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INDIA & THE WORLD

47.5 per cent of total approved FDIs (Foreign Direct Investments). India is the biggest source of foreign investments in Nepal and its largest trading partner. However, Nepal accounts for only 0.44 per cent of India's total trade. The bilateral trade between India and Nepal increased from USD 1.98 billion US dollars in 2009-10 to India and Nepal on 27 November around 2.70 billion US dollars in 2011 signed a revised Double Taxa- 2010-11, which is an increase of 37 tion Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). per cent. This will help prevent tax evasion and facilitate exchange of information on banking between the two countries. DTAA, will allow Indian traders and investors to enjoy tax relaxation in India once they pay taxes in Nepal. The agreement is also likely to increase confidence of investors and help Nepal attract more investment India and the United Arab Emirates from India.The revised DTAA beon 23 November 2011 signed two tween India and Nepal will replace key agreements. The first agreement an earlier agreement signed between will allow each other's convicted prisIndia and Nepal in 1987. oners to serve the rest of their jail terms in their native country. It is Important Information: likely to benefit 1000 Indians impris Indian firms are the biggest inves- oned in different UAE jails for varitors in Nepal. They account for about

India & Nepal

India & UAE

ous crimes. The agreement has provision that any Indian sentenced in the UAE who is to be transferred to India should have a minimum of six months of jail term left and there should not be any pending case against him. The second agreement is related to security cooperation. The agreement seeks to increase cooperation on several issues like organized crime, combating terrorism and drug trafficking. India and UAE already have an extradition treaty. The two key agreements were signed by UAE deputy Prime Minister and minister of interior Lt-Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and home minister P Chidambaram when the former visited India.

India & Bangladesh

The 12th meeting of the Home Secretaries between India and Bangladesh was concluded on 21 November 2011 in New Delhi. The Indian delegation was led by R.K. Singh, Union Home Secretary while

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the Bangladesh delegation was led by related matters and expressed their Monzur Hossain.The two sides issued satisfaction in this regard. a joint statement at the conclusion of Both sides reaffirmed their resolve the talks. to take immediate action on the basis of real time and actionable inforFollowing are the main features of mation through nodal points of the the joint statement: two countries. Both nations reiterated their com Both sides agreed to develop mitment to further expand and mechanisms to further hasten the prostrengthen mutual cooperation in the cess of verification of nationality stasecurity and border related issues. tus of prisoners lodged in jails of ei Both sides reaffirmed their com- ther country, particularly of those mitment not to allow the territory of who have completed their sentence, either country to use for any activity to enable their early repatriation. inimical to each others interests. Both sides agreed to provide con It was agreed that current level of sular access for expediting verificaengagement between the two coun- tion of nationality of the persons tries needs to be further consolidated lodged in jails. for mutual benefits. In order to further intensify people Both sides agreed to operationalise to people contact, both sides agreed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to discuss visa related issues in the (MLAT), Transfer of Sentenced Per- next meeting of the Revised Travel sons (TSP), Agreement on Combat- Agreement, which would be held ing Organized Crime and Illegal Drug soon. Trafficking which were signed during Both sides noted with appreciation the visit of Prime Minister of the firing incidence has considerably Bangladesh to India in January 2010 reduced along the international borand to implement the Coordinated der. Both sides agreed that utmost Border Management Plan (CBMP) restraint would be exercised to avoid signed during the visit of Minister of human casualty. Home Affairs of India to Bangladesh Indian side appreciated the coopin July 2011. Both sides agreed that Extradition eration extended by Bangladesh side to prevent smuggling of Fake Indian Treaty, under consideration by both Currency Notes (FICN) into India. the Governments, may be finalized Both sides agreed to further enat an early date. Bangladesh side sought assistance hance level of cooperation and vigilance in this regard. of Indian side in tracking, apprehending and handing over of the killers Both sides also discussed the urof the Father of the Nation of gency of stopping the smuggling of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh narcotics and psychotropic substances. Mujibur Rahman. India and Bangladesh reviewed the Both sides seriously took into cogfunctioning of the nodal points for nizance the menace of human trafsharing of information on security ficking, particularly women and children along Indo-Bangladesh border.

Both sides agreed that the two Task Forces under the respective Ministries need to meet on a regular basis for better coordination aiming to combating this social menace. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in capacity building of Police and other law enforcement agencies. Both sides agreed that the next Home Secretary level Talks would be held in Dhaka, the date of which would be decided through diplomatic channels.

India & Pakistan

India and Pakistan held two-day trade talks in New Delhi on 14 and 15 November 2011. These were IndiaPakistans Commerce Secretary-level talks. The agenda of the trade talks was laid out in terms of preparing timelines for complete normalisation of trade relationship and implementation of committed SAFTA obligations. The Most Favoured Nation (MFN) issue was among the main agenda items. The agenda included Indias seeking clarity on Pakistans Cabinet decision to grant it MFN status and Pakistans seeking liberalisation of visa regime for its businessmen. According to these trade talks agendas, Islamabad needed to treat India at par with other economic partners after the grant of MFN status. Islamabad demanded a complete normalisation of the bilatWWW.UPSCPORTAL.COM

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eral trade. The India-Pakistan trade is a paltry USD 2.6 billion, though the third country-routed commerce is estimated at USD 10 billion. India had granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.

China.China fulfilled the commitment made by Premier Wen Jiabao during his Nalanda visit on 21 January 2011. Exchange of culture through Nalanda International University is a major project for China.

India & China

India & Japan

Chinese Ambassador to India, Zhang Yan on 17 November 2011 handed over the cheque of 1 million US dollars for construction of a library in Nalanda International University (NIU) to highlight the Chinese art and architecture. The fund will be used for the construction of a library, which will help in strengthening the relations between India and

India-Japan Defence Ministers Meeting was held in Tokyo on 2 November 2011. The delegation level talks, led by the Defence Minister AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa, recognized the importance of sea lanes and decided to actively pursue consultations and cooperation in the field of maritime security both bilaterally and in associa-

tion with all other countries in the region. India and Japan agreed to hold their first bilateral naval exercises in 2012. The two nations exchanged views on regional and international security and decided to step up defence cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. India-Japan defence cooperation is geared towards peace and prosperity of the region and is transparent. The Indian delegation included the Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Aloke Prasad, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RK Dhowan and GoC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen VK Ahluwalia.Anti-piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption of better security measures by the world maritime community. There is a need to not only have a legal framework for prosecuting the pirates, but concerted efforts are also necessary to track the money-trail and to stop it from being channelized for funding terrorist activities, worldwide.

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