The business community said that restrictions on the banking system in Afghanistan have challenged investors, leaving them with many problems in their businesses. According to the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), withdrawals for investors have been restricted to the purchase of food and basic materials required for running their businesses. Withdrawals for decoration of offices, clothes, and other relevant materials are not processed, said ACCI officials. Click here to read... [2]
A delegation from Pakistan comprised of religious scholars and tribal elders is visiting Afghanistan this week, local officials in the Chaman area in Pakistan confirmed to TOLOnews. The visit is expected to discuss recent tensions raised between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line, according to some members of the delegation. “We are going to Afghanistan. Those in Afghanistan are our brothers. The same are the governor and other leaders. We talk to them because the (Spin Boldak-Chaman) crossing is closed often due to clashes,” said Sardar Barat, a member of the delegation.Click here to read... [3]
The UN Security Council held a session on Afghanistan today emphasizing the way forward through a more pluralistic polity, where all Afghans, especially women and minorities, could see themselves represented. In a briefing to the United Nation’s Security Council earlier today, the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva said the only war forward for Afghanistan is to form an inclusive government where everyone, particularly women and minorities could seem themselves represented. Click here to read... [4]
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Tuesday called for increasing the capacities of the land ports on the India-Bangladesh border. "India is a close friend and a major trading partner of Bangladesh. There is a huge demand for Bangladeshi products in the Indian market. Bangladesh is now able to export international quality products at relatively low prices. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the capacities of the land ports on the India-Bangladesh border," he said. Click here to read... [5]
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said Bangladesh is looking into the “pros and cons” of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to determine if Bangladesh will benefit from joining it. “Recently, there has been debate about the Quad and Indo-Pacific Economic (Framework). To understand the issue, we have requested BIISS to look into it. I am thankful to them. They have submitted one report on it,” Momen saidClick here to read... [6]
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs of Iran Ali Bagheri Kani is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday morning to discuss bilateral and other issues of mutual interest with Bangladesh. In November, the Iranian said Foreign Office Consultation and meeting of Joint Economic Commission should be held at mutually convenient time to further strengthen relations in the field of trade, investment, economy, energy, chemical fertilizer and food security. Click here to read... [7]
If the country imported Nu 30 billion (B) worth of goods in the last three months this year, the import bill would hit over Nu 120B. The total import bill at Nu 93.03B as of September this year already surpassed one-year’s import of Nu 90.23B in 2021. About 70 percent was imported from India. The value of exports, including electricity, stood at Nu 44.9B. Click here to read... [8]
The 6th Joint Staff Talks between India and the Maldives were held in New Delhi yesterday, December 20. The meeting was conducted in a friendly, warm and extremely cordial atmosphere. Discussions focused on the ongoing and new initiatives under the ambit of the existing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism of all three services and further strengthening the engagements. Click here to read... [9]
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Maldives. Maldives’ economic activity rebounded strongly from the pandemic-induced contraction, supported by the authorities’ decisive policy measures. Real GDP growth recovered sharply to 37 percent in 2021 from the unprecedented contraction of 33.5 percent in 2020, as tourism activities bounced back. Inflation has risen but is contained due to price subsidies. Click here to read... [10]
The bill recently passed by the US Congress, known broadly as the 2022 Burma Act, which allows the US government to provide technical support and non-military assistance to engage with groups opposing the military junta in Naypyitaw, combined with the arrival of incoming ASEAN chair Indonesia, could be a game-changer for the Myanmar crisis, which is soon to enter its third year. Click here to read... [11]
A junta court will hear the final arguments in the 18-month-long trial of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi next week, a legal source said Tuesday, before reaching its final verdicts against the Nobel laureate. Suu Kyi has been a prisoner since the military toppled her government in February 2021, ending the Southeast Asian nation’s brief period of democracy. Click here to read... [12]
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has divested from Yoma Bank after its business with military companies was exposed, according to activist group Justice For Myanmar (JFM). Divestment by the IFC, the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries, came after JFM revealed Yoma Bank’s dealings with the military and its conglomerates. Click here to read... [13]
Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa, who is from the Shekhar Koirala faction of the party, became the only opponent to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba in the contest for the parliamentary party leader. The NC will elect its parliamentary party leader tomorrow. Of the seven national political parties, the NC is the only party that will have to hold election to choose its parliamentary party leader. Other parties decided on their PP leader unanimously. Click here to read... [14]
Nepal’s drug regulatory authority has blacklisted 16 Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Divya Pharmacy which manufactures yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali products, stating that they failed to comply with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) drug-manufacturing standards. In April and July this year, the department sent a team of drug inspectors to India to inspect the manufacturing facilities of pharmaceutical companies that had applied to supply their products to Nepal. Click here to read... [15]
Nepal earned over Rs11 billion by selling excess power to India from early June to this week, the Nepal Electricity Authority said on Monday. The high income suggests electricity has emerged as a major export item. In early November last year, India had for the first time allowed Nepal to sell electricity in the Indian market via a competitive bidding process. But after exporting for a few weeks, Nepal stopped selling power to India in December amid reduction in power generation in the dry season. Exports resumed this year with the start of monsoon in early June. Click here to read... [16]
Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan on Tuesday termed “illegal, against the provisions of the Constitution and thus stand disposed of” the Punjab governor’s orders directing Chief Minister Parvez Elahi to seek a vote of confidence in a special assembly session to show he still commands a majority. In his two-page ruling, the speaker maintained that the governor’s orders were not in accordance with Article 54(3) and Article 127. “The house is in session since Oct 23, 2022, and under Article 54(3) and 127. No fresh session can be convened unless and until the current one ends,” the order read. Click here to read... [17]
WE are witnessing the rapid unravelling of Pakistan’s anti-terrorism policy, and can expect an escalating human and material cost. On Sunday, in their most audacious attack yet since late November when they called off their tenuous ceasefire with the government, 33 TTP militants detained inside the Bannu Counter-Terrorism Department centre managed to overpower their interrogators and take a number of law-enforcement personnel hostage. Click here to read... [18]
The $8.2 billion gap appeared too large to be filled in the Geneva conference amid low response to the UN’s $816 million emergency appeal, high risks of Pakistan’s sovereign default, and possible derailment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme because of imprudent economic policies. The planning ministry has finalised the resilient, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction framework, dubbed as 4RF, showing a financing gap of $8.2 billion. The framework has been developed with the help of the Asian Development Bank, European Union, UN Development Programme, and World Bank Group. Click here to read... [19]
Background discussions with the people dealing with the matter told The Express Tribune that despite apparent friction in ties with Kabul, Pakistan has no option but to seek engagement with the Afghan Taliban regime. The incidents of the last few weeks have put Pakistan’s relationship with the Afghan Taliban in jeopardy. Islamabad was already upset over Kabul’s failure to tackle the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the border clashes in Chaman further deepened the crisis. Click here to read... [20]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to pass on Rs65 billion to consumers of electricity which has been deferred in the shape of Fuel Price Adjustments (FPA) during the peak of last summer season. Out of the total outstanding amount of Rs65 billion on account of deferment of FPA in the electricity bills in the current fiscal year, the government has agreed with the IMF that Rs 55billion would be passed on to consumers and that would be recovered through bills. The remaining Rs10 billion would be absorbed through allocation of subsidy amount. Click here to read... [21]
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that in order to face the global problems that may arise in the future, there should be unity between the Indian Ocean as well as Asian and African countries. The President said that since the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war may be felt in the future, the country should also work towards self-sufficiency by establishing food security. Click here to read... [22]
NIA has registered at least four cases since last year to probe conspiracy by several LTTE cadres based in India and Sri Lanka to revive the activities of the banned outfit by indulging in arms smuggling, ferrying of drugs and using hawala for transfer of funds. Click here to read... [23]
The Chinese Embassy in Colombo yesterday said that one million kilograms (10,000 metric tonnes) of rice donation promised by China have all been delivered to Sri Lanka with the last 1,000 MT reaching Colombo on Monday. The Embassy said that the donation of this rice stock will help support nutrition and studies of over one million students in 7,900 schools across the country. Click here to read... [24]
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Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/21/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[2] https://tolonews.com/business-181276
[3] https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181253
[4] https://www.khaama.com/un-security-council-holds-a-session-on-afghanistan/
[5] https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/12/20/dhaka-for-increasing-capacity-of-land-ports-on-india-bangladesh-border
[6] https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/12/20/fm-momen-bangladesh-considering-pros-and-cons-of-indo-pacific-economic-framework
[7] https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/12/21/morning-brief-135
[8] https://kuenselonline.com/import-bill-to-hit-over-nu-100b-this-year/
[9] https://newsonair.com/2022/12/21/india-maldives-hold-6th-joint-staff-talks-in-new-delhi/
[10] https://www.miragenews.com/maldives-completes-imf-consultation-for-2022-919972/
[11] https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-troops-kill-4-civilians-burn-6-villages-in-indaw.html
[12] https://www.thaipbsworld.com/trial-of-myanmars-suu-kyi-enters-final-phase/
[13] https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ifc-divests-from-yoma-bank-after-myanmar-military-links-exposed.html
[14] https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/gagan-thapa-lone-challenger-to-sher-bahadur-deuba
[15] https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/nepal-blacklists-16-indian-pharma-cos-463013
[16] https://kathmandupost.com/national/2022/12/21/nepal-makes-over-rs11-billion-selling-power-to-india
[17] https://www.dawn.com/news/1727466/punjab-on-the-brink-of-another-constitutional-crisis
[18] https://www.dawn.com/news/1727432/an-audacious-attack
[19] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2392117/pakistan-identifies-82b-flood-funding-gap
[20] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2392123/pakistan-in-a-fix-on-afghan-strategy
[21] https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1022221-imf-asks-for-passing-on-rs65bn-burden-to-power-consumers
[22] https://dailynews.lk/2022/12/21/local/293530/unity-between-indian-ocean-asian-and-african-countries-vital-face-global
[23] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/9-sri-lankans-arrested-in-tamil-nadu-for-attempt-to-revive-ltte-nia-101671476310731.html
[24] https://dailynews.lk/2022/12/21/local/293540/china%E2%80%99s-promised-rice-donation-delivered
[25] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - December 21, 2022&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/21/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[26] http://twitter.com/share?text=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - December 21, 2022&url=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/21/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest&via=Azure Power
[27] whatsapp://send?text=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/21/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[28] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Aakriti-Vinayak
[29] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Aarushi-Gupta/20220811
[30] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Anil-Kumar-20221110
[31] https://www.vifindia.org/node/7202