VIF Information Alerts - 6 Mar 2018

Tashkent to Hold Peace Summit on Afghanistan
Published: TOLO News
06 Mar 2018

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will open a high-level international conference on Afghanistan - "Peace Process, Cooperation in the Sphere of Security and Regional Interaction" - in Tashkent later this month, Uzbekistan’s media reported. According to uzdaily.com, the conference will take place on March 26 and 27, and will be held in the country’s capital Tashkent.

High-ranking officials are expected to attend including UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres and the UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, as well as the foreign ministers of China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, uzdaily.com reported. Click here to read... [2]

Govt Working to Form Territorial Army
Published: TOLOnews
05 Mar 2018

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry on Monday said that an order by President Ashraf Ghani on the formation of a territorial army has been issued based on which over 36,000 recruits will be hired in three phases. In response to the move, military experts expressed concerns around the recruitment and management of such a force.

Presently over 190,000 soldiers serve in the structures of the embattled Afghan National Army (ANA) which is tackling insurgents on multiple fronts across the country. Click here to read... [3]

After govt’s red card, Tibetans shift Dalai Lama event from Delhi to Dharamshala
Published: Hindustan Times
06 Mar 2018

Three days after a note by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha directing senior political leaders and government functionaries not to participate in Tibet-related activities became public, the Tibetan government-in-exile has shifted a high-profile event planned to commemorate Dalai Lama’s 60th year in exile. The event will now happen in Dharamshala, not Delhi. Click here to read... [4]

China to increase 2018 defense budget by 8.1 percent
Published: Xinhua
05 Mar 2018

China will raise its defense budget by 8.1 percent in 2018, according to a budget report to be submitted to the national legislature Monday, up from last year's 7 percent. The 2018 defense budget will be 1.11 trillion yuan (175 billion U.S. dollars), according to the report available to media before the first session of the 13th National People's Congress opens Monday morning.Click here to read... [5]

China slashes three lakh troops; reduces PLA size to two million
Published: The Indian Express
05 Mar 2018

China on Monday said it has slashed three lakh troops, reducing the size of its 2.3-million People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to just two-million-strong force, a move aimed at making the world’s largest army a mightier force capable of winning modern wars. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made the announcement in his annual work report to the National People’s Congress (NPC).

Li said the military had completed its goal of slashing three lakh troops, reducing the size of the 2.3 million PLA to just two-million-strong force. The PLA Daily, official newspaper of the Chinese military, said non-battle personnel were downsized. The troop cut was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2015. Click here to read... [6]

Philippine judge rules out any China gas deal without sovereignty recognition
Published: The Tribune
05 Mar 2018

Any deal between the Philippines and a Chinese firm to jointly explore for gas in the Reed Bank of the South China Sea will be illegal unless China recognises the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereign rights there, a Philippine judge said on Monday. Click here to read... [7]

After FATF grey-listing, Pakistan faces EU black-listing threat
Published: The Economic Times
05 Mar 2018

The Financial Action Taken Force’s (FATF) decision to put Pakistan on its grey list will not only make it difficult for Islamabad to attract foreign investments, but may also invite punitive action by the European Union as the bloc might put the country on it's own blacklist.

Pakistan, following the FATF decision last month, entered into a phase where it has to not only submit an action plan against controlling terror fund at the body’s next plenary in Paris end-June but also give a political undertaking that it would implement the steps, officials here told ET. Click here to read... [8]

PM Oli, Pakistani PM Abbasi agree to revitalise SAARC summit
Published: The Himalayan
06 Mar 2018

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held bilateral meeting on Monday.

During the meeting, matters related to enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment, trade, tourism, agriculture, and human resource development were discussed. The two leaders agreed to hold regular meetings of bilateral mechanisms. They also exchanged views on revitalising the SAARC summit in the spirit of the charter, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here this evening. Click here to read... [9]

Bangladesh-Vietnam joint statement
Published: The Daily Star
05 Mar 2018

The President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came up with a joint statement issued today in Dhaka on the occasion of the Vietnam president's state visit to Bangladesh.

The particulars of the joint statement are given below: Click here to read... [10]