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International Current Affairs June 1st Week 2018
Category : International Current Affairs
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 1. PM Modi 3-Nation Visit: Launches International Rupay Card, Bhim App And UPI In Singapore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the international launch of RuPay, BHIM and UPI based remittance app in Singapore represented Digital India initiative and the renewed partnership between the two sides.
Speaking on the matter, PM Modi`s Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong said Indian tourists will be able to use their RuPay cards for electronic payments at Changi airport and selected operators across Singapore. Recalling his meeting with CEOs on Thursday, PM Modi said he was happy to see that the top executives of many important companies looking at India with confidence. He said the air traffic between India and Singapore is growing rapidly and both countries will enter into a new `Air Service Agreement` soon.
 
Expressing gratitude to Lee, PM Modi said, "I express my gratitude to PM Lee, he has always made untiring efforts towards strengthening relations with India." Both the leaders agreed to deepen the bilateral economic ties and build on defence cooperation as they called for a peaceful, open, and friendly maritime environment in the Indo-Pacific region.
 
They also witnessed an exchange of Memorandums of Understanding in numerous fields, including the training of public service officials, cyber security, narcotics control and logistics cooperation between the two navies. "I am happy to note that Indian companies use Singapore as a spring board for not only this country but for the entire ASEAN region. For Singaporean companies, as India progress and develops, opportunities are coming up," Modi added.
 
Modi, who arrived in Singapore on Thursday on the last leg of his three-nation visit, earlier made a courtesy call on President Halimah Yacob after a welcome ceremony at the Istana where he was given a guard of honour.  
"Prime Minister Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome on his arrival at Istana - Presidential Palace of Singapore. Millennia old ties now powered by partnership in innovation and technology," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
 
 
2. US Pacific Command Renamed As Indo-Pacific Command.
The United States on Wednesday renamed its strategically important Pacific Command (PACOM) the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in a move widely seen as a public expression of Washington’s keenness to count India as a key partner in its strategic planning. The Donald Trump administration has been using the term Indo-Pacific instead of Asia-Pacific in official documents already.
 
Secretary of Defence James Mattis made the announcement at the change of command ceremony in Hawaii where Admiral Philip S. Davidson took charge of the command from Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr. Admiral Harris, a strong proponent of enhancing ties with India, commanded PACOM for three years. Mr. Trump has nominated him as Ambassador to South Korea.
 
“For U.S. Pacific Command, it is our primary combatant command, it`s standing watch and intimately engaged with over half of the earth`s surface and its diverse populations, from Hollywood to Bollywood, from polar bears to penguins as Admiral Harris puts it,” Mr. Mattis said.
 
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is critical for “a region open to investment and free, fair and reciprocal trade, not bound by any nation’s predatory economics or threat of coercion, for the Indo-Pacific has many belts and many roads,” Mr. Mattis said, alluding to China’s “One Belt, One Road” policy for the region, and echoing Indian concerns about it.