Neighborhood News Digest – 02 March 2023

Afghanistan

Pakistan's special representative to Afghanistan resigns – India Today

Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq on Wednesday resigned from his post, citing personal reasons. “After serving close to three years as Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan, I have requested the government that the time has come for me to move on and focus on my personal pursuits - family, books, and agriculture/environment,” he tweeted. Click here to read... [2]

Afghanistan resumes passport distribution after 5-month hiatus - AA

Afghanistan Wednesday resumed distributing passports five months after service problems were suspended due to "technical problems.” According to the Passport General Directorate, the technical problems have been resolved and the distribution of passports will resume. Afghans who went to directorate branches formed long lines to get new passports. Earlier, the Taliban interim administration had announced that it would resume passport distribution across the country on Wednesday. Click here to read... [3]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Foreign Minister calls for promotion of peace, harmony across nation – The Print

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday called for promotion of peace and harmony across nations and stressed the need for inculcating a mindset of respect towards others at an event at the Vivekananda International Foundation in Delhi. “We have been promoting cultural peace across nations… If we inculcate a mindset of respect for others irrespective of religion, colour, we can hope to have sustainable peace across nations,” the minister said. Momen called for an end to violence, war and terror in regions and nations, and said if there is peace there will not be millions of refugees like the Rohingyas, who are being provided shelter by Bangladesh. Click here to read... [4]

Anti-Russia sanctions by the West hit Global South, including Bangladesh: Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen – The Hindu

Countries that have been unleashing sanctions against each other after the beginning of the Ukraine war never consulted Dhaka, even though Bangladesh is among those nations “hit hardest” by the economic fallout of the crisis, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said. Mr. Momen spoke to The Hindu hours after arriving in New Delhi to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that began on Wednesday evening with a conversation and dinner among the delegations of the participating countries. He reiterated that there was an urgent requirement to maintain open channels of dialogue at both regional and global levels so that less developed countries are not left alone to deal with the unpredictable scenarios of the contemporary world order. Click here to read... [5]

Talks needed, open minds too – Daily Star

In recent days, several media reports have focused on the possibility of talks between the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP over holding an inclusive national election. Those reports read the ruling party may take an initiative to bring the BNP to the table for ensuring the latter's participation in the national election, slated for January next year, to make it acceptable to all. But the BNP is currently busy waging a simultaneous movement with like-minded parties to press home the demand for an election-time caretaker government and resignation of the incumbent government. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Bhutan strategises to promote tourism - Kuensel

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has come up with a marketing strategy to promote Bhutan abroad. It consists of raising awareness in media, engagement with international B2B (travel agents) and webinars, travel and trade events, advertising and digital marketing campaigns, domestic industry engagement and existing and new market activations. Officials of DoT said that social media is also part of the strategy and they have several big influencers from Thailand, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom coming to Bhutan. Click here to read... [7]

Duty-free shops begin selling gold to tourists - Kuensel

Tourists visiting Bhutan can purchase gold from the Bhutan Duty-Free shops in Phuentsholing and Thimphu. The shops started selling gold on March 1. In Thimphu, tourists can purchase the gold from the duty-free shop at Chubachu and in Phuentsholing, the duty-free shop will be temporarily housed at the Bank of Bhutan office. The price of gold at the duty-free shops will be based on the global gold price. “However, products bought from a duty-free shop anywhere in the world are cheaper, which is the same in Bhutan. The same principle will also be applied to the sale of gold. Therefore, the gold bought from the Bhutan Duty-Free shops should be cheaper compared to the normal market,” Dorji Dhradhul said. Click here to read... [8]

Handmade carpets an alternate source of income for women in Bhutan's Cha-Ngar-Zam village. - ANI

Handmade carpets or dramtse dhen are an alternate source of income for women in Bhutan’s Zhemgang district’s Cha-Ngar-Zam village. A group of twelve women working in the Traditional Dremdhen Unit weave carpet of all sozes and designs. The traditional Drumdhen Unit not only generates profits but is also helping empower rural women. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives

Former Maldives president gets 11 years for corruption, slapped with $3 million penalty - India Narrative

Former Maldivian president Abdullah Yameen, currently the opposition leader, has been asked to pay $1 million of laundered money and $2 million more related to corruption while dealing with a foreign company for resort development. The Criminal Court in the Maldives also sentenced Yameen to 11 years in prison over corruption and money laundering charges related to the leasing of Aarah island in Vaavu Atoll to a foreign party, according to the Maldivian media. Yameen is the leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). Click here to read... [10]

