USA
US visit: Suresh Prabhu to walk a tightrope, 12 June 2018
The two-day US visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, his first such high-level engagement since the US slapped duties on Indian steel and aluminium, is unlikely to be easy, as both the sides have so far not shown any conciliatory approach after US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of a global trade war earlier this year. Prabhu’s visit commenced on Monday.
While Prabhu will impress upon the US to exempt India from taxes on metals and relax a visa regime for foreign skilled professionals, especially those in IT, the US is expected to insist that India improve market access to American products, especially in agriculture, to restore trade balance and remove price curbs on medical equipment as well as a 50% duty on imports of new, fully-assembled Harley Davidson bikes. Nevertheless, the visit creates scope for both the countries to tone down the trade tussle, an official source told FE. Click here to read...
India objects to US review of its zero duty exports, 9 June 2018
New Delhi has complained to Washington that its decision to review the eligibility of $5.6 billion of Indian exports that get low or zero duty benefit in the US was “discriminatory, arbitrary and detrimental”. In its response to the US, which was filed on Tuesday, India said the move “will cause irreparable damage to its exports”. ET has seen a copy of the response.
The submission, called a pre-hearing brief, was filed ahead of a high-level visit by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu to the US next week. Click here to read...
US approves sale of Stinger missiles to India: Lightweight fire-and-forget weapon system a combat-proven technology, 13 June 2018
The US state department has approved the direct sale of powerful stinger missiles to India, along with six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and Hellfire missiles. Pentagon's defence security cooperation agency notified US Congress about the state department's decision. The sale is expected to pass through if no lawmaker opposes the notification, PTI reported on Wednesday.
However, the sale of Stinger Block I-92H missiles, if it takes place, will bolster Indian Army's short-range air defense network massively. The weapon prototype is widely popular among most US allies and NATO nations due to its compact size, mobility and multi-purpose usability as a air-to-air and surface-to-air strike weapon. Click here to read...
Will Sanctions Again Imperil India-US Relations?, 13 June 2018
Sanctions have the annoying habit of popping up every now and then in the tapestry of India-US relations and putting strain on the relationship. Cases in point are the post 1974 sanctions and post 1998 sanctions.
This time, it is with a triple whammy of US sanctions/trade tariffs that India will have to deal with. The three set of punitive measures are: the fresh sanctions on Russia, new sanctions on Iran now that the US has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and finally, trade tariffs imposed by the US on imports from other countries. Each of this will affect India’s policy choices and will have to involve deft manoeuvring from decision makers. Click here to read...
Donald Trump pulls out of G7 joint statement: Decoding US president's tirade and its implications for India, 11 June 2018
Every media person's innermost soul probably revels in the diverse actions of US president Donald Trump, right from his tweets to his hairdo. After all, he provides such great material wherever he goes. However, at the recent G7 summit – which is a grouping of the 'rich kids' of the world, accounting for just 11 percent of the population and some 60 percent of the net global wealth – Trump excelled even his own previous records. The images of astounded or furious G7 leaders as Trump reviled nearly all present, are a story in themselves.
The G7 used to be a Group of Eight until Russia was thrown out following its takeover of Crimea. Trump rather realistically wants Russia back, arguing that its best to face realities and deal with a country that, while not an economic superpower, inhabits some 11 time zones. Click here to read...
Has the US-North Korea summit been a victory for peace?, 12 June 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has committed to rid his country of nuclear weapons, during a historic meeting with US President Donald Trump. The two men shook hands, ate lunch together and signed a joint document, stating - among other points - that North Korea “commits to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.
Trump described today’s talks in Singapore as “honest, direct and productive”, and told a gathering of international reporters that he would end America’s “war games” with Pyongyang. Meanwhile, Kim promised that “the world will see a major change”. Click here to read...
Federal Reserve tightens and Asia sees a silver lining, 11 June 2018
The Federal Reserve’s explanation for hiking rates on Wednesday did not mention Asia, but the region’s challenges were written between the lines in bold font.
Chairman Jerome Powell and his team pulled off their second tightening move of the year – by 25 basis points to 2% – and telegraphed at least two more in 2018. Yet as they pledge to heed “readings on financial and international developments” before acting again, it doesn’t require much imagination to discern who they’re watching.
Monetary austerity emanating from Washington is putting Asia’s current-account-deficit economies in harm’s way: Indonesia, the Philippines, India and others. Argentina, of course, is the economic problem child of the moment, blowing up anew. But that turmoil is heading east and creating control problems around this region. Click here to read...
Dems say Obama return from sidelines is overdue, 4 June 2018
When former President Obama left the White House, he pledged to take a back seat to make room for other Democrats in the party to shine. Nearly 17 months later, that’s proving to be an impossible task.
