Bangladesh is eagerly waiting for India's response on the proposed bilateral meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BIMSTEC summit. This meeting could potentially improve strained relations between the two countries. The meeting was requested through a letter sent by Bangladesh, and now they are waiting for India's confirmation. Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin expressed their interest in the meeting during a briefing today, stating that it could help overcome existing tensions.
After meetings between India's Foreign Secretary and China's key leaders, the two countries have announced plans to repair their relationship, including resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and reinstating direct flights. However, the finer details of their statements reveal potential discrepancies in their approach. India emphasizes reviewing their relations and taking people-centric steps, whereas China highlights consensus and development. While both nations agree on restarting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, China expresses a sense of urgency in its statement.
In a significant move to normalize their relations, India and China announced a series of measures, including resuming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and restoring direct flights, after completing the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh. The two countries have also agreed to hold an early meeting to discuss resuming the provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers. This comes after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and met other Chinese officials to review the state of bilateral relations and take steps towards stabilizing and rebuilding ties.
After a long hiatus caused by border tensions, India and China have finally agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct flights between the two countries. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have made this decision during a special representative meeting. Along with this, the two nations have also agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges and facilitate cross-border river cooperation. The resumption of these bilateral mechanisms is seen as a positive step towards improving India-China relations on political, economic, and social levels.
In his first bilateral meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, newly-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the Trump administration's commitment to advancing economic ties and addressing concerns related to irregular migration with India. The meeting between the top diplomats took place following a Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting, where representatives from Australia, India, Japan, and the US discussed regional and global issues. Both sides affirmed the strong partnership between India and the US and exchanged views on various topics.
Kenyan President William Ruto's nominations of ex-Cabinet Secretaries Ababu Namwamba and Andrew Karanja, as well as former Deputy Inspector General Noor Gabow, for various diplomatic roles were approved by the National Assembly. Namwamba will serve as Permanent Representative to UNEP, Karanja as Kenya's envoy to Brazil, and Gabow as Consul-General in Haiti. However, the Committee on Defence Intelligence and Foreign Relations criticized the appointing authority for the withdrawal of former ICT Cabinet Secretary Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u, who had been nominated as High Commissioner to Ghana.
While addressing a press conference in Paris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected President Trump's idea of seizing Greenland as "not a good one" and "not going to happen." He reiterated the Biden administration's belief in the strength of alliances, stating that working closely with allies is more effective than alienating them. France's Foreign Minister also downplayed the possibility of US forces being deployed against Denmark, but cautioned about a return to the "law of the strongest" in the international arena. Trump's nominee for national security adviser, Congressman Mike Waltz, has emphasized the importance of securing Greenland for US national security, but both Denmark and Greenland have consistently rejected any notion of the island being for sale.
The Foreign Secretary has confirmed that the UK has had "diplomatic contact" with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group responsible for overthrowing Syrian President Bashar-al Assad. This comes after a period of uncertainty about whether the UK should engage with HTS due to its designation as a terrorist organization. Despite its proscription, the UK maintains diplomatic contact with HTS as a necessary measure.
After months of tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has confirmed a patrolling agreement has been reached between the two countries. The goal is to return military ties between the two nations to pre-April 2020 levels. However, the Army Chief also pointed out the need for rebuilding trust between the two forces in order to successfully restore the status quo. This confirmation comes days after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced a patrolling agreement and ongoing efforts to resolve the tension that began in May 2020.
Four-and-half years after the tense standoff between India and China, an agreement has been reached on the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control, according to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. After a meeting between Chinese and Indian diplomatic and military negotiators, it was decided that patrolling arrangements would be put in place to resolve the issues that arose in 2020. Despite this positive development, certain issues such as the Depsang Plains and Demchok remain unresolved and both sides continue to maintain a state of alert.