VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 21st January, 2019

PAKISTAN

'Exemplary punishment to be given to those found guilty in Sahiwal incident,' PM assures nation: Dawn
January 21, 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a tweet on Monday "assured the nation" that those [found] guilty in the Sahiwal incident would be given an "exemplary punishment", adding that the grief and anger of the people of Pakistan over the incident was "understandable and justified". Click here to read..... [2]

Chinese firms concerned over Gwadar Master Plan approval delay: Dawn
January 21, 2019

Chinese companies, which prepared the Gwadar Master Plan Smart City, have expressed concern over delay in its approval by the federal government. Sources said that the Gwadar Master Plan Smart City was prepared by China Communication Construction Company Limited and Fourth Harbour Engineering Investigation at a cost of Rs521 million, including a Chinese grant of Rs425m and Rs91m provided by the government of Pakistan. Click here to read..... [3]

AFGHANISTAN

Khalilzad Says Peace Efforts Moving In The Right Direction: Tolo News
January 21, 2019

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad wrapped up his Islamabad visit on Sunday as he visited the country on a multi-nation trip to find a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Khalilzad said in a tweet that he had "good meetings" on Afghan peace in Pakistan. He acknowledged that the peace efforts are moving forward in the right direction. "We’re heading in the right direction with more steps by Pakistan coming that will lead to concrete results," Khalilzad tweeted. Click here to read..... [4]

NEPAL

Foreign policy experts are sceptic about Nepal's prospects amid global elites as Prime Minister Oli heads to Davos: Kathmandu Post

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s trip to Davos, a resort town in the Swiss Alps, on Sunday to participate in the annual World Economic Forum has a single goal: attract global interest in Nepal ahead of the investment summit in March. But even before the prime minister touched down in Switzerland, diplomats and foreign policy experts have expressed scepticism on whether he will be able to assure the global elites about investing in the country given the insufficient institutional and policy architecture and lack of accountability and transparency. Click here to read..... [5]

CHINA

Ronnie Chan, Donald Trump and how China misread the US in first round of trade talks: South China Morning Post
January 21, 2019

When the meeting was over, there was supposed to be an agreement. In the early days of the administration of US President Donald Trump, Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang had gone to Washington for the annual strategic economic dialogue to hammer out a deal on narrowing the United States’ trade deficit with China – the target of sustained Trump ire since taking office. Click here to read..... [6]

China GDP growth reaches 6.6% in 2018: NBS: China Daily
January 21, 2019

China's year-on-year GDP growth reached 6.6 percent in 2018, compared with 6.8 percent in 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 6.4 percent, compared with 6.7 percent in the first three quarters. Click here to read..... [7]