Uzbekistan
On Thursday, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov concluded his two-day visit to India. He met with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to discuss several issues of bilateral, regional, and global interest.
During