VIF Information Alerts - 28 Mar 2018

Tashkent echoes India’s stand on Afghan peace process
Published: The Economic Times
28 Mar 2018

A two-day mega international meet that began on Monday at this historic city on Tuesday adopted a declaration calling for an ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ peace process, reflecting India’s long-held position that any political solution should not be imposed through proxies.

“…We recognise that a political settlement that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, supported by close regional counterterrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation, and regional economic cooperation and connectivity are key to the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan and the entire region,” read the Declaration issued at the end of the two-day meet. This echoes the remarks of MoS External Affairs M J Akbar at the conference. Click here to read... [2]

Indian team in China holds talks on trans-border rivers
Published: The Hindu
28 Mar 2018

A team of officials of India’s Ministry of Water Resources held talks with their Chinese counterparts on the cooperation of trans-border rivers, the first after Beijing last year stopped providing the data on the flow of Brahmaputra waters.

The two-day talks on the 11th meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on Trans-Border Rivers concluded on Tuesday in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, a press release from the Indian Embassy here said on Tuesday. Click here to read... [3]

Embarrassment for Pakistan as PM Abbasi frisked at US airport
Published: The Statesman
28 Mar 2018

In a major embarrassment for Pakistan, the country’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was frisked as part of a routine security check at a US airport, reports said on Wednesday. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Abbasi, dressed in a maroon polo t-shirt and black trousers can be seen putting on his belt after clearing the security check. Moments later, he picks up his coat and bag and walks away. Click here to read... [4]

Myanmar parliament elects one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s most loyal allies as new president
Published: South China Morning Post
28 Mar 2018

Myanmar’s parliament on Wednesday elected Win Myint, a loyalist of Aung San Suu Kyi, as new president, while she retained her executive authority over the government.

The vote was held as Suu Kyi’s civilian government has struggled to implement peace and national reconciliation, with the powerful military still embroiled in combat with ethnic rebels and under heavy international criticism for its brutal counter-insurgency campaign against the Muslim Rohingya minority. Click here to read... [5]
Sri Lanka for stronger ties with Bangladesh to boost trade
Published: Business Standard
27 Mar 2018

Sri Lanka has called for stronger maritime and air links with Bangladesh to boost bilateral trade and investments between the two nations, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Ministry said that while the ports of Hambantota and Colombo were of vital importance to the maritime industry due to their strategic locations in the Indian Ocean, there could now be strong linkages between these ports and the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh to facilitate shipping, tourism and investments, Xinhua news agency reported. Click here to read... [6]

Stepping back from Maldives, India tells China
Published: The Indian Express
28 Mar 2018

India has told China it will not intervene in the Maldives and expects it to reciprocate this measure of “strategic trust” by not crossing certain “lines of legitimacy” even as the two countries size each other up in the aftermath of the Doklam crisis last year when they faced off on the plateau. “The days when India believed that South Asia was its primary sphere of influence and that it could prevent other powers, such as China, from expanding its own clout are long gone,” a senior government official told The Indian Express. Click here to read... [7]