VIF Information Alerts - 27th June 2019

Pompeo vows cooperation with India but trade, defence issues unresolved
Published: Reuters

26 Jun 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to reduce heightened trade tension with India on Wednesday, promising a renewed focus on negotiating better ties, but giving few specifics of how they would overcome disputes over trade and investment.
Pompeo’s India visit comes as the two countries grapple with issues ranging from access to Indian markets for American firms to New Delhi’s demand for foreign companies to store Indian data in the country, and exports of steel and aluminium to the U.S.Click here to read... [2]

India can't wish away defence ties with Russia: Sources
Published: Deccan Herald

26 Jun 2019

Ahead of the strategically important India-US talks, diplomatic sources on Tuesday said India meets the US waiver criteria for procuring the S-400 missile defence system from sanctions-hit Russia, and asserted that New Delhi cannot "wish away" its defence ties with Moscow.Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan's Ghani to visit Pakistan in bid to step up peace effort
Published: The Tribune

26 Jun 2019

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani will visit Pakistan on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan, less than a week after its neighbour hosted Afghan opposition leaders to discuss ways to end an 18-year-long war. Ghani's third visit since 2014 comes as efforts have intensified to reach a political settlement with the Taliban and end decades of war in Afghanistan, which has long accused Pakistan of supporting the Islamist insurgent movement.Click here to read... [4]

Experts fear 'snowball effect' as Iran abandons nuclear deal
Published: The Hindu

26 Jun 2019

As Iran prepares to surpass limits set by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, each step it takes narrows the time the country’s leaders would need to have enough highly enriched uranium for an atomic bomb if they chose to build one.
The United Nations says Iran has so far respected the deal’s terms. But by Thursday, Iran says it will have over 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium in its possession, which would mean it had broken out of the atomic accord.Click here to read... [5]

Official Spokesperson's response to a query on India’s view on the recently announced ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific
Published: Ministry of External Affairs, India

26 Jun 2019

In response to a query on India’s view on the recently announced ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (announced by ASEAN on Sunday June 24), the Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said:

We have seen the text of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, issued at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on June 24. Given our Prime Minister's enunciation at the Shangri-La Dialogue in June 2018 of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific, of which India is an important part, we warmly welcome ASEAN's decision to articulate its own views of the concept. While we are studying the ASEAN perspective closely, we see important elements of convergence with our own views, especially from the standpoint of principles, as well as its approach and ASEAN's listing of areas of cooperation.
We look forward to exchanging views on the Indo-Pacific with our ASEAN Partners.Click here to read... [6]