November 2011
The IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) gifted a sports centre to the Palestinian Authority in November 2011. Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, Ambassador Paulo Cordeiro de Andrade Pinto of Brazil and South Africa`s Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Marius Fransman attended the inauguration ceremony in Ramallah, Palestine for the occasion.India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Multipurpose Sports Center was constructed in Ramallah with the funding of IBSA Forum. It is the first IBSA project in the entire Middle East.
The Prime Minister attended the 9th ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits at Bali in Indonesia. He also held bilateral talks with US President Barack Obama, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Manmohan Singh also met Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard and President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the Summits. The biggest gathering of Asian countries in Bali, Indonesia sought domination of economic agenda of interest to their region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that Asian countries have stake in early resolution of euro zone crisis and should send a message of solidarity to Europe. In the second leg of his tour, the Prime Minister visited Singapore, where he held bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. Lee supported India`s permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
India and the United Arab Emirates on 23 November 2011 signed two key agreements. The first agreement will allow each other`s convicted prisoners to serve the rest of their jail terms in their native country. It is likely to benefit 1000 Indians imprisoned in different UAE jails for various crimes. The second agreement is related to security cooperation. The agreement seeks to increase cooperation on several issues like organized crime, combating terrorism and drug trafficking. India and UAE already have an extradition treaty.
Chinese Ambassador, Zhang Yan to India on 17 November 2011 handed over the cheque of 1 million US dollars for construction of a library in Nalanda International University (NIU) to highlight the Chinese art and architecture. The fund will be used for the construction of a library, which will help in strengthening the relations between India and China. China fulfilled the commitment made by Premier Wen Jiabao during his Nalanda visit on 21 January 2011. Exchange of culture through Nalanda International University is a major project for China.
A new defence pact was signed between the USA and Australia. This agreement updated a 60-year-old security alliance between the USA and Australia. The pact will allow up to 250 US marines to be stationed in Darwin in northern Australia in the first phase that will begin in 2012. There will be a rotation every six months, which will bring more than 2,500 marines stationed in Australia by 2014. The two nations also agreed to enhance air force cooperation and visits by US carriers to northern Australia.
Switzerland has started sharing banking and tax-related information with India, more than a year after the two countries signed a revised bilateral treaty that is likely to help in tackling black money.
Pakistan on 2 November 2011 decided to grant India most-favoured-nation(MFN) trade status. The Pakistani cabinet voted unanimously to grant most-favored-nation status to India, which in effect gives Indian businesses lower tariffs and fewer trade barriers. It will allow Pakistan to start removing formidable barriers to sales of Indian goods. India had granted Pakistan most favoured nation (MFN) status in 1996. However, Pakistan had shown reluctance to reciprocate until the dispute over Kashmir was resolved.
Bangladesh and Russia on 2 November 2011 signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna district. It would be Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant. Russia will provide technical support for setting up two generators each capable of producing 1000 megawatts of electricity. Russia will also supply fund and fuel rods for safe storage. The new safety features will also be implemented in the plant.