VIF Information Alerts - 28 June 2018

India supports Russia at chemical weapons meet
Published: The Economic Times
28 Jun 2018

India on Wednesday voted against UK at the Special Session of the Conference of State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in Hague in what can be viewed as support for Russian position. It was convened by UK to propose that Organisation for Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should be empowered not just to investigate whether chemical weapons have been used in an incident but also to identify the group or government responsible for it.Click here to read... [2]

Swaraj, Pompeo agree to reschedule ‘2+2 dialogue’ soon
Published: The Tribune
28 Jun 2018

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her American counterpart Mike Pompeo have agreed to reschedule the postponed ‘2+2 dialogue’ at a mutually convenient time and location as soon as possible, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday. Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were earlier scheduled to travel to the US to take part in the meeting with Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis on July 6.Click here to read... [3]

Defence Ministry issues new guidelines for startups
Published: The Economic Times
28 Jun 2018

The defence ministry has specified new rules for homegrown startups to take part in military projects in an attempt to focus their attention on cutting edge research and development. The new rules, specified this week, seek to encourage new companies to undertake research projects to develop or upgrade weapon systems and to work towards reducing imports.

Under the new rules, startups recognised by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under certain categories will automatically qualify to take part in specified defence projects. These categories range from aeronautics, nanotechnology and Virtual Reality to renewable technology, robotics, green technology and internet of things.Click here to read... [4]

U.S. Charges Chinese University Tied to Army With Export Scheme
Published: The New York Times
27 Jun 2018

U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Chinese university linked to China's army with conspiring to violate U.S. export laws in order to obtain items from the United States that could be used in anti-submarine warfare. An indictment filed in federal court in Boston charged China-based Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), along with Shuren Qin, a Chinese national living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, who was arrested last week.Click here to read... [5]

‘Unhappy’ Janjua, Pak NSA, resigns
Published: The Tribune
28 Jun 2018

Pakistan's National Security Advisor Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Janjua resigned on Wednesday, amid reports that he had differences with caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk. Janjua's resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Mulk, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division.Click here to read... [6]

Pakistan enacts ambitious reforms to comply with FATF
Published: The Express Tribune
27 Jun 2018

Pakistan has committed to an ambitious 26-point action plan spanning a period of 15 months to avoid being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force. The plan envisages choking the financing of terrorist groups like Da’ish and the Haqqani network.

The FATF Plenary – the global intergovernmental body working to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, on Tuesday began discussions on the action plan, said sources in the Ministry of Finance. A formal announcement about Pakistan’s fate is expected on Friday. This is for the first time that all 26 actions have been published in detailClick here to read... [7]

Land-locked Nepal trades with China through sea more than land
Published: Xinhua
27 Jun 2018

Despite being geographically connected, most of the trade between land-locked Nepal and China takes place through the sea, statistics of Nepal's central bank revealed here recently. Around 87 percent of Nepal's trade with China took place through the sea as of first 10 months of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July 2017, according to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).Click here to read... [8]