VIF Information Alerts - 17 July 2018

India, Iran hold foreign office consultations
Published: The New Indian Express
17 Jul 2018

India and Iran held the 15th round of Foreign Office consultations in New Delhi on Monday. While the Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, the Iranian delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, who also called on the Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar.

Sources said the discussions mostly revolved around ways to ensure that India’s energy needs were not hit. Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and Iran’s second largest oil buyer after China. Araghchi’s visit comes days after India’s finance ministry approved the opening of a branch of Iran’s Bank Pasargad in Mumbai. “One must understand that our bilateral ties are not just energy/oil-centric, we have a long-standing geo-strategic relationship with Iran which spans diverse sectors,” said an official.Click here to read... [2]

China, EU vow to work more closely to defend global trade order
Published: South China Morning Post
16 Jul 2018

China and the European Union pledged to work more closely to defend the global trading system on Monday, although both sides said they were not seeking a coalition to counter Washington. Leaders met at the annual China-EU summit in Beijing just hours ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki – and just after Trump described the EU and China as “foes” of the US on trade and the economy.Click here to read... [3]

China economic growth slows in second quarter, warns on trade war
Published: Business Daily
16 Jul 2018

China said on Monday its economic growth slowed slightly in the second quarter as a trade war with the United States gained pace, while it warned of the global damage that could be caused if the row persists. The world's second-biggest economy expanded 6.7 per cent in April-June, down from 6.8 per cent in the first quarter and in line with a forecasts in an AFP survey of economists. The data was released just as European Council President Donald Tusk said at an EU summit with China in Beijing that trade tensions could spiral into a "hot conflict", calling on the US, China and Russia to find a resolution.Click here to read... [4]

China's 'Little Mecca': The far-flung city where Muslims have lived for hundreds of years, but now faces a religious crackdown from Beijing
Published: Daily Mail
16 Jul 2018

Concerns have been raised over the Chinese government's apparent clampdown on a Muslim-majority region in north-west Gansu province in a bid to squash potential separatist movements. For hundreds of years, ethnic Hui Muslims in Linxia, dubbed 'China's Little Mecca', have enjoyed a haven of comparative religious freedom. However, locals fear that there is a deliberate move by the atheist ruling Communist Party to eradicate Islam in the region as tight regulations of the religion's practice were implemented in recent years.Click here to read... [5]

In parched Afghanistan, drought sharpens water dispute with Iran
Published: Reuters
17 Jul 2018

Rafiqullah Dawoodzai says his fields were too dry to sow crops this year, the first time he has skipped a growing season in more than 40 years. The 60 acres he farms lie along the banks of Afghanistan’s Helmand River, but the country lacks the infrastructure to use its waters for large-scale irrigation. Severe drought across much of Afghanistan is spurring plans to build new dams to help farmers such as Dawoodzai. It is also aggravating tensions with Iran over supplies from the Helmand - a decades-old dispute that has fed accusations that Tehran is helping the Taliban insurgency.Click here to read... [6]

Dip in illegal cattle trade at India-Bangladesh border: BSF
Published: Hindustan Times
16 Jul 2018

Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh has gone down sharply due to a number measures put in place by the state, the centre and the security agencies, Border Security Force (BSF) officials told Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a meeting on Sunday. “While 39,558 cattle were seized during 2016 and 16,593 during 2017, the numbers dropped to 1,051 cattle caught up to July this year, showing that illegal trading was on the decline,” the BSF told Sonowal, according to a statement from the CM’s office.Click here to read... [7]

EU approves targeted sanctions on Maldives government officials
Published: Maldives Independent
16 Jul 2018

Maldives government officials could face travel bans and asset freezes after the European Union approved targeted sanctions Monday, following months of concern and condemnation over the worsening political and human rights situation. In its decision the EU “adopted a framework for targeted sanctions in the Maldives, making it possible, if the situation does not improve, to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on relevant individuals and entities.”Click here to read... [8]