VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - 24 Jan 2018

Pakistan

Growth in Pakistan expected to pick up in 2018, 2019: IMF: Express Tribune

23 January 2018

Growth in Pakistan is expected to pick up in 2018 and 2019, but it will be subdued, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted on Monday in its update of the World Economic Outlook. The report was launched on the opening day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Pakistan achieved a growth rate of 5.3% during fiscal year 2016-17, the highest in a decade, but it was short of the government’s targeted 5.7%. Despite being held back by subdued growth in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, Pakistan’s economy has been showing an upward trend in the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year. Click here to read... [2]

Islamabad seeks duty reduction on exports to China: Dawn

24 January 2018

Pakistan will demand unilateral concessions on approximately 70 products mostly of export interest to China as part of the second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This demand came from top government officials when the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing, visited the commerce ministry to invite Commerce and Textile Minister Pervez Malik to a six-day international import-expo exhibition in Shanghai. The exhibition is scheduled for Nov 5-10. A source privy to the meeting told Dawn that the duty reduction on these products will be discussed in the eighth round of negotiations scheduled for Feb 7. Commerce Secretary Younus Dagha will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the meeting. Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan

Explosives Used in Hotel Attack Traced Back To Pakistan: NDS: Tolo News

23 January 2018

National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Tuesday announced that initial investigations show that the explosives used by Taliban insurgents in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday came from Pakistan. The NDS also recovered the vehicle that attackers used to enter the hotel compound. “The explosive materials seized in the vehicle shows that the material is made in Pakistan,” said the NDS in a press release. According to the NDS statement, the explosive chemical used by the insurgents was produced by a company in Islamabad called Biafo Industries Limited. According to Biafo’s website, the company is a modern state of the art explosive manufacturing company. It states it is highly automated and can produce more than 2,500 metric tons of explosives per shift annually. Click here to read... [4]

Nepal

Leaders hope Nepal-India relations will reach new heights: Kathmandu Post

23 January 2018

Political leaders have expressed optimism that Nepal-India relations will reach new heights and further dimensions will be explored to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbours. Speaking at an interaction programme on challenges of Nepal-India relationship titled 'Nepal-India Relations: Future Probabilities and Challenges' organised in Kathmandu on Tuesday, CPN-UML leader Rajan Bhattarai said discussions were being held to add further dimensions to the bilateral relations between the two countries. He opined that national interests should be put first while formulating the country's foreign policy to maintain cordial relationship with neighbouring countries. "Nepal and India enjoy warm and friendly relations. This should further expand and deepen in coming days," said leader Bhattarai. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh cancels Chinese road construction project on corruption charges: ANI

24 January 2018

Bangladesh has cancelled a road construction project with a major Chinese company which was building the Dhaka Sylhet highway on charges of attempting to bribe Bangladeshi officials and has blacklisted the firm from participating in any future ventures, according to a Voice of America (VoA) report. '"China Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. (CHEC) has been blacklisted by the government of Bangladesh for bribing government officials and will not be allowed to participate in any future construction projects in Bangladesh," the report quoted Bangladeshi Finance Minister AMA Muhith from an interview given to the Bangladeshi media The Daily Star. The company, in the past, has undertaken some well-known projects, including Pakistan's Gwadar Port and Sri Lanka's Hanbatota Port. The company, according to Muhit, was found bribing newly-appointed director of the Bangladesh Highway Transport and Bridges Department for the purpose of diverting project funds. Click here to read... [6]

Myanmar

Myanmar blames Bangladesh for delayed Rohingya return: Straits Times

Myanmar blamed Bangladesh on Tuesday (Jan 23) for delays to a huge repatriation programme for Rohingya refugees, as the deadline passed for starting the return of the Muslim minority to strife-torn Rakhine state. More than 680,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after a brutal Myanmar army crackdown began last August, while a further 100,000 fled a previous bout of violence in October 2016. Myanmar agreed that from Jan 23 it would start taking them back from the squalid camps in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh where they have sought shelter. Click here to read... [7]

Srilanka

Singapore, Sri Lanka ink free trade agreement: Straits Times

24 January 2018

Singapore and Sri Lanka have signed a free trade agreement that will provide tariff savings and grant Singapore firms greater access to the Sri Lankan market. The deal guarantees that for the next 15 years, Singapore companies will not have to pay tariffs on 80 per cent of product categories sold in Sri Lanka, said Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Tariff savings for Singapore exports will come up to an estimated $10 million annually, MTI added. The FTA also covers services, with both countries committing to open up markets for professional, environmental, construction, tourism and travel-related services. Click here to read... [8]