Guyana's leadership expresses unwavering support for India‘s fight against terrorism
— India in Guyana (@IndiainGuyana) May 26, 2025
The Indian MPs' delegation had an excellent meeting with the former president of Guyana (2000-2012), and current vice-president, Bharrat Jagdeo, in the presidential Palace. In addition to his expression of strong sympathy and understanding for India's concerns in the wake of… pic.twitter.com/DAvbZyPW1A
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 25, 2025
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The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Ahead of PM's visit, India highlights presence of Khalistani activists in the U.K.
Bilateral trade is a major agenda item as Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United Kingdom on Wednesday (July 23, 2025), but the India-U.K. talks will also feature discussions on pro-Khalistan elements in the U.K., and India's policy on bringing U.K.-based fugitives to justice. The presence of Khalistani activists in the U.K. and elsewhere undermines 'social cohesion', Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a briefing on the PM's visit on Tuesday. The visit is also likely to lead to the unveiling of the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement that Mr. Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had announced on May 6. Last minute work on FTA 'We are working on legal scrubbing and other last minute work that needs to be done... The U.K. is the sixth-largest investor in India, with cumulative investment of $36 billion. Interestingly, India is also a major investor in the U.K., with nearly $20 billion in cumulative FDI,' Mr. Misri said, indicating that last-minute discussions are taking place regarding the FTA. According to diplomatic sources, the FTA is expected to result in tangible benefits for both countries in sectors such as advanced machinery, cars, and spirits, mainly Scotch whiskey. According to the U.K. government, the FTA has the potential to increase bilateral trade by nearly 39%, or an amount of 25.5 billion pounds, equivalent to ₹34.4 billion. Khalistani security concerns While boosting India-U.K. commerce, the talks will also take up the presence of the Khalistan elements who have repeatedly targeted the Indian High Commissioner in London in the recent past, and campaigned for a free Khalistan. This is also among the security concerns being taken into consideration during the Prime Minister's visit, resulting in several details, including meeting venues, being kept under wraps. In March, while on a visit to the U.K., External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was accosted by a protester who attempted to tear up the Indian flag. The Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the incident and asked the U.K. government to 'fully live upto its diplomatic obligations'. The Prime Minister's visit will also provide India with an opportunity to discuss the presence of fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi on British soil. Mr. Misri said that India is confident of bringing these wanted individuals to justice, pointing to previous successful extraditions. 'We have been in touch with each other. We will try to explain them that how others like Tahawwur Rana has been extradited… We can do it,' Mr. Misri said. Likely to discuss sanctions Mr. Modi and Mr. Starmer are expected to discuss international developments, including the U.K.'s support to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Significantly, while the European Union announced specific sanctions on July 18 against the Nayara energy refinery in Gujarat, which is a joint venture with Russian energy giant Rosneft, the United Kingdom did not include the Indian refinery in its sanctions announced on July 21. Mr. Modi will have an audience with King Charles III.
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump played key role in India-Pakistan de-escalation, US tells UNSC meet chaired by Pakistan
The Trump administration has delivered 'de-escalations' between India and Pakistan, Washington's top diplomat at the UN said on Tuesday, emphasising that the US remains committed to mediating disputes and advancing peaceful resolutions worldwide. 'Across the globe, the United States continues to work with parties to disputes, wherever possible, to find peaceful solutions,' Acting US Representative Ambassador Dorothy Shea said at the UN Security Council open debate on 'Multilateralism and Peaceful Settlement of Disputes' held here under Pakistan's presidency of the Council. With Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar presiding over the Council meeting, Shea said in the past three months alone, the US leadership has delivered 'de-escalations between Israel and Iran, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and between India and Pakistan'. 'The United States, under President Trump's leadership, played an important role in encouraging the parties to reach these resolutions, which we applaud and support,' she said. The US calls on all UN member states involved in disputes or conflicts to follow the example of those countries and to make every effort to resolve their disputes and cease violence, the diplomat said. Pakistan, currently a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Council, is President of the UN body for the month of July. Under its presidency, it is holding two 'signature' events on 'Promoting International Peace and Security through Multilateralism and the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes' and on 'cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organisations (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation).' In his remarks to the debate in his national capacity, Dar raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Indus Waters Treaty. In the wake of the horrific April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, for which The Resistance Front had claimed responsibility and in which 26 civilians were killed, India decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Shea said for peaceful dispute settlement processes to be credible, their outcomes must be implemented. 'We again call on China to abide by the 2016 ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal convened under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, which is both final and legally binding on China and the Philippines,' she said. She said for nine years now, China has refused to live up to its obligations as a party to the Convention, and instead continued to publicly reject the ruling, interfere with the exercise of high seas freedoms, and assert expansive and unlawful claims that infringe on the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of other South China Sea littoral states, including the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. 'We once again condemn China's expansive and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea and the dangerous and destabilising ways it attempts to enforce them,' she said. Since May 10, Trump, as well as his administration, has repeated the claim several times on various occasions that the US president 'helped settle' the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a 'lot of trade' with them if they stop the conflict. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Last week, the US designated The Resistance Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). India welcomed the US decision to designate TRF as a designated FTO and SDGT.
