VIF Neighborhood News Digest: September 5, 2019

PAKISTAN

World has responsibility to stop Indian aggression: PM: Dawn
September 5, 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday apprised the visiting foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of the situation arising from New Delhi’s illegal and unilateral actions in occupied Kashmir, stating that the international community has the responsibility to urge India to halt and reverse its illegal actions and aggressive policies and postures. The prime minister, during his meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, highlighted Pakistan’s deep concern over the worsening human rights and humanitarian situation in India-held Kashmir because of the month-long complete lockdown and communications blackout in the occupied territory. Click here to read... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Pompeo 'Declines' To Sign Afghan Deal: TIME Magazine: Tolo
September 5, 2019

While the US and Taliban are close to a peace deal to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has declined to sign the Afghan peace deal, TIME Magazine reported. On Monday, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, who is in Kabul after wrapping up Doha talks told TOLOnews that the US and the Taliban have reached an agreement in principle and it is closed, but added that the document is not final until US President Trump approves it. The two sides have held nine rounds of talks in the past ten months Mr. Khalilzad said that based on the draft agreement, the US will withdraw 5,000 troops from five bases in Afghanistan within 135 days if conditions in the agreement are addressed by the Taliban. Click here to read... [3]

BANGLADESH

Reliance Power, Japan's JERA to set up 750-Mw power plant in Bangladesh: Business Standard
September 5, 2019

Reliance Power (RPower) entered into an agreement with Japanese utility JERA to set up a 750-megawatt (Mw) power plant in Bangladesh, the company said on Tuesday. The investment will also help RPower repay Rs 835 crore worth of debt through relocation of its Samalkot power plant equipment. “RPower signed a deal with JERA for jointly setting up 750 Mw gas-based combined cycle power project (Phase-1) in Meghnaghat, Bangladesh. RPower will hold 51 per cent stake while JERA will have 49 per cent in the joint venture company,” RPower said. Click here to read... [4]

Myanmar

Call them ‘refugees of conflict’, military says: The Myanmar Times
September 5, 2019

The (Tatmadaw) military objects to the use of the term “war refugees” to refer to people who have had to flee fighting across the country, preferring that they instead be called “refugees of conflict,” a military MP told parliament on Tuesday. He said the use of “war refugees” is unsupportive of the military’s all-out attempts to achieve nationwide peace. “At a time when the military is making all-out efforts across the nation to achieve peace, such words are unsupportive,” the military MP told Speaker U Ti Khun Myat during the parliament session. “Thus, I want go on record as saying that they should be referred to as “refugees of conflict.” Click here to read... [5]

Sri Lanka

Elect Gota based on his service as Defence Secy.: MR: Daily Mirror
September 5, 2019

People should decide whether or not to elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President taking into account the service he rendered in his capacity as the former Defence Secretary, opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday. He said this while addressing a convention on tea and rubber smallholders and cultivators of minor export crops at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), held under the patronage of SLPP presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Mid-year trade deficit close to Nu 20B: Kuensel
September 5, 2019

Going by the trade statistics, the country’s effort to promote export and substitute import is a far-fetched dream, which has been suffering from a serious deficit since 2011. In a way, the trade deficit is due to smallness of the country’s economy and vulnerabilities ignited by the dominance on hydropower and government spending. Even as the government promotes foreign direct investment (FDI), Lyonchhen Dr Lotay Tshering, during the review of the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) of the finance ministry on September 2, said that should an FDI of more than Nu 100B comes to Bhutan, the government and stakeholders like the central bank wouldn’t allow it. Click here to read... [7]

Nepal

Foreign Minister changes position on Kashmir, says it is the domain of “that government”: The Kathmandu Post
September 5, 2019

A month has elapsed since India stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, but Nepal has not issued any public statement regarding the controversial move. But Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has made two statements, each appearing to contradict the other. On August 19, Gyawali had told media that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved through dialogue, as it is linked to regional peace and stability. He had stopped short of elaborating further. But on Tuesday, while in the Maldives for the Indian Ocean Conference, Gyawali told ANI, an Indian news agency, affirming a position that numerous other South Asian countries have taken. “Changing the constitution is entirely the domain of that government,” Gyawali said in the Maldivian capital of Male, referring to India’s abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution. “So we have no comment on that decision.” Click here to read... [8]

China

Extradition bill withdrawal: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam explains why now: South China Morning Post
September 5, 2019

Even though Lam was finally acceding to one of the demonstrators’ five demands, protesters and politicians from both the pro-Beijing and opposition camps argued the concession was too little, too late. In her televised announcement, Lam addressed, but did not fully acquiesce to another key demand – the setting up of an independent inquiry into the use of force by police. Instead, the chief executive said she would invite community leaders and professionals to examine the problems in society. Click here to read... [9]

Xi: Improve telling of China story to world: China Daily
September 5, 2019

President Xi Jinping called on the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration to further enhance its communication capacities and better tell China's stories to the outside world. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in a congratulatory letter on Wednesday to honor the administration's 70th anniversary. Click here to read... [10]