1) India, UAE sign agreements
- India and United Arab Emirates, UAE, on 11th February signed key agreements in the sphere of cyber security, infrastructure, renewable energy and finance. The pacts were inked after talks between visiting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi
- Earlier, the Crown Prince called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan. During the meeting, Mr Mukherjee said, India looks forward to working together with UAE to achieve the target of 75 billion dollars investment by the gulf country in its infrastructure sector.
- During Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s visit to the UAE in August last year, the two countries had set a target of investing 75 billion dollars in India`s infrastructure including through India-UAE Infrastructure Investment Fund.
- India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in total signed nine agreements covering cooperation in the fields of currency swap, culture, investments in the infrastructure sector, renewable energy, space research, insurance supervision, cyber security, skill development and commercial information sharing.
- The Ministry of External Affairs initially announced four agreements but revised the list later adding five more agreements.
2) India, UAE reaffirm their resolve to increase trade by 60% over next 5 years
- India and United Arab Emirates, UAE, has reaffirmed their resolve to work together to increase trade by 60 percent over the next five years. A joint statement issued in New Delhi today said the two sides examined various tariff and non-tariff barriers and agreed to enhance the trade of priority commodities and expand the access of goods and services in both markets.
- India and the UAE discussed their plans for infrastructure development. The Indian side highlighted the experience and expertise its companies had acquired in infrastructure development, including in power generation and transmission, civil construction, railways and metros, hospitals, airports, housing and roads.
- The UAE noted its interest in investing in infrastructure development in India, especially in priority areas such as railways, roads, ports, and shipping.
- Both the countries further agreed to exchange information on various investment opportunities and related incentives and to exchange information on financial, legal, and administrative incentives.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan held wide-ranging discussions Thursday and exchanged views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and reached a broad consensus.
- They agreed to enhance cooperation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean region, which is vital for the security and prosperity of both countries.
3) India, Australia agree to strengthen energy ties
- India and Australia have agreed on enhancing cooperation in clean coal technology, renewable energy and LNG. Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal met his Australian counterpart Josh Frydenberg on the last day of the India-Australia Energy Dialogue in Canberra on 10th February.
- According to Goyal the two countries resolved to further strengthen the ties in energy, technology & innovation and skill development. The two countries also talked about proposed Free Trade Area (FTA). Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb said yesterday that both Australia and India have agreed to conclude the FTA by first half of this year.
4) India approves more projects in Afghanistan, inks pact for visa-free travel for diplomats
- India on 1st February approved the third phase of development projects India is carrying out in Afghanistan. These projects are part of the 92 small-scale programmes that India had previously approved in an effort to strengthen bilateral strategic and commercial ties. The approvals have come when Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Afghanistan, is on a five-day private visit to India. On Monday, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj separately.
- Both countries also inked an agreement that granted visa-free travel for diplomats.
- During their meeting, Modi and Abdullah Abdullah discussed the recent terrorist attack on the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif on January 4-5, a couple of days after the attack on the Pathankot Air Force base.
- Modi also “expressed deep gratitude” to the Afghan government, especially the National Security Forces of Afghanistan, “for their bravery and sacrifice in order to protect the Indians” during the consulate attack, stated a release issued by the PMO.
- He also reiterated India’s “commitment to extend all possible support to the efforts of the Afghan people in building a peaceful, stable, prosperous, inclusive and democratic country,” the release added.
- India recently gave three multi-role Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan to combat terrorism. It has also committed a grant of $2 billion for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.