Obama drew headlines this week after a Politico report revealed that he is consulting a long line of would-be 2020 candidates and offering advice to party leadership. And he drew another round of headlines when it was announced that his political committee, Organising for Action, is revving up to help Democrats in the midterm elections. Click here to read...
Giuliani’s Call for Mueller to Be Suspended Is a Moment of Truth for the Republican Party, 15 June 2018
During an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Thursday night, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s legal adviser and cable-news frontman, called on the Justice Department to suspend the special counsel, Robert Mueller, as early as Friday. Giuliani didn’t say whether he had cleared this demand with Trump, but it seems unlikely that he would say such a thing without getting at least some direction, or encouragement, from the President. In any case, Giuliani’s statement indicates that a moment of crisis may be at hand. Click here to read...
RUSSIA
DRDO’s Technology Claim Fells $9 Billion Indo-Russian Stealth Aircraft Deal, 13 June 2018
A $9-billion deal to co-develop a next-generation fighter aircraft with Russia fell through after Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) shot it down saying it either had all the technologies such a project would bring to India or was in the process of developing these indigenously.
The mega deal, which would have put India next to the US and China besides Russia with a fifth generation fighter aircraft, has been called off with a decision to purchase the jets off the shelf in the future, if the need arises. Sources who were involved in the negotiations and are knowledgeable about the decision to let it go for now said the nail in the coffin for the PAK FA project was the insistence by DRDO that it had the ability to develop all technologies needed. Click here to read...
Lavrov slams attempts to influence Russia’s domestic, foreign policy,
15 June 2018
Russia will protect its sovereignty under any circumstances, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday at a meeting with representatives of Russia’s NGOs. "Attempts to influence our policy, stance, foreign and domestic, are futile," he stressed. "Our country can protect its sovereignty and citizens’ rights under any circumstances." Click here to read...
Moscow calls for removal of unilateral sanctions on North Korea: RIA, 15 June 2018
Russia called on the US and its allies on Friday to remove individual economic sanctions they imposed on North Korea besides the ones put forward in the name of the UN in line with easing tensions in the region. "Russia supports the lifting of secondary boycotts that amount to unilateral sanctions, as we maintain a negative stance on those measures against North Korea taken by a slew of countries that circumvented the UN Security Council," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.
The remarks come amid warming relations on the Korean Peninsula, following a flurry of rapprochement gestures between the two Koreas that culminated in landmark summits between their leaders in April and subsequently between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un early this week. Click here to read...
AFRICA
New EU 'peace fund' could buy weapons for Africa: News24, 13 June, 2018
The EU wants to pay for military equipment, including lethal weaponry, for partner countries in crisis zones such as Africa's Sahel region as part of a $12.4bn "peace facility" launched on Wednesday. The bloc says the new European Peace Facility (EPF) is needed to make its training missions in three African countries more effective and to enable it to contribute to peacekeeping efforts elsewhere in the world. Click here to read...
Google's first African AI research centre to open in Ghana: BBC News, 13 June, 2019
Google has announced it is to open its first African artificial intelligence research centre in Ghana later this year. Google boss Sundar Pichai said the multi-national was "really looking forward" to opening the centre. Click here to read...
South Sudan peace talks 'to be held in Ethiopia: BBC News, 13 June, 2018
South Sudan's rebel leader has agreed to meet with the country's president in Ethiopia next week. A spokesman for Riek Machar, who is under house arrest in South Africa, confirmed he had accepted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's invite to Addis Ababa on 20 June. Click here to read...
UK issues travel warning to citizens wishing to visit northeastern Mozambique: Africanews, 14 June, 2018
Britain advised citizens on Tuesday against travelling to an area in northeastern Mozambique after a series of attacks by groups with links to Islamic militants. At least 17 people have been killed – 10 of them beheaded since May in the town of Palma, near the Tanzanian border. The UK joins the United States in issuing a warning about the attacks. Click here to read...
UAE to give Ethiopia $3 billion to ease foreign currency shortage: Africanews, 16 June, 2018
The United Arab Emirates pledged a total of $3 billion in aid and investments to Ethiopia on Friday, an Ethiopian official said, a major show of support for the new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.
The UAE will deposit $1 billion in Ethiopia’s central bank to ease a severe foreign currency shortage, government spokesman Ahmed Shide told Reuters at a palace in Addis Ababa after Abiy met with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed. Click here to read...
Somalia, Ethiopia to jointly invest in four seaports on the Red Sea: Africanews, 17 June, 2018
Somalia and Ethiopia announced they were jointly investing in four seaports to attract foreign investment to their two countries, the latest move in a tussle for access to ports along one of the world’s most strategic waterways.
After Somalia’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo hosted Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for a meeting at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, the two leaders issued a joint statement of pledges to cooperate on everything from the development of infrastructure including roads linking the two countries to expanding visa services to promote cultural exchanges. Click here to read...