India.com
19 minutes ago
- India.com
India Helping Maldives Stabilise Its Stressful Financial Situation: Foreign Secretary Misri
NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday stated that India has been lending a "helping hand" to the Maldives to stabilise its "stressful financial" situation, highlighting New Delhi's role in bolstering the island nation's foreign exchange reserves through significant financial assistance. Addressing a press briefing ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Maldives, Misri elaborated on India's support for the island nation, noting that a USD 400 million swap line has been nearly fully utilised to stabilise its financial situation. Maldives has been grappling with a mounting debt crisis that threatens its economic sovereignty, as its foreign exchange reserves dwindle to precarious levels while substantial debt repayments loom. Maldives is currently needing to service external debt worth USD 600 million in 2025, which can amount to a staggering USD 1 billion by 2026. Misri also emphasised that India remains in close contact with Maldivian authorities to explore further support, describing the situation as dynamic and requiring ongoing collaboration. "Insofar as the issue related to the financial stability of Maldives is concerned, it is a fact that it has faced a stressful financial environment, and that is why we have been giving a helping hand to Maldives in order to stabilise the financial situation. Our recent assistance has led to accretions in the foreign exchange position of the Maldives, and it is this accretion, as a matter of fact, that has been cited by international financial organisations, including the IMF, as a positive factor that has helped the Maldives stave off outcomes that could be difficult for it," the Foreign Secretary stated. "This is a dynamic situation. We will remain in close touch with our friends and partners in the Maldives to see what else we can do. In any case, so far as the swaps are concerned, my understanding is that the USD 400 million swap line has been drawn almost completely, and now perhaps the USD 30 billion rupee Indian swap line will also be drawn upon," he added. Last year, during Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu visit to India, the Union Government extended support in the form of USD 400 million and Rs 30 billion as a bilateral currency swap agreement in order to tackle the ongoing financial challenges faced by the Maldives. Earlier in May, the Union Government has extended support to the island nation by rolling over the USD 50 Million treasury bill. Addressing the broader turnaround in India-Maldives relations after ties between New Delhi and Male were strained following derogatory remarks made by Maldivian officials about Prime Minister Modi in early January last year, Misri underscored the resilience of the partnership. He credited the close discussions with Maldivian partners for providing clarity and assurances on the matter while highlighting India's continued support through its military or infrastructural assets provided to the Maldives for its development. "There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship, including attention at the highest levels that has been paid to the relationship. We've continued to work at it, and I think the result is there for you to see. I think we have also been in very close discussions with our partner partners in the Maldives to provide clarity and assurances about what it is that we want to do bilaterally, and I think this is the result is there for all to see," the Foreign Secretary stated. "With regard to the assets that we have provided them. They continue to function there with the appropriate personnel to manage them and to assist the Maldives authorities in using them for the best possible results," Misri added. Notably, ties between New Delhi and Male were strained after Maldivian officials made derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Modi in early January last year. However, during the visit of Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer in April 2024, Zameer distanced his government from the derogatory remarks made by these officials, stating that it was not the government's stance and that "proper action" had been taken to ensure such remarks were not repeated. Earlier in January, India handed over defence equipment and stores to the Maldives, as per the island nation's request, while reiterating its firm commitment to working closely in realising the joint vision for the India-Maldives Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. PM Modi will embark on his two-nation tour of the UK and the Maldives from July 23 to July 26, the MEA had said on Sunday. From July 25, he will be on a two-day state visit to Maldives at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu. He has been invited as the 'Guest of Honour' for the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the Independence of Maldives on July 26. Notably, the visit by PM Modi comes at a historic juncture as New Delhi and Male are marking their 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. This will be the Prime Minister's third visit to the Maldives and the first visit by a Head of State or Government to the Maldives during the Presidency of Mohamed Muizzu
