VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 9th January, 2019

PAKISTAN

Army affirms support for regional peace initiatives: Dawn
January 9, 2019

The army’s top brass on Tuesday affirmed its support for “all initiatives” for regional peace. This affirmation was made at the corps commanders’ conference held at the General Headquarters. “Forum reiterated to continue its efforts for bringing enduring peace in the country while supporting all initiatives towards regional peace,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said at the end of the meeting presided over by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and attended by the corps commanders and the principal staff officers. The meeting reviewed geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country. Click here to read... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

US special envoy Khalilzad embarks on 4-country tour for Afghan peace efforts: Dawn
January 9, 2019

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday embarked on a two-week tour of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China for talks with each country's leadership on the Afghan peace process. The US Secretary of State's Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Ambassador Khalilzad, is leading an intra-agency delegation and will meet officials in each country in order to "facilitate an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan", a handout from the US State Department said. Click here to read... [3]

NEPAL

Nepal welcomes over 1 million tourists in 2018 with China, India as leading markets: Xinhua
January 8, 2019

Nepal's tourism sector witnessed phenomenon growth in international tourist arrivals in 2018 as the Himalayan country received over 1.1 million tourists, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said on Tuesday. It was the first time that Nepal saw more than 1 million tourists in a year in its history. The number of foreign visitors crossed the 1-million mark during the first 11 months of 2018, reaching 1,173,072 at the end of December, the NTB, the main tourism promotion body of Nepal, said in a press statement. Total tourist arrivals grew by 24.77 percent in 2018 from 940,218 in 2017, according to NTB. Visitors from China and India contributed the largest number of tourists last year, taking up over 30 percent of the total. Click here to read... [4]

CHINA

Chinese navy’s new ‘compact’ radar will allow it to keep watch over an area the size of India: South China Morning Post
January 09, 2019

Chinese military scientists have made significant headway in upgrading China’s radar technology, and are developing an advanced “compact size” radar for the navy’s carrier fleet that will allow it to maintain constant surveillance over an area the size of India. Click here to read... [5]

Sino-US relations at a critical crossroad: China Daily
January 09, 2019

The 40th anniversary of China-US relations is a historical occasion, not least because the relatively steady development of Sino-US ties has made huge contributions to world peace and development. Despite all the ups and downs along the way, the Sino-US partnership has seen plenty of cooperation and achievements in the past four decades. Click here to read... [6]