Neighborhood News Digest- 19 June 2024

Afghanistan

Kabul Urges UNAMA to Portray Reality at UNSC Meeting-Tolo News

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, called on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to reflect the realities of Afghanistan in the upcoming UN Security Council meeting. Mujahid said the establishment of interaction between the Islamic Emirate and the international community is one of UNAMA's responsibilities. He said that presenting an incorrect image of Afghanistan is one of the reasons for UNAMA's failure in its mission. Click here to read… [2]

Ministry Highlights $2.7 Billion Trade and Export Growth in Early 2024-Tolo News

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced efforts to increase export levels abroad. According to the ministry's information, in the first three months of 2024, the value of exports and imports between the caretaker government and other countries was nearly $2.7 billion. Click here to read… [3]

Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland Has Generated $300M in Interest-Tolo News

Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, board member of the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland, told TOLO news that the fund has so far generated about $300 million in profit. Shah Mohammad Mehrabi said that the primary purpose of establishing this fund is to ensure financial stability in Afghanistan. The Afghan Trust Fund was created in September 2022 to safeguard $3.5 billion of the country's assets in Switzerland. Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

BNP raises alarm over Indian railway network plan via Bangladesh - The Daily Star

BNP today voiced concern over the Indian government's plan to develop a network of railway tracks through Bangladesh to connect the northeast region with the rest of India. Click here to read… [5]

Mizoram sees fresh influx of refugees from Bangladesh's Chittagong hill tracts, total reaches 1,901 – The Economic Times

Mizoram has received nearly 30 new refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeast Bangladesh, raising the total number of refugees to 1,901. The majority are from the Kuki-Chin community, primarily the Bawm and Pang tribes, who fled conflict between the Bangladesh army and the Kuki-Chin National Army. Click here to read… [6]

2nd Trip In One Month! Sheikh Hasina To Meet Modi Again; What’s Cooking Between India & Bangladesh – The Eurasian Times

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India on June 21. This will be her second trip to the oldest and largest democracy in the world within just 15 days. Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

NA defers discussion on Education Bill-Kuensel

The National Assembly (NA) yesterday deferred the discussion on the Education Bill following varying opinions from the MPs. The motion was moved by South Thimphu MP Tshewang Rinzin, highlighting the necessity of the Bill to prevent the politicisation of education. He argued that education reforms are crucial, especially with the ongoing reform in the sector and criticised previous governments for using education as a political tool without achieving substantial progress. Click here to read… [8]

DGPC and Adani Group to collaborate on Wangchhu project-Kuensel

The Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) and India’s Adani Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sunday on the construction of the Wangchhu Hydropower Project. An official from DGPC said that it was an expression of interest from DGPC and the Adani Group had agreed to construct the downstream projects of the Tala project. “There are two options for taking this project forward: either as a 570MW run-of-the-river scheme, or a 900MW reservoir scheme,” said the DGPC official. Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

Maldives requires immediate fiscal reforms to avoid risks: World Bank Country Director – Sun International

The Maldives faces vulnerable fiscal conditions and debt risks owing to sharp spending rise and subsidies widening the deficit, said World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Faris H. Hadad-Zervos. While highlighting the pattern of sharp spending by the Maldives state for decades, Faris notes that the island nation’s annual debt servicing needs are likely to be USD 512 million for the current and following years, and another USD 1.07 billion in 2026. Click here to read… [10]

Myanmar

Myanmar Poverty at Six-Year High, World Bank Reports 1% Growth - Mynrination

Poverty in Myanmar is more widespread than at any time in the last six years and growth in the conflict-torn nation is likely to remain at a measly 1% in the current fiscal year with little respite in sight, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Escalating violence, labour shortages and a depreciating currency have made it harder to do business, the bank said in a report on the Southeast Asian nation that has been in political and economic turmoil since a 2021 military coup ended a decade of tentative democratic and economic reform. Click here to read… [11]

Continue to back Myanmar's transition towards inclusive democracy, India tells UN - Dajji World

Asserting that it remains steadfast in its support for Myanmar's transition towards an inclusive federal democracy, India on Tuesday reiterated that it supports the ASEAN-led efforts and the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus to resolve the precarious humanity and security situation in the neighbouring country. Click here to read… [12]

Junta troops arrest hundreds following forced relocations in western Myanmar - RFA

