VIF Information Alerts -29th January 2019

Saudi investment in Pakistan stokes tensions with China
Published: Nikkei Asian Review

28 Jan 2019

Saudi Arabia's multibillion-dollar investment in Gwadar at the southernmost tip of Pakistan is complicating Islamabad's delicate relations with Beijing. China is wary of the increasing Saudi presence in their strategically important neighbor as Riyadh prepares to sign an agreement to build Pakistan's largest oil refinery when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Islamabad next month.Click here to read.. [2]

U.S. charges China's Huawei with conspiring to violate Iran sanctions
Published: The Hindu

29 Jan 2019

The United States on Monday announced criminal charges against China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, escalating a fight with the world's biggest telecommunications equipment maker and coming days before trade talks between Washington and Beijing.

The Justice Department charged Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran by doing business with Tehran through a subsidiary it tried to hide and that was reported on by Reuters in 2012 Click here to read.. [3]

France’s colonial link hits bid to join Indian ocean group
Published: The Economic Times

29 Jan 2019

As a French anti-aircraft destroyer docked in Mumbai last week to operationalise a landmark agreement with India to exchange logistics support, it signalled the deepening of India’s defence and security ties with France, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

However, this does not mean France is going to become a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the biggest regional grouping, any time soon. France has been pushing for a membership slot in the IORA for some time, arguing its overseas territories Reunion Islands and Mayotte made it an Indian Ocean resident power. Click here to read.. [4]

Pakistan’s external financing drops by 60pc
Published: The News

29 Jan 2019

Pakistan’s external sector financing has significantly dropped by over 60 percent under the PTI led regime as Islamabad received just $2.3 billion in the first half (July-Dec) from all multilateral and bilateral creditors in the shape of loans and grants in the current fiscal year against $5.89 bn in the same period of the last financial year.

In this alarming development, the scarcity of foreign assistance has literally offset Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts for getting financial packages from the friendly countries such as the Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China.Click here to read.. [5]

Pak Lt Gen Navid Moktar figures in failed plot to assassinate Sheikh Hasina
Published: The Economic Times

29 Jan 2019

A sensational plot to assassinate Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members besides top leaders of the ruling Awami League ahead of the recently concluded December 30 parliamentary polls had been foiled, sources from Dhaka claimed.

Bangladesh government with support from friendly partners had stumbled upon an alleged plan by Pakistan's ISI to smuggle a huge cache arms for the operation that was planned ahead of the elections, said the sources. Hasina returned to power for the third consecutive term with a thumping majority.Click here to read.. [6]

Sri Lanka Negotiating with China and India to Work out of Financial Debt
Published: The EurAsian Times

28 Jan 2018

Sri Lanka is negotiating with India and China for financial assistance to avoid a balance of payments crisis according to a recent international media report. In the report, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Chief said that “Sri Lanka is on course to avert a balance of payments crisis this year” and quoted the country’s central bank chief, expressing confidence in the island nation’s ability to secure aid from both China and India to repay looming debts.Click here to read.. [7]