Myanmar

Indian State-owned firm sold artillery barrels to Myanmar: activists - The Hindu

An Indian State-owned arms manufacturer has shipped artillery barrels to military-ruled Myanmar, an activist group said Wednesday, warning they could be used by the junta in its crackdown on dissent. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government two years ago, ending a brief democratic experiment and sparking mass protests. Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar junta sentences nearly 2,400 people in February alone - RFA

Myanmar’s military junta sentenced almost 2,400 people to prison terms in February, more than doubling the number of prisoners it sentenced since taking power in the 2021 coup to nearly 4,700. Statistics from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, showed that between the coup and Jan. 31, 2023, the junta had sentenced 2,299 people, but in February 2023 alone, it sentenced 2,384. Click here to read... [12]

Malaysia’s Anwar says Asean cannot view Myanmar crisis as a ‘purely internal’ issue - SCMP

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for new ways to persuade Myanmar’s ruling generals to resolve the civil conflict, as he revealed more than 200,000 refugees had fled Myanmar to his country. Anwar made the comment in Manila, where he was visiting as part of his first regional tour since taking office last November. Click here to read... [13]

China, Myanmar Have Resumed Work on Railway Project, Report Says - The Diplomat

Earlier this week, the news magazine Frontier reported that a Chinese state company had quietly resumed preliminary work on a railway running from southern China to the Myanmar coast in Rakhine State. Click here to read... [14]

Nepal

Nepal welcomes over 120,000 tourists in 2023, Indians top the list in Feb - Business Standard

Nepal has welcomed more than 1,20,000 tourists in the first two months of this year, the Himalayan nation's tourism department said on Wednesday, with Indians accounting for the highest numbers of arrivals in February. Click here to read... [15]

In Nepal game of political dice, Prachanda-Deuba & India are back while Oli out in the cold again - The Print

The wheels are turning in Nepali politics again, barely a couple of months since the elections threw up a new coalition government led by two Communist parties, one of whose leaders abandoned his pre-poll partner to become Prime Minister in alliance with the other. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal welcomes investment in nationally prioritized sectors from China: ambassador - global Times

Nepal is a virgin land for investment and it welcomes investment from China in the nationally prioritized sectors including energy, agriculture, tourism, mines, mineral, infrastructure, and information and communication technology, said Nepali Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha on Tuesday. “China is a trusted neighbor and reliable development partner of Nepal. China is not only the largest source of tourism for Nepal, but also one of our largest trade and investment partners,” he said. Click here to read... [17]

Pakistan

Pakistan risks $18 bn fine for not completing Iran gas pipeline - Daiji World

Pakistan risks a fine of $18 billion for not completing the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project in the timeframe stipulated in the agreement, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed. The apex committee of the National Assembly (NA) met with Noor Alam Khan in the chair and deliberated on the non-utilisation of 332 billion PKR in gas infrastructure development cess, The Express Tribune reported. Click here to read... [18]

Pakistan launches its first-ever digital census - The Hindu

Pakistan Wednesday launched its first-ever digital population and housing census, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying that it will help future planning and efficient utilisation of resources ahead of this year's general elections. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan appoints envoy for Kartarpur to woo pilgrims - Tribune India

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Ramesh Singh Arora as the Ambassador-at-large for Kartarpur Corridor as part of efforts to attract Sikh pilgrims from across the world, a government notification said on Wednesday. Click here to read... [20]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka workers defy strike ban to protest IMF bailout plan - Aljazeera

Sri Lankan workers have gone on strike in defiance of a government ban to protest against a rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of some hospitals, banks and ports. President Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing a public backlash over steep tax hikes and spending cuts imposed to secure a sorely needed International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. About 40 trade unions, including government hospital staff and bank employees, stopped work on Wednesday. Click here to read... [21]

Indonesia to sign a Preferential Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka to increase bilateral trade – Colombo Page

Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, Dewi Gustina Tobing said her country would like to finalize a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Sri Lanka to facilitate bilateral trade between the two countries. The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Tuesday (28) to discuss issues including enhancing cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment, and tourism. Click here to read... [22]

Indian Navy Ship Sukanya departs after successful bilateral naval exercise with Sri Lanka Navy – Colombo Page

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sukanya which arrived in Colombo on 27th February 2023 on a three-day official visit, departed the island today (01st March) after successfully concluding bilateral naval exercises with the Sri Lankan Navy. At her departure, the ship conducted a naval exercise with SLNS Gajabahu of the Sri Lanka Navy and in the Passage Exercise (PASSEX), Replenishment at Sea (RAS) drills, formations and ship man oeuvres, communication exercises were conducted, the Navy said. Click here to read... [23]