Junta troops over the last week have arrested and interrogated several hundred people who were recently forced to move into the state capital of western Rakhine state, several people told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday. About 10,000 residents from 12 villages have relocated over the last week into urban areas of Sittwe ahead of anticipated attacks by the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority insurgent group that has been battling the military for control of territory. Click here to read… [13]

Systematic terror, brutal atrocities rife in Myanmar: UN human rights chief - UN News

Addressing the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that the crisis there is “emblematic of a decades-long legacy of military domination, the stifling of dissent, and division.” He added that the same dynamics are playing out against the minority Muslim Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine province. “We are hearing stories of horrific war tactics, such as beheadings. Midnight drone attacks. The burning of homes as people sleep. People being shot at as they flee for their lives.” Click here to read… [14]

Nepal

Celebrating the past, present, and future of the US-Nepal bilateral relationship - OnlineKhabar

This year, the United States and Nepal celebrate 77 years of bilateral relations. Since 1947, our nations have built an open, responsive, and collaborative friendship that has stood the test of time. The US Embassy in Nepal advances this close friendship through a mutual goal of helping Nepal build a peaceful, prosperous, resilient, and democratic society. This commitment has been demonstrated across the US government. For example, the US Agency for International Development started working with Nepal in 1959 with a focus on health, education, democratic systems, and infrastructure. Click here to read… [15]

Challenges of being on the Indian periphery - Kathmandu Post

Nepal can no longer count upon the remaining Bharatmatako Mutu with Premier Modi’s Agnipath scheme on stream, and recruitment of Nepali Gurkhas in suspension. The four-time prime minister of Britain, William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), described the first principle of his foreign policy: Good government at home. Nepal must discard its obsession with the paranoid “yam between boulders” formulation and aim to be a confident pipal tree growing out of the crevices of the mighty rocks. Click here to read… [16]

Nepal calls for climate justice as IDA21 begins - Kathmandu Post

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Tuesday that despite Nepal’s negligible contribution to global emissions, the country has been disproportionately hit by the adverse effects of climate change. He urged the global lenders for climate justice and compensation for the loss and damage incurred due to circumstances that were and are beyond Nepal’s control. “For the least-developed countries like Nepal, debt concessionality [concessional lending] is critical,” said Dahal, speaking at the 21st replenishment meeting of the International Development Association (IDA21). Click here to read… [17]

Pakistan

Pakistan budget to significantly reduce government debt, rating agency Fitch predicts-The Express Tribune

Fitch forecasts Pakistan’s FY25 budget to significantly reduce government debt, which is projected to decline to 68% of GDP by the end of FY24.This reduction is attributed to high inflation and deflator effects, which help offset soaring domestic interest costs. Fitch Ratings forecasts a concurrent decline in both inflation and interest costs, driven by economic growth and primary surpluses. The State Bank of Pakistan took a pivotal step on 10 June by cutting policy rates for the first time in five years, reducing them by 150 basis points to 20.5%. Click here to read… [18]

Country's critical sectors need to be privatised: Aurangzeb-The Express Tribune

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has underscored the country's need to 'privatise' critical sectors of the country. Speaking to media in Kamalia, Punjab, and Aurangzeb emphasised the urgent need to address the unsustainable losses incurred by state-owned enterprises, a burden disproportionately borne by the public. Click here to read… [19]

Dashed hopes of agriculture sector-Dawn

In a few words, the FY25 budget for the agriculture sector lacks long-term vision, national priorities, and strategic direction. The absence of defined goals and a coherent strategy to address the sector’s pressing issues renders budgetary allocations and financial measures meaningless and ineffectual. The budget is devoid of new initiatives and appears to be a mere replica of the previous year’s budget, with some minor adjustments in allocations. Consequently, it is unlikely to catalyse significant growth within the sector. Click here to read… [20]

Sri Lanka

Indian Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka tomorrow – Daily Mirror

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jayashankar is scheduled for an official visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow (20), the Foreign Ministry said. The purpose of his visit is to review ongoing projects between the two countries ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Sri Lanka. Click here to read… [21]

Experts warn Economic Transformation Bill may deter foreign investments – Daily Mirror

The Economic Transformation Bill could create an oasis in an island of bad governance, sparking uncertainty among foreign investors and threatening the flow of crucial investments, warn legal and investment experts. Click here to read… [22]

China, Sri Lanka conduct diplomatic consultations – Daily Mirror

Vice Foreign Minister of China Sun Weidong and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Aruni Yasodha Wijewardane held the 13th round of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic consultations in Beijing. Click here to read… [23]