THE PRIEST

Regardless of Non-EU States’ objections and concerns, EU had unilaterally passed the regulation to include aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The EU-ETS affects all aircraft operators regardless of where they are based, provided that they operate flights departing from and / or arriving at an aerodrome in the EU.

India Calls for Breaking Trade and Investment Barriers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation zonePower Minister Shri Sushilkumar Shinde represented India at the annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government in St. Petersburg on 7th November 2011. Making a statement on behalf of India, Shri Shinde called for breaking barriers that inhibit trade and investment flows between the countries in the SCO zone. He said SCO should address the problem of l imited connectivity through regional solutions. He said that India was ready to cooperate to find viable solutions to this problem and contribute to the endeavour to build bridges between Central and South Asia.

Nepal's political parties The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), and the Madhesi parties,they together represent more than 85% strength of the constituent assembly,signed a historic agreement on the peace process, Constitution writing and power-sharing .

Pakistan's cabinet unanimously decided on Wednesday to grant India Most Favoured Nation status to liberalise trade between the two South Asian countries. This move could improve ties between the rivals.Granting the most-favoured status means the two countries can now trade on equal terms, typically giving each other low tariffs and high import quotas.

 The exercise, named “Ex Eastern Bridge - 2011” is the second of the series, the first was held in Oct 2009 ,of joint exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) .It held in Jamnagar.

A comprehensive Social Security Agreement (SSA) was signed between two countries in Berlin. The Agreement which subsume the earlier Indo-German agreement on Social Security on 8th October 2008 will enhance cooperation on social security between the two countries. The Agreement with Germany will provide for the following benefits to Indian nationals working in Germany:

This is the first visit by the Vietnamese President outside the ASEAN region and thus reflects the importance attached by both sides to the relationship.During the visit of President Truong Tan Sang following six agreements were signed between two countries :

SHAKTI- 2011 is Indo-French joint military exercise, aimed at enhancing various combat skills, promoting mutual understanding and inter-operability between the two armies.

India proposes special Science, Technology and Innovation fund for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and offered to  c ontribute an initial sum of USD 2 million as its share of the contribution to the proposed 10 million USD fund. Furthur it offered 3 key proposals .

A need has been felt over the years to revise the MoU, which was signed between India and the UAE in December, 2006 to address various problems faced by the Indian emigrant workers in the UAE. After detailed negotiations between the two countries, a revised MoU was finalized and signed today. The MoU in the field of manpower between India and the UAE provides for the following:

The Government of the Republic of India signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the Oriental Republic of Uruguay for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital on 8th September, 2011.

India and the Republic of Korea signed an agreement for cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy. The deal will help Seoul in getting access to India’s civil nuclear infrastructure, according to local media reports.Local media reports said the agreement will directly help South Korea’s state-run Korea Electric Power Corp that has been seeking a toehold in the Indian nuclear infrastructure market and a better cooperation with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

The bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) between India and the U.S.A. has been signed by Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Secretary, Civil Aviation and Mr. J. Randolph Babbitt, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) here today. The signing coincides with the visit of US Secretary of State Ms. Hillary Clinton to India. The signing took place in the presence of Senior Officers from the Ministry, DGCA, AAI from the Indian side and FAA and USTDA from the US side.   BASA will facilitate reciprocal airworthiness certification of civil aeronautical products imported/exported between the two signatory authorities. Indian standards would be comparable to global standards and its aeronautical products would be accepted by the U.S.   The nascent aircraft manufacturing industry in India would be hugely benefitted and it would spur trade between the two sides. It would demonstrate that India has the capability to develop FAA certifiable aircraft articles/appliances. It would encou...

