INDIA AND CHINA
India and China focussed on additional confidence building measures in the two-day talks between the representatives of the two countries that ended in New Delhi on 24 July 2013. The two nations reviewed the recent developments in the border areas to enhance peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control. India and China discussed additional confidence building measures between them. They consulted on measures to improve the functioning of the working mechanism and to make it more efficient. Finally the two delegations further discussed the possibility of introducing an additional route for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. The meeting on working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs was led by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Gautam Bambawale and senior officials of the Defence and Home Ministries from the Indian side. The Chinese side was represented by a composite delegation of its officials. The next meeting will be held in China at a mutually convenient date and time.India and China
According to the data released by Chinese Customs, the India-China trade deficit increased by 34 percent to reach 12 billion US dollars in the first five months of the year, presenting a bleak picture for Indian exports as bilateral trade continued to decline, denting hopes of achieving a trade volume of 100 billion US dollars by 2015. The India-China bilateral trade touched 26.5 billion US dollars till May 2013. The trade deficit for India has widened year-on-year to 12 billion US dollars, up by 34 percent. The trade volume was lowered by over two billion US dollars compared to 2012. The trade deficit touched about 30 billion US dollars in 2012, causing concerns in India. While the Chinese exports registered marginal increase the bilateral trade numbers are falling. Exports have declined substantially while imports have risen marginally. Much to the disquiet of India, its main items of exports like cotton, iron ore and copper have continued their downward slide. Iron ore declined sharply by 76 percent to 595.42 million US dollars. Cotton and copper declined year-on-year by 40 percent to 1.39 billion US dollars and 24 percent to 688.53 million US dollars respectively. India’s overall share in Chinese exports has dropped to under 1 percent from 1.33 percent, the data showed. Cotton yarn and diamonds are the other two exports that rounded off the top five. Cotton yarn is the sole bright spot showing a jump of 115 percent to reach a value of 740 million US dollars. Diamonds increased at a modest 14 percent to record 562.1 million US dollars. The Chinese exports to India maintained an even keel, rising by 2.7 percent year-on-year.The India-China trade deficit increased by 34 percent to reach 12 billion US dollars in the first five months of the year, presenting a bleak picture for Indian exports as bilateral trade continued to decline, denting hopes of achieving a trade volume of 100 billion US dollars by 2015.
INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN
India and Afghanistan on 30 July 2013 signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in Kabul for implementing 60 projects in ten Afghan provinces under the Small Development Projects (SDP) scheme. The MoUs signed by Afghan Minister of Economy Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal and Indian Ambassador Amar Sinha in Kabul are related to the third phase of the SDP scheme and will be completed in the next four years. 100 million dollar SDP scheme was announced during Prime Minister’s visit to Afghanistan in May 2011. The first two phases of the scheme with a total outlay of 20 million dollars are nearing completion. The scheme has been designed by Indian government to address the developmental needs of mainly rural communities in far-flung areas of Afghanistan.INDIA AND IRAN
Iran on 15 July 2013 agreed to take payments for oil it sells to India entirely in rupees after US and western sanctions blocked all other payment routes. India has been, since July 2011, paying in euros to clear 55 percent of its purchases of Iranian oil through Ankara- based Halkbank. The remaining 45 percent due amount was remitted in rupees in accounts Iranian oil company opened in Kolkata-based UCO Bank.Iran explored taking 55 percent payments in Russian Ruble and other currencies but the payment routes could not be finalised due sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation. Iran has now agreed to take all of their payment in Indian rupees.
As the euro route was blocked and Iran did not indicate an alternate mode of taking payment for 55 percent of the oil it sold to Indian refiners, over 1.5 billion US dollars in dues got accumulated.
Iran agreed to take this overdue amount in rupees. India, which in June 2013 won another 180-day waiver from the US sanctions after it cut crude oil imports from Iran by over 27 percent, has not bought a single barrel of oil from the Persian Gulf nation since April as insurance firms refused to provide cover to refiners processing Iranian oil. India had in 2012-13 imported 13.14 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran, down from 18.11 million tonnes of 2011-12. Iran was till 2010-11 India’s second largest supplier after Saudi Arabia but has since slipped to the sixth place. In 2012-13, Saudi Arabia followed by Iraq at 25.05 million tonnes, Venezuela 21.80 million tonnes, Kuwait 19 million tonnes and UAE 14.71 million tonnes were major oil suppliers to India.
INDIA AND SAUDI ARABIA
India and Saudi Arabia on 24 July 2013 have decided to set up aSaudi-India Business Network (SIBN) separately in Riyadh and Dammam. SIBN would act as a catalyst to promote India-Saudi bilateral commerce and trade relations, investment, Business-to-Business interactions and exchanges. The proposed network would comprise of both Indian and Saudi businessmen, entrepreneurs, industrialists and members of business Chambers. Membership of SIBN would be open to all Indian and Saudi businessmen and entrepreneurs. Indian and Saudi companies recruiting Indians were also invited to join the Saudi-India Business Network.India-Saudi Arabia Trade Relations
Saudi Arabia is the 4th largest trade partner of India and the bilateral trade stood at 43.19 billion dollars in 2012-13. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for 17 percent of India’s requirements. It is also one of the major markets for Indian exports and the destination for more than 1.86 percent of India’s global exports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the 5th largest market for its exports, accounting for 7.55 percent of its global exports. Both the countries of India and Saudi Arabia have an established framework of cooperation which includes Joint Commission Meetings (JCM), India-Saudi Business Council. Several Indian companies are collaborating with the Saudi companies in the areas of designing, consultancy, financial services and software development. Saudi Arabia is also emerging as a big investor in India.INDIA AND NIGERIA
India and Nigeria on 22 July 2013 signed an agreement in Abuja to locate sites for solar power plants in Niger state. The agreement will provide additional energy for Nigeria’s national grid. It would be the first of a series of power plant deals. The agreement was signed between the secretary to the Government of India, Sutanu Behuria and Nigeria’s permanent secretary in the Ministry of Power Godknows Igali. With this agreement in place, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BSE) will begin preliminary studies for setting up independent solar-powered plants in selected locations in Niger. India expressed interest in the provision of funds in various forms for the development of Nigeria’s power sector.India in the month of July 2013 has surpassed the U.S. as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil. As per the recent statistics it has been that India had been buying more of Nigeria’s crude than the U.S. over the last three months in year 2013. India will continue with its effort of cooperating with Nigeria to improve its economy and it is supposed to assist Nigeria in capacity building of workers in both the public and private sectors. India is set to tie up with the government of Kano state to establish a film city and will also going to collaborate with the Niger state government to establish health care facilities as well as improve agriculture. It also promised assistance in the state on the training of young people who wish to embark on vocational education.
