1) India, Japan, Australia trilateral discussions
India, Japan and Australia on 9th June 2015 held their first ever high-level trilateral dialogue in Indian capital New Delhi. The talks were attended by Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar, Japanese vice foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and Australian secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese. The representatives of three countries discussed prospects of cooperation in the fields of economy and security with special emphasis on maritime security. The three countries agreed to hold their next round of talks in Tokyo, Japan.
2) India, Sweden sign 6 pacts to boost co-operation
India and Sweden on 1st June signed six agreements to enhance bilateral co-operation between the two countries. These includeMemorandum of Understandings on….
- Sustainable Urban Development
- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- Health and
- Visa waiver programme for diplomatic passport holders.
- The agreements were signed in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Swidish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Stockholm
- Besides 16 education related agreements were also signed among various Indian Universities and it`sSwidish counterparts.
- President Pranab Mukherjee met the Swidish Premier Stefan Lofvan and discussed various aspects of bilateral relations. It is understood that both the leaders also discussed on enhancing trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. Sweden is third largest trade partner of India President also exchanged opinion for successful implementation of Make in India Programme in which Swidish have big capabilities.
3) India to grant e-Tourist visa facility to Swedish nationals
Current Affirs India has decided to grant the e-Tourist visa facility to Swedish nationals. The President Pranab Mukherjee has announced that this category of visas will greatly facilitate travel for Swedish nationals to India . The President invited the Swedish industry to make full use of the new investment opportunities in India.
4) India, Belarus sign six agreements to boost bilateral co-operation
India and Belarus on 3rd June signed six agreements to enhance bilateral co - operation. These include agreement on Textiles, protocol to amend the agreement between two countries for avoidance double taxation, MOU between PrasarBharati and National State TV and Radio company of Belarus Broadcasting Corporation in the presence of Indian President and his Belarussian Counterpart.
- Indian President Mukherjee also had delegation level talks with the President of Belarus where Mr Mukherjee called for strengthening bilateral relations and co- operation in the field of trade , culture and other areas.
5) Indian President conferred HonorisCausa
President Pranab Mukherjee was conferred with the Professor HonorisCausa by the Rector of the University at Sergey Ablameyko.Later Pranab Mukherjee unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Belarus State University.The President unveiled the bust at the university in the presence of Prof Sergey V Ablameyko, Rector of Belarusian State University and Minister of Education of Republic of Belarus.
6) Sweden supported India membership in UNSC
Sweden has backed India`s bid for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council, saying the country is a natural claimant for it in view of its size as well as growth
- Sweden also supported India`s entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a voluntary association of 34 countries favouring non-proliferation of unmanned delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
7) India and Sweden also signed several agreements on 1st June to boost ties and decided to restart the bilateral strategic dialogue besides finding ways for investment by the Nordic country in India`s defence sector under the ambitious `Make in India` initiative.
It was agreed that the two countries would re-start their strategic dialogue between the two National Security Advisors. Asked why the dialogue was stalled in 2011, Sarna made it clear that there was no breakdown in the talks but only that the two countries had got into election mode. As many as 15 agreements between various universities of India and Sweden were signed on the sidelines of the visit at the Swedish foreign ministry.
India-US defence agreement:
- India and the United States have sealed an agreement to jointly develop protective gear for soldiers against biological and chemical warfare, and another on building generators on 3rd June.
- The projects were cleared as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter held talks with Indian leaders to expand security ties between countries that were on opposite sides of the Cold War but have since drawn closer against the rising weight of China.
- The United States has become one of the main sources of weapons for the Indian military, and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s "Make-in-India" program has offered joint development and production of military technologies. While the two projects approved are modest in scale, India and the United States are also exploring collaboration at the higher end of technology
- Carter signed a new 10-year defense cooperation pact with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parikkar and agreed to work on enhancing cooperation in maritime security, according to a joint statement released after the two leaders met.
- The two countries conduct annual naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, where China has increased its presence in recent years. The projects on protective clothing and next-generation power sources for the battlefield will each have $1 million in funding shared equally by the two sides.
India, Netherlands to fight terrorism:
- India and the Netherlands will collaborate on fighting terror and cyber crime and have decided to set up a joint working group on counter terrorism, which will hold its first meeting on June 19. Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is on two day visit to India, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- Both countries agreed that they stand to benefit from closer bilateral and multilateral collaboration in areas of countering terrorism and extremism.
- The two nations, which are keen to forge an alliance to fight terror and cyber crime, are also looking to increase bilateral trade and will sign as many as 18 agreements for water management, infrastructure development, defence and maritime cooperation.
- The Netherlands is part of the group of countries led by the United States that is helping to break the fighting power of the IS terrorist organisation; it has deployed military trainers to help Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces, personnel and F-16s for air strikes.
- The visiting Dutch delegation offered its expertise in flood waters control and for cleaning the river Ganga under the ‘Namami Gange programme.’ The Netherlands which has supported New Delhi’s bid for permanent membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council is also looking at collaboration with India in the defence sector and infrastructure development, particularly in Mumbai.
- India, which is the fifth largest source of investments for the Netherlands, for its part has announced e-visas for Dutch visitors to give tourism as fillip. The two countries will sign agreement on manufacturing of dredgers in India at the Cochin shipyard, on manufacturing of measles and rubella vaccine with transfer of technology, and collaborate on developing coastal roads and metro lines in India, borrowing Dutch expertise.
India and Bangladesh ink 22 pacts:
India and Bangladesh on 6th June inked 22 agreements, including on extending a $2 billion Line of Credit to Bangladesh, and on India using the Chittagong and Mongla ports. The agreements are
- Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
- Exchange of letters on Modalities for implementation of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
- Bilateral Trade Agreement (renewal)
- Agreement on Coastal Shipping between Bangladesh and India
- Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (renewal)
- Bilateral Cooperation Agreement between Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Cooperation in the field of Standardization
- Agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus service and its Protocol
- Agreement on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service and its Protocol
- Memorandum of Understanding between Coast Guards
- Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Human Trafficking
- Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Smuggling and Circulation Fake Currency Notes
- Memorandum of Understanding between Bangladesh and India and for Extending a New Line of Credit of $2 billion by government of India to government of Bangladesh
- Memorandum of Understanding on Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean
- Memorandum of Understanding on use of Chittagong and Mongla ports
- Memorandum of Understanding for a Project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) of SAARC
- Memorandum of Understanding on Indian Economic Zone
- Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-17
- Statement of Intent on Bangladesh-India Education Cooperation (adoption)
- Agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth for internet at Akhaura
- Memorandum of Understanding between University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India for Joint Research on Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal
- Memorandum of Understanding between University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh and University of Jamia Milia Islamia, India
Handing over of Consent Letter by Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India to start operations in Bangladesh.