VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 20th August, 2018

PAKISTAN

16 ministers from PM Imran Khan's cabinet sworn in: Dawn

August 20, 2018

Sixteen members of Prime Minister Imran Khan's 21-strong cabinet took oath at a ceremony held at the President House in Islamabad on Monday morning. PTI’s vice chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi will be the country’s new foreign minister. Asad Umar has been made minister for finance and revenue whereas the portfolio of the information and broadcasting has been given to PTI’s information secretary Fawad Chaudhry. Ghulam Sarwar Khan has been allocated the portfolio of petroleum ministry. Dr Shireen Mazari has been given the portfolio of human rights, whereas former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak is the country’s new defence minister. Click here to read... [2]

AFGHANISTAN
US, Pakistan Welcome Ceasefire Announcement: Tolo News

August 20, 2018

The United States in Monday welcomed the announcement by the Afghan government of a ceasefire conditioned on the Taliban’s participation. In a statement issued by US Secretary of State Michael Pompei he said: “This plan responds to the clear and continued call of the Afghan people for peace.” He said the “last ceasefire in Afghanistan revealed the deep desire of the Afghan people to end the conflict, and we hope another ceasefire will move the country closer to sustainable security. “The United States and our international partners support this initiative by the Afghan people and the Afghan government, and we call on the Taliban to participate. It is our hope, and that of the international community, that the Afghan people may celebrate Eid al-Adha this year in peace, free from fear,” he said. Pompeo also stated that the United States supports President Ashraf Ghani's offer for comprehensive negotiations on a mutually agreed agenda.‎ Click here to read... [1]

NEPAL

Kathmandu-Kerung railway: Project to cost Rs257 billion: Kathmandu Post

The Department of Railways (DoR) on Sunday said construction of Kathmandu-Kerung railway is estimated to cost Rs257 billion. The construction of the railway running through complicated geological terrain and challenging engineering work is likely to be completed in nine years, the department said. The DoR observations corroborate the report prepared by Chinese team.A team of government officials led by Physical Infrastructure and Transport Secretary Madhusudan Adhikari is in northern central Chinese city of Xian to discuss the conclusion of the project study. DoR Spokesperson Prakash Upadhyaya told the Post, “I have shared the project details on the basis of initial information from the participants attending the meeting in China. The detailed report will be handed over on Monday.” Click here to read... [3]

Nepal, India to sign MoU on rail survey, bulk cargo: Kathmandu Post

August 20, 2018

Nepal and India are set to sign two key agreements on Kathmandu-Raxual railway line and movement of bulk cargo from three more transit points between the two neighbours on the margins of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Kathmandu on August 30 and 31. Officials are making preparations to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a preliminary survey of the proposed Kathmandu-Raxual railway line. India had agreed to fund the survey during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to New Delhi in April. “India will fully fund the preliminary survey of the proposed railway line. Nepali and Indian railway officials will jointly conduct the feasibility study,” said Bhrighu Dhungana, joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Click here to read... [4]

SRI LANKA

Vajpayee helped Sri Lanka in war against LTTE: Wickremesinghe: Times of India

August 20, 2018
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a "true friend" of Sri Lanka and had assisted the country in the civil war against the LTTE, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday. "When I was the prime minister of Sri Lanka previously, the he LTTE was in a very strong position. Our economy was weak. Mr Vajpayee helped us develop the economy and extended military trailing. We were able to stop the sea Tigers (LTTE's sea wing) because of him," he said. Click here to read... [5]

CHINA

Beijing opposes Washington's military report: China Daily

August 20, 2018

China has voiced strong opposition to a report by the US Defense Department on China's military and security developments, saying it misinterprets China's strategic intentions and hypes a so-called Chinese military threat. The report, released on Thursday, distorts the relations and situation across the Taiwan Straits, said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, in a statement on Friday. "The release of such reports year after year has harmed the mutual trust, and we ask the United States to abandon the Cold War mindset and adopt an objective and rational attitude toward China's defense and military developments," he said. Click here to read... [6]

Xi requires strengthening CPC leadership, Party building in military: People’s Daily

August 20, 2018

President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to comprehensively strengthen the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Party building in the country's armed forces to ensure a solid political guarantee for the building of a strong military. Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a CMC meeting on Party building, which was held from Friday to Sunday in Beijing. Noting that strengthening CPC leadership and Party building in the military is a requisite for advancing the "great new project" of Party building and the building of a strong country with a strong military, Xi said the whole military should comprehensively implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. Click here to read... [7]

China’s economic fundamentals remain sound: official: People’s Daily

August 20, 2018

China’s economic fundamentals sustaining sound development remain unchanged, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission told the People’s Daily in a recent interview, adding that China is confident, able, and conditioned to realize the expectation on the yearly economic and social development.
Ning, also head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said so when elaborating on China’s economic status and how China will realize its annual economic tasks when facing with new challenges. His statement also came after the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee convened a symposium recently to analyze the current economic trend and plan for the development in the second half of 2018. Click here to read... [8]

More than tariffs: China sees trade war as a new US containment tactic: South China Morning Post

August 19, 2018

For nearly two weeks, China’s top leaders disappeared from public view as they gathered at a secluded beach resort in eastern Hebei province this month. Though the heavily guarded gathering in Beidaihe was secret, their agenda was likely dominated by the trade war with the United States – and the emerging view that the nations’ escalating tensions go beyond trade and economic disputes. Click here to read... [9]

Xi Jinping to visit North Korea next month, report claims: South China Morning Post

August 18, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Pyongyang next month as ties between China and its close neighbour North Korea improve, The Straits Times reported on Saturday. The Singapore-based newspaper’s report, which did not cite a source, said Xi would go to Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding on September 9 at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It was earlier reported that North Korea sent an invitation to Xi for the event, but Beijing has yet to provide any information on the Chinese president’s visit. China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request to confirm the report on Saturday. If confirmed, the visit will be the first by a top Chinese leader to North Korea since Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao’s trip in 2005. Click here to read... [10]