International Relations - Current Affairs for February, 2016

This will take the number of beneficiary countries to 150. Nations added in the latest round include Albania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Moldova, Namibia, Romania, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Trinidad & Tobago, Zambia and Zimbabwe. e-Tourist visa scheme was launched in 2014.

Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved the forging of an agreement between India and Maldives for avoiding DTAA from international air transport. Agreement provides relief from double taxation for airline enterprises of India and Maldives through exemption of income from the enterprise of India resulting from operation of aircraft in international traffic from tax form Maldives and vice versa. Agreement also provided for Mutual Agreement Prcoedure for resolving difficulties in interpretation or agreement application.

Union Cabinet was apprised of the signing of an agreement for Indo-French Joint Committee on Science & Technology Cooperation.India and France have signed the arrangement for establishment of this apex level Joint Committee on 25th January 2016 in New Delhi. As per the agreement, the Joint Committee will define and prioritise Indo French cooperation in science, technology and innovation for economic and social development. Joint Committee will be co-chaired by MST and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development or official of Secretary rank from India and DG from France. Enhanced technical and scientific cooperation between the two nations has intensified as a result of this.

Confederation of Indian Industries signed MoU with Dubai exports to boost trade for strengthening India UAE economic ties . CII has signed the MoU with Dubai exports which works with Dubai government departments for simplification of the export process. It aims to capitalise on Dubai as a natural trade gateway between the East and the West.

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has arrived at Delhi on 19th February on a special visit, accompanied by senior members of the Nepal Cabinet. India sent Subramaniam Swamy as special emissary for talks with Oli and Maoist leader Prachanda.

Union Cabinet has given the approval for agreement for collaborations in the field of traditional medicine between Ministry of Ayush, GoI and WHO Geneva. Long term collaboration will work towards improving global acceptability and branding of Ayush systems, facilitate awareness generation regarding AYUSH systems of Medicine by means of education, skill development, workshops, publications and exchange programs between AYUSH and WHO. Traditional and Complementary Systems of Medicine (T&CM) include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy.

Government has provided approval for an agreement with Singapore for cooperation in areas of urban planning and governance. The Union Cabinet chaired by India’s PM has just provided ex post facto approval to an MoU signed with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise to share experiences in the field of urban development, capacity building and governance.

Agreements spanned areas such as cybersecurity, technology and currency swap. The two leaders discussed ways to increase the annual trade volume by over 60% in the next 5 years.
"Cooperation in the oil sector, food security, UAE's contribution to our strategic oil reserves, maritime security and terrorism as a common threat were some of the other issues discussed by the two leaders," said an official press release. UAE also began FTA negotiations with Gulf Cooperation Council and India.

India and China on 6th February 2016 held the first every joint tactical military exercise in 2016. The 1 day long exercise was held in Chusul-Moldo area in LoAC in J&K’s Ladakh region. This is part of the initiative between the two countries to strengthen interaction between soldiers at the Line of Actual Control. This is complementary to the hand in hand series of Sino-Indian exercises.

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd has tied an MoU with RUSNANO OJSC of Russia. The signing of the MoU comes after the PM’s visit to Russia in December 2016 and discussions between NIIF and RUSNANO. Both companies have also made the agreement to establish the RUSSIA-INDIA HIGH TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE EQUITY FUND for joint implementation of investments into projects in India. NIIF is an AIF/ Alternative Investment Fund registered with SEBI while RUSNANO is a Russian company.