VIF Information Alerts - 24th June 2019

UK not engaging enough with rising India, says key panel
Published: Hindustan Times

24 Jun 2019

The United Kingdom is falling behind in the global race to engage with a rising India, and the story of its recent relationship is primarily one of missed opportunities, a key parliamentary panel has said in a major report on India-UK ties. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons chaired by Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat lists a catalogue of drawbacks on behalf of successive UK governments, which have “failed to give this relationship the attention it deserves”.Click here to read... [2]

Report: Building Bridges: Reawakening UK-India Ties
Published: House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee, the Government of UKClick here to read... [3]

Pakistan - Defence services secured biggest supplementary grant
Published: The Dawn

24 Jun 2019

The defence services secured the biggest supplementary grant of more than Rs36 billion during the outgoing fiscal year before seeking about 4.7 per cent higher allocations for next fiscal year.

The Ministry of Finance has reported to the parliament that the government exceeded by Rs222bn its sanctioned expenditure limit without parliamentary approval. Therefore, it sought Rs106bn regular supplementary grant from the parliament as fait accompli.The remaining Rs116bn amount pertained to surrender from one grant to another or foreign grants and would be treated as technical supplementary grants.Click here to read... [4]

ASEAN leaders emphasise on economic strength
Published: The Tribune

24 Jun 2019

Southeast Asian leaders agreed on Sunday to work together on regional economy and security to strengthen their position amid growing US-China tensions, as they wrapped up their summit in Bangkok.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will need its collective economic strength for bargaining power globally, especially amid the trade tensions between the world’s top two economies, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told a news conference, as chairman of the 34th ASEAN Summit.Click here to read... [5]

Nepal, Bangladesh to use Indian grid for power trade
Published: The Daily Star

23 Jun 2019

Amid talks of Nepal-Bangladesh dedicated transmission line passing through the Siliguri corridor in India, the secretary level meeting between energy officials of both countries agreed to use the existing setup of Indian transmission lines to trade power in the short run. The agreement was signed by Nepal’s Energy Secretary Dinesh Ghimire and his Bangladeshi counterpart Ahmad Kaikaus during the Joint Steering Committee meeting at Cox Bazaar on Friday.Click here to read... [6]

FATF decides to keep Pak in 'Grey' list
Published: Deccan Chronicle

22 Jun 2019

The international terror financing watchdog FATF has decided to keep Pakistan on its 'Grey' list for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups LeT, JeM and others and has given a September deadline to compile with its 27-point action plan, sources here said.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which concluded its week-long meeting in Florida in the US, also asked Pakistan to take credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustainable measures to address global concerns related to terrorism and terrorist financing emanating from the territory under its control.Click here to read... [7]