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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Apr 12, 2022

India, US to Bolster Cooperation in Fields of Education, Skill Development

Lauding the vibrant linkages between the two countries, India and the US reiterated their support for further strengthening cooperation in the fields of education and skill development through joint collaborations.
The ministers announced the intent to establish a new India-US Education and Skills Development Working Group and also appreciated the contribution of the Fulbright-Nehru program in furthering the exchange of outstanding academics and professionals between both countries and the special role that the four million strong Indian-American diaspora play in deepening India-US relations.
Welcoming the resumption of regular air travel between the two countries and expressing hope that this would encourage tourism and business travel, the two sides acknowledged that the movement of skilled professionals, students, entrepreneurs, investors, and business travellers between the countries will play an important role in catalyzing innovation and economic opportunity.

US Reaffirms Support for India's Permanent Membership in Reformed UNSC, NSG

The Biden administration reaffirmed its commitment to support India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
The US also praised India for its significant contributions as a member of the 15-membered apex decision making body of the UN.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar led the Indian delegation for 2+2, while the US side was represented by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken.
The 48-member NSG is an elite club of countries that deals with the trade-in nuclear technology and fissile materials besides contributing to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Shehbaz Sharif is 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan

Pakistan's opposition leader, Shehbaz Sharif was elected unopposed as the 23rd Prime Minister of the country through voting in the National Assembly. The 70-year old Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Chief succeeded Imran Khan, who was removed by a no-trust vote recently in the National Assembly. Shehbaz Sharif is the brother of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Sharif secured 174 votes and was declared as Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In the House of 342, the winning candidate should get the support of at least 172 lawmakers.
Sharif said that a selected Prime Minister was removed using constitutional and legal means, the first time a PM was removed through a no-confidence motion. He served as Chief Minister of the country's most populous and politically crucial Punjab province thrice. Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chair Asif Ali Zardari had proposed Shehbaz's name for the Prime Minister's position in a joint opposition meeting to replace Khan through a no-confidence motion.

Apr 11, 2022

Imran Khan First Pakistani Prime Minister to Lose No-trust Vote

Notably, no Prime Minister has completed a full five-year tenure in Pakistan so far. Despite several attempts to block the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, the voting took place in which as many as 174 members voted in favour of the motion in the 342-member House while members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were absent.
Imran Khan sought to link the opposition's move to oust him through a no-trust vote with "foreign conspiracy" and named the United States in some of his speeches. However, the United States rejected his allegations. Imran Khan also gave calls for people to take to the streets while the joint opposition remained steadfast in its objective of defeating him.

Apr 10, 2022

Hypersonic Missiles: UK, US, and Australia to Boost Defence Co-operation

The programme will be part of the AUKUS partnership, a security pact announced by the three countries last year. It follows the development of hypersonic missiles by China and Russia and their purported use by Russia in Ukraine.
Hypersonic weapons are those that exceed five times the speed of sound. They are harder to defend against because of their speed as well as the fact they fly at low altitudes - beyond the line of sight of ground-based radars - and can manoeuvre mid-flight.
The UK does not currently possess hypersonic missiles.The US and Australia have an existing joint programme to develop the weapons but the UK government stressed the focus of the new venture would be on defence.

Apr 09, 2022

Madagascar Joins Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Madagascar joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) becoming the 30th country to join the partnership launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.
CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development. The CDRI Secretariat is based in New Delhi, India.
CDRI claims to promote the rapid development of resilient infrastructure to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals' imperatives of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work.

Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as first Black women to Supreme Court

In a momentous occasion in American history, the United States Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to sit in the country's highest court. The United States Senate took the historic decision by 53-47 votes after three Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney voted in her favour along with 50 members of the ruling Democratic Party.
"Judge Jackson's confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We've taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honoured to share this moment with her," President Biden
She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school and served on the US Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013.

Apr 08, 2022

Pakistan's Passport Ranked 4th Worst in the World again by Passport Index

Pakistan's passport was again ranked the fourth worst in the world by the Henley Passport Index, which grades travel documents from different countries on the basis of international mobility enjoyed by their holders.
According to the index, Pakistan was placed on the 109th position on the list, with visa-free access to only 31 destinations across the world. Only three other countries' passports rank lower than Pakistan's in the world which include Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the ranking with its nationals only able to access 26 destinations visa-free.
Japan and Singapore continue to share the number one spot in the ranking, with passport holders from both countries able to access 192 destinations around the world visa-free

UN General Assembly Suspends Russia From top Human Rights Body

The UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the world organisation's leading human rights body over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, which the United States and Ukraine have called tantamount to war crimes. The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.
Russia is the second country to have its membership rights stripped at the Human Rights Council which was established in 2006. In 2011, the assembly suspended Libya when upheaval in the North African country brought down longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield launched the campaign to suspend Russia from its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians after Russian soldiers retreated.

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