1) India and Qatar sign 7 key agreements
- Current Affairs India and Qatar on 5th June signed 7 important agreements including investments, skills, health and tourism. Agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a round table meeting with the leading businessmen of Qatar.
- He addressed business leaders and praised the role of Emir of Qatar in promoting India Qatar business ties.
- Prime Minister Modi assured the business leadership that he will address the bottlenecks identified by them.
- Qatar is 4th west Asian country Prime Minister Modi visited within a year. India Qatar trade is worth 10 billion dollars, Qatar is India`s biggest LNG supplier. India imports 65% of its LNG from Qatar. 6 lakh 30 thousand Indians are living in the gulf state. India is Qatar`s third largest trading partner, while Qatar is the eleventh most significant trading partner of India.
- Prime Minister Modi met Indian workers in Qatar, gave an inspiring speech to boost the spirits, but the most inspirational moment came after he finished his speech.
- Prime Minister Modi interacted with the workers, walked up to them and personally spoke with them and then actually sat down to break bread with them.
- FIFA 2022 World Cup also came up for discussion. The country will be hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 2022 FIFA World Cup presents an opportunity for Indian investors to increase business and other exports to Qatar.
2) Obama, India’s PM Modi promise future deal on climate change and energy
- The leaders of India and the United States on 7th June vowed to ratify the Paris climate accord this year, pledged to nail down terms for limiting a potent greenhouse gas used as a refrigerant in air conditioners, and set a one-year deadline for concluding a deal for six commercial nuclear power plants.
- But the two sides provided few specifics about how they would achieve those goals beyond saying that President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who were meeting at the White House, share the same objectives and have established time frames for resolving differences.
- Even without the agreed deadlines, the recent pledge by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to renegotiate the Paris climate accord if he is elected has added a sense of urgency among world leaders to make sure the accord goes into effect before the end of the year.
- When at least 55 countries, who account for at least 55 per cent of global emissions, have all moved to join the agreement, the Paris accord then enters into force after a 30-day wait period.
- India accounts for 4.1 per cent of global emissions.
- India is a key country for the United States, given tensions with Pakistan and its status as a bulwark against China in South Asia. But Obama has put climate and energy issues at the forefront of relations with Modi.
- The focus among negotiators leading up to meeting has been an effort to work out details for restricting hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, by adding them to the existing Montreal Protocol, the global treaty adopted in 1987 to address ozone depletion.
- The two nations agreed on that they would link increased financial support for India from a multilateral fund with what Obama adviser Brian Deese called “an ambitious approach to phase out HFCs altogether.”
3) India, US pledge to pursue new opportunities to bolster economic growth, peace and security
- India and US on 8th June pledged to pursue new opportunities to bolster economic growth and sustainable development, promote peace and security.
- In a joint statement both countries reiterated their commitment to strengthen inclusive, democratic governance and respect for universal human rights.
- Both the leaders welcomed the start of preparatory work on site in India for six AP 1000 reactors to be built by Westinghouse and noted the intention of India and the U.S. Export-Import Bank to work together toward a competitive financing package for the project.
- Once completed, the project would be among the largest of its kind, fulfilling the promise of the US-India civil nuclear agreement and demonstrating a shared commitment to meet India`s growing energy needs while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
- Both sides welcomed the announcement by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. and westinghouse that engineering and site design work will begin immediately and the two sides will work toward finalizing the contractual arrangements by June 2017.
- The joint statement said, United States and India share common climate and clean energy interests and are close partners in the fight against climate change.
- The United States and India also announced creation of a $20 million US-India Clean energy Finance (USICEF) initiative, equally supported by the United States and India, which is expected to mobilize up to $400 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to up to 1 million households by 2020.
- The Statement said United States and India will work together to combat the threat of terrorists accessing and using chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological materials. Recalling their shared commitment to preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, the leaders looked forward to India`s imminent entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime.
4) India to open new consulate in Seattle
- India will soon open another consulate in Seattle to cater to the needs of large number of Indian-Americans living in the northwestern part of the United States.
- This was stated in a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama at the White House on 7th June.
- According to the Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, both sides committed to open additional consulates in each other`s country. India will be opening a new consulate in Seattle and the US will open a new consulate at a mutually agreed location in India. The two countries also announced a series of measures to encourage people-to-people contacts.