South East Asia

India and China will hold the 18th round of border talks in Delhi from tomorrow – the first round of negotiations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power last year – where the two sides are expected to focus on clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Despite several meetings between Indian and French officials to close the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal worth $20 bn before PM Narendra Modi travels to Paris next month, defence minister Manohar Parrikar informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that “no final decision” has been taken yet.

US President Barack Obama on Thursday spoke with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan by video conference, along with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the White House announced. Obama “encouraged accelerated Afghan progress toward forming an inclusive national unity government and expressed his expectation that their visit to Washington later …

India has stressed on deeper engagement and commitment by the UN Security Council to ensure long-lasting peace in countries torn by civil war and to avoid relapse into conflict. In an an Ambassadorial-level meeting of Organisational Committee, Peacebuilding Commission here yesterday, Deputy Permanent Representative of India Ambassador Bhagwant Bishnoi said …

US President Barack Obama has nominated veteran diplomat David Hale as the next ambassador to Pakistan. A career foreign service official, Hale is currently the US Ambassador to Lebanon, a position he has held since 2013. Obama named him for the post yesterday and if confirmed by the Senate, Hale …

In a meeting with Nasir Ahmad Durrani, the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister, Jean-Michel Marlaud, the French ambassador to Afghanistan said that his country has a long standing relationship with Afghanistan and will continue to help the Afghans by fully cooperating with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation (MRRD) in their …

Pakistan on Monday conducted a successful test launch of Shaheen-III Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile, capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 2,750 Kilometers, the military said. According to a press release by Pakistan military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the test launch was aimed at validating various …

Pakistan will hold dialogue with India on all issues including the longstanding Kashmir dispute, National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz said today ahead of the Foreign Secretary-level talks next week. Talking to Radio Pakistan in Lahore, Aziz said that India cancelled Foreign Secretary level talks last year and now it took …

Jammu and Kashmir’s new ruling coalition sworn in on Sunday has nudged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resume talks with Pakistan and Kashmiri stakeholders, including the Hurriyat Conference. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kashmir’s People’s Democratic Party nominated 11 and 12 ministers respectively who took the oath of …

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drain and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar appear to have sorted out one of the key issues holding up the estimated $15 billion deal to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. A final decision is expected to be taken before Prime …