efforts to drastically cut federal spending and dismantle parts of the US government. Click here to read…
BNP backs restoration of caretaker government system in its original form – Dhaka Tribune
Even though the BNP has agreed to the reform proposal for reinstating the caretaker government system to oversee the upcoming national election, the party insists on maintaining the previous 90-day tenure instead of the 120-day period proposed by the Electoral System Reform Commission. "The caretaker government system is an exceptional measure in the context of Bangladesh's realities. It is a constitutional provision designed to enable the state to be run by elected representatives of the public. So, in this regard, it is preferable to have a caretaker government for a 90-day period, as was the case in the past," the party said in response to the reform recommendation made by the Electoral System Reform Commission. Click here to read…
Bhutan
Maochhu bridge on the horizon – Kuensel
Gelephu—After years of broken promises, the long-awaited Maochhu Bridge is finally going to take shape with the construction of the bridge set to begin early next year as part of the Gelephu-Tareythang highway. For nearly two decades, successive governments pledged to build the bridge over the notorious Maochhu River, only to leave voters disillusioned as the plans repeatedly failed to take off. Now, as part of the ambitious Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project, the bridge is one of the four major crossings planned under the Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia Bhutan Project. Funded jointly by the Royal Government of Bhutan and the World Bank, the USD 150-200 million (Nu 12.91–17.21 billion) project is scheduled to be completed by 2029. Click here to read…
Maldives
Confident that the support between Maldives and Bangladesh will grow: President Muizzu – Adhadhu
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has expressed confidence that the support and collaboration between Maldives and Bangladesh across various sectors will continue to grow in the years ahead. Muizzu made the remarks on the occasion of Bangladesh's 54th Independence Day. He conveyed greetings to President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Chief Adviser of the interim Government Dr. Muhammad Yunus. In his letters, Muizzu highlighted the close and cordial relations between the Maldives and Bangladesh which he noted are underlined by mutual understanding, commitment to regional peace and stability and people to people connections. Click here to read…
Gov’t spends over MVR 9 bln on loan repayment – Avas
Over MVR 9 billion has been utilised from the state budget so far this year for loan repayment. According to the Finance Ministry's Weekly Fiscal Development Report, the government's expenditure stood at MVR 9.4 billion as of the 13th of this month, up from MVR 9.1 billion during the same period last year. While MVR 2.3 billion has been spent on loan repayment so far this year, this is a sharp increase from the MVR 833.3 million spent in the same period last year. Although expenditure on employee salaries, allowances and pensions increased this year, total recurrent expenditure declined compared to the same period last year. Recurrent expenditure fell from MVR 6.2 billion last year to MVR 6.1 billion this year. Click here to read…
Myanmar
Election to proceed per 2008 Constitution, aligned with regional security conditions – The Global New Light of Myanmar
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has told a meeting in Naypyitaw that elections must be held by January next year. The military leader has repeatedly promised a general election since he seized power in a coup in 2021, claiming electoral fraud in the 2020 general election. During his trip to Russia and Belarus this month he announced a likely time frame for an election. He told Tuesday’s meeting that he plans to hold polls in the third and fourth weeks of December and the first and second weeks of January. “Elections must be completed successfully by January,” he was quoted as saying by the junta media. His statement suggested that elections would be held in stages as the junta boss called for efforts to “initiate” elections in December, citing the post-independence elections which were held in three phases from 1950 to 1952 due to the civil war. Click here to read…
AA and Allied Local Resistance Seize Ayeyarwady Villages – The Irrawaddy
Combined forces of the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) and regional People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) have reportedly seized several villages in Ayeyarwady’s Lemyethna Township after fierce clashes last week. A displaced resident from Lekhonegyi village in the township said Wednesday: “I heard air raids every day until yesterday. Fighting mainly took place in Wetkone village, but it’s stopped today.” The clashes have forced more than 1,000 people from a dozen villages to flee their homes, but some remain trapped, according to locals. The clashes occurred in the eastern foothills of the Arakan Mountains that separate Lemyethna from Gwa Township in the AA’s home state of Rakhine. Click here to read…
Pakistan
Pakistan pays back $1b Chinese loan-The Express Tribune
Pakistan has paid back a $1 billion Chinese commercial loan on the understanding of getting it refinanced soon, which temporarily pulled down the nation's thin foreign exchange reserves to a six-month low of $10.6 billion. The government returned the $1 billion loan of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in two equal tranches this month, said the Pakistani authorities. The ICBC had given the loan two years ago at floating interest rates, which translated around 7.5%. Click here to read…
Several killed, vehicles torched in Balochistan-Dawn
Armed men blocked the main highway in Gwadar district late on Wednesday night, killing at least five people and torching a number of heavy vehicles loaded with goods from the port. Security forces had moved towards the area where militants had blocked highways and operations to clear the roads were underway at the time of going to press. Click here to read…
Sri Lanka
Modi to undertake state visit to Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6 – Daily Mirror
Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake a State visit to Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism said. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi is set to hold bilateral talks with President Anura Kumara Disanayaka and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. Click here to read…
Sri Lanka makes big pitch to attract capital market investments – Daily Mirror
Sri Lanka yesterday made a compelling case f or investments into its capital markets, urging investors to be part of the island nation’s growth story. Having emerged from crisis, the country is now positioning itself as an attractive destination with fresh opportunities. At the ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum that kicked off in Colombo yesterday, senior officials from key regulatory bodies pressed their case, emphasising why the time is right to enter the market. The previous instance Sri Lanka made this call at home was in 2014, whereas the first was on 1998. Click here to read…