Background  The  2011 BRICS summit  took place in Sanya on the island of Hainan, China, on 14 April 2011. This was the third BRICS summit since 2009. The meeting took place between the five heads of state/heads of government from the BRICS states following bilateral meetings in the prior days. Leaders attended; Hu Jintao  ( host ),  President of China Dilma Rousseff ,  President of Brazil Manmohan Singh ,  Prime Minister of India Dmitry Medvedev ,  President of Russia Jacob Zuma ,  President of South Africa Summary of the Joint Declaration  The leaders released a joint document, Sanya Declaration, at the BRICS Leaders Meeting in south China's resort city of Sanya. Following is the summary of the joint declaration. Action Plan of the summint is retained without any changes The theme for the discussions:   "Broad Vision, Shared Prosperity" Economic Emphasis on the need to stren...

The BRIC concept was first used by corporate analysts (Goldman Sachs) as part of an economic modeling exercise to forecast global economic trends over the next half century. The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper No. 66, "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs". 2. The BRIC grouping brings together four major economies richly endowed collectively in terms of natural resources and other factors of production, and which are in a position to sustain higher growth rates. BRIC countries together command 25.9% of world’s geographic area, 40% of global population and 22% of global GDP (PPP). BRIC Joint Statements and other documents  3. Joint Statements were issued after both of first two summits. The first Summit also adopted a Joint Statement on Global Food Security. Joint Communiqués/Statements were also issued after the first standalone meeting  of BRIC Foreign Minister...

The Participating States of the Wassenaar Arrangement are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States. The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations. Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted...

At the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, paid an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. During the visit, H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh held detailed discussions with H.E. President Hamid Karzai on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two sides recognized the ancient, historical and traditional ties that have existed between the two countries for centuries, and their mutual desire for close cooperation to strengthen and develop these ties for mutual benefit. Drawing upon their rich and fruitful tradition of cooperation in various fields since the establishment of their diplomatic relations, and emphasizing the fundamental and lasting importance of the Treaty of Friendship between the Government of India and the Royal Government of Afghanistan of 04 January 1950, and subsequent Agreements and Joint Statem...

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday said that his country was aiming to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) with India by March 2012. The visiting New Zealand Prime Minister, along with a 25-member strong business delegation, participated in bilateral talks with his counterpart Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and addressed industry captains here on Tuesday. At the end of delegation-level talks, two agreements for further initiatives in filming and education were signed between the two countries. These agreements are 1)       Agreement between the two Governments on Audio-Visual Co-Production 2)      Protocol for Cooperation between the two Governments on Science and Innovation Addressing the industry captains, Key sought greater cooperation in the areas of IT, agriculture, food processing and dairy farming. He also emphasised the need to increase people-to-people contact and invited more Indian students to New Zealand. Speaking on the...

The India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) will come into effect on 1 July 2011. India-Malaysia CECA is India’s fourth bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, after Singapore, South Korea and Japan. The CECA envisages liberalisation of trade in goods, trade in services, investments and other areas of economic cooperation. Trade between India and Malaysia has reached US$ 10 billion in 2010-11, an increase of 26% from the previous year. It is expected that the implementation of this agreement will boost bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2015. The trade in goods package under India-Malaysia CECA takes the tariff liberalization beyond the India-ASEAN FTA commitments, which were implemented by both countries on 1 January 2010. Under India-Malaysia CECA, the items on which India has obtained market access from Malaysia include basmati rice, mangoes, eggs, trucks, motorcycles and cotton garments, which are all items of considerable export int...

This was the first-ever Prime Ministerial visit (13th to 16th of June) from either side and it coincided with 20th anniversary of Slovenian independence. The Prime Minister and his Slovenian counterpart H.E. Mr. Borut Pahor discussed global issues like reform of the UN Security Council, the global financial situation and international terrorism. Prime Minister Pahor reaffirmed the support of Slovenia for a permanent seat for India in expanded Security Council. The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of the BIPPA(   Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement)  by Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherji and the Economy Minister of Slovenia Ms. Darja Radiæ.  An agreement between the Indian Bureau of Indian Standards and its Slovenian counterpart was also signed and is expected to boost bilateral trade by facilitating a better mutual understanding of standards and norms of traded goods. Another Agreement was signed between the University of Nova Gorica...