Some Important Points to Remember
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Talking on the front of bilateral trade, the
present figure stands at 10 billion dollars , even as the total investment of
India in Nigerian economy could be valued at 16.6 billion dollars.
·
India in recent times has reduced its dependence
on Iranian oil in the wake of the U.S. and European sanctions on the import of
oil from the Islamic Republic.
INDIA AND SENEGAL
An Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation was signed between India and Senegal for the period 2013-2015 on 29 July 2013 at New Delhi. This programme was signed to affirm the commitment of the two countries for sustaining the cultural exchanges. Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation was signed by Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Minister of Culture on behalf of Government of India and by Adboul Aziz Mbaye, Minister of Culture, on behalf of Government of Senegal. The programme will remain valid for a period of three years. However, it will remain intact till the fresh Exchange Programme is signed.Objectives of the Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation
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Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation
will seek to exchange the experts in the field of theatre.
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The programme will encourage training in certain
spheres such as artistic heritage, creative activities, audio visual, music,
dance, theatre and puppetry.
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The programme will seek to exchange the
publications on cultural heritage.
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It will seek to exchange the canvas works and
grounding mats for exhibition.
·
This programme will exchange the experts in the
field of prehistoric archaeology, while at the same time, providing laboratory
training in the field of restoration of cultural properties and monuments.
·
The programme will also exchange experts
reciprocally in order to promote the library activities and expertise in the
fields of publishing, printing and binding.
·
The Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation
will also exchange programmes which depict various facets of life and culture
in the two parties through their respective Radio and TV organizations.
·
This programme will exchange experiences in the
field of sports and explore the possibilities of exchanging sports teams or the
coaches in diverse disciplines.
·
Under the programme, there will be an
organisation of the cultural week which features various aspects of its
culture.
·
The programme will also seek to exchange one or
two experts in the field of performing arts and literature.
INDIA AND VIETNAM
Vietnam Foreign Minister, Pham Binh Minh on 11 July 2013 at New Delhi declared that India has the right to pursue exploration and exploitation work for hydrocarbons in South China Sea, in the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone. The announcement was made by Minh after the Joint Commission meet with Salman Khurshid, the Union External Affairs Minister. He supported his declaration by stating that with this stand, Vietnam is in a position that there is a need of respecting the UN Convention on the Law (UNCLOS) of the sea to solve the issues in the South China Sea in a peaceful manner.Decisions Made and Points Discussed
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Vietnam also supported India’s stand in the Look
East Policy that puts an emphasis on more active role in the Asia Pacific
region” and the world at large.
·
During the 15th Meet of the India-Vietnam Joint
Commission, the issue of the Maritime Rights in the South and East China Seas
were also discussed and the two sides reached to the conclusion of respecting
the UNCLOS needs.
·
It was decided that the two sides will settle
the maritime issue with each other in a peaceful manner, through dialogues, as
India wants to keep the maritime lanes open in the south china sea that acts as
a gateway to the East Asia for shipping purposes
·
To patrol the border areas, India will provide
patrol vehicles to Vietnam
·
For setting up Nam Trai-IV hydropower project
and Binh Bo Pumping station, both the sides have also signed a 19.5 million US
dollar line of credit
·
An agreement was reached between the two sides
to have direct flights between the two nations to boost ties and tourism
between the two countries. A joint trade commission would also be formed to
achieve a set trade target if 7 billion US dollar by 2015
·
Vietnam also said that it will support Indian
bid for a permanent seat in the expanded UN Security Council
India Vietnam Economic Relations
·
Vietnam has chosen, Tata Power for development
of a 1.8 billion US dollar 2X660 MW Long Phu 2 Thermal Power Project in Soc
Trang province of Southern Vietnam. Tata power won the bid from Russian and
South Korean companies.
·
India has also extended 164.5 million US dollar,
17 Lines of Credit that includes the Nam Trai-IV hydropower project and Binh Bo
Pumping station already inked to Vietnam.
·
India is also setting up a $2 million
Vietnam-India Advanced Resource Centre in ICT (ARC-ICT) in Hanoi.
·
Earlier, India provided the PARAM Supercomputer,
as a grant, for use in multiple applications. PARAM costs 4.7 crore rupees.
Issues in South China Sea for IndiaAlthough, Vietnam has maintained a firm stand of its right in the South China Sea off Vietnam’s coast based in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, but China in the past raised objections to OVL’s participation in the oil blocks of area. OVL is the foreign arm of ONGC.
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