South East Asia

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 …

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will hold talks with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Tuesday to salvage a deal to supply 126 Dassault fighter jets that has stalled on the issue of local assembly of the aircraft. Under the terms of the contract, 18 of the Rafale planes will be sold ready …

India and the US have held their first ever bilateral dialogue on the UN and multilateral issues in the spirit of the “Delhi Declaration of Friendship” that strengthens and expands the two countries’ relationship. “Today’s discussions focused on international peace and security, peacekeeping operations, counter-piracy, the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed yesterday to end India’s status as the world’s number one defense importer, saying he wanted 70 percent of hardware to be manufactured domestically by the turn of the decade. Speaking at the start of a major aviation industry conference, Modi told hundreds of foreign and …

The United States has welcomed the signing of civil nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Sri Lanka, saying it is consistent with IAEA safeguards and other international standards and practices. “We welcome regional cooperation on nuclear energy that is consistent with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards and other international …

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that Turkey and Pakistan will “continue their cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terror and Islamophobia” around the world. “We have a common position regarding terrorism and all Islamophobic attacks in different parts of the world,” Davutoğlu told a joint press conference …

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned in a statement the attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar in Pakistan during Friday prayers, which has reportedly killed at least 19 people and injured dozens. The attack killed Naveed Abbas, a Pakistan national working with the UN Department of Safety and Security, …

In an ice-breaking move after a six-month hiatus in Indo-Pak ties, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after which it was announced that Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will visit Islamabad when he will “push bilateral agenda”. Using cricket diplomacy, Modi called leaders of …

Pakistan and China Thursday reiterated their resolve to boost their existing ties and further deepen their cooperation in various sectors. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made the announcement while addressing a joint news conference …