Neighborhood News Digest- 06 May 2024

Afghanistan

Afghan Delegation Attends the 15th OIC Summit in Gambia-Tolo News

The Islamic Emirate says that a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in the 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation headed by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson for the Ministry, was set to participate in the session and discuss bilateral and multilateral issues with high-ranking officials of the organization and representatives of countries. Click here to read... [2]

Afghan Embassy in India Confirms Gold Smuggling by Consul General-Tolo News

The former Afghan government's embassy in India confirmed the allegation that Zakia Wardak, the consul general of Afghanistan in Mumbai, India, was accused of smuggling 25 kilograms of gold. The embassy announced in a statement that Zakia Wardak was not associated with the former government of the country and was operating in coordination with the Islamic Emirate. Click here to read... [3]

US Provided Over $17B to Afghanistan, Afghan Refugees since 2021: SIGAR-Tolo News

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its latest report that the United States has appropriated or otherwise made available $17.19 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and to Afghan refugees since the return of the Islamic Emirate. SIGAR said $3.5 billion in assets were moved from the Afghan Central Bank to the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF), and it counted this amount as part of the $17.19 billion total. Click here to read... [4]

Ministry of Information: No Ban on Selling Iranian Books-Tolo News

The Ministry of Information and Culture denied reports of a ban on the sale of Iranian books in the country. Khabib Ghuffran, the spokesperson for the ministry, called the reports concerning the prohibition of printing, buying, and selling these books baseless and far from reality, stating that no such decision has been made. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh to loosen interest rate on IMF prescription - The Daily Star

Bangladesh Bank is going to introduce a flexible interest rate and exchange rate instead of fixed or band rates in line with the prescription of International Monetary Fund (IMF). Click here to read... [6]

Impacts of Japan-India Relationship on Bangladesh – Daily Sun

India and Japan have a high degree of congruence in terms of political, economic, and strategic interests. These two countries view each other as partners that have responsibility for, and are capable of, responding to global and regional challenges. Click here to read... [7]

Bangladesh, Italy to jointly combat disinformation campaign over migration – Dhaka tribune

Bangladesh and Italy will work together to fight a disinformation campaign through social media that lures the common people to choose the illegal path to migrate into Europe. Click here to read... [8]

Sweden offers Bangladesh partnership for garment sector sustainability – Dhaka Tribune

Sweden has extended an offer to Bangladesh, proposing a collaborative effort to facilitate a green transition within the garment sector. Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

Bhutan’s economy to rebound to 4.9 percent in FY 2023-24: WB - Kuensel

The World Bank (WB) predicts that Bhutan’s economy will rebound to 4.9 percent growth in the fiscal year 2023-24. Click here to read... [10]

Mongolia, Bhutan election officials to witness preps – Times of India

Two representatives each of the election management bodies of Bhutan and Mongolia along with 17 journalists from Bhutan and Israel will be in Goa during the election to witness the pre poll and polling process, chief electoral officer Ramesh Verma said. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives

India, Maldives review replacement of military personnel from Island by May 10 – Mint

India and Maldives on Friday held the fourth round of bilateral High-Level Core Group meetings in which they reviewed the replacement of Indian military personnel from the Island nation by May 10. Mohamed Muizzu-led Maldives government had set May 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from his country. Click here to read... [12]

Maldives-US commence joint military training exercise – Sun International

The fourth edition of ‘Black Merlin’, a joint military exercise participated by soldiers from United States (US) Montana National Guard and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) commenced on May 5. The joint exercise ‘Black Merlin’ will be held from today onwards to May 28th. As per MNDF, Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) related to intelligence, logistics, medical, EOD and infantry will take place during the exercise. Click here to read... [13]

Myanmar

47 Myanmar refugees enter Mizoram amid forced conscription bid: Intelligence – Times of India

47 refugees, including women, fled Paletwa to Mizoram due to Arakan Army (AA) recruitment. Click here to read... [14]

Myanmar: Humanitarian crisis will have regional fallout – Hindustan Times

In a surprising move taken a few days ago, Myanmar military junta announced that it has put Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, removing her from prison due to extreme weather conditions. Click here to read... [15]

Nepal

Nepal’s unilateral actions will not change ground reality: Jaishankar – Hindu

Nepal on May 3, announced the printing of a new NPR100 currency note with a map that shows the controversial territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, already termed as “artificial enlargement” and “untenable” by India. In an initial reaction, India has said Nepal’s unilateral actions will not change the ground reality. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal, Japan Foreign Ministers hold bilateral talks – Nepal News

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayankaji Shrestha and visiting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Kamikawa Yoko, held bilateral talks on May 5. In the meeting held at Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha's office in Singha Durbar, the two Foreign Ministers discussed strengthening of bilateral relations and cooperation between Nepal and Japan. Click here to read... [17]

Pakistan

Pakistan aims high as Saudi investors arrive-Dawn

A key Saudi delegation comprising dozens of investors has arrived in Islamabad on a three-day visit to explore investment opportunities, as Pakistan aims to court foreign investors to boost its exports in collaboration with Saudi companies. The delegation led by Saudi Deputy Investment Minister Ibrahim Almubarak was welcomed by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal and Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik at the Nur Khan airbase, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce. Click here to read... [18]

Bilawal may take over reins of foreign ministry again-The Express Tribune

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is likely to return as the country’s foreign minister as the ruling PML-N and his party are close to finalising a power-sharing deal, according to people familiar with the development. If the insiders are to be believed, Bilawal will join the cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the portfolio of the foreign ministry. Click here to read... [19]

Wheat crisis: Farmers to launch nationwide protests from May 10-Dawn

Kissan Ittehad Pakistan on Sunday announced that thousands of farmers will participate in nationwide demonstrations against the ongoing wheat crisis from May 10, starting from Multan. Wheat rates have plummeted in the market, and are much below the support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg, with the decision to import wheat despite a local “bumper crop” being blamed. Click here to read... [20]

Sri Lanka

Japan to provide vessel with underwater sonar – Daily Mirror

The Japanese government has finalized a plan to provide Sri Lanka with a vessel equipped with underwater sonar for detecting the location of other vessels in order to improve the country’s oceanographic survey capabilities, according to Japanese Deputy Press Secretary Kaneko Mariko. Click here to read... [21]

Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot deny my allegations: Cardinal – Daily Mirror

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot deny what he told me during the telephone conversation he had with me in 2021, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today. Click here to read... [22]

Tourist arrivals miss 200,000 mark in April – Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka tourism witnessed a drop in momentum in April with the number of international visitors falling below the 200,000 mark for the first time this year. Tourist arrivals in April totaled 148, 867, provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed. Click here to read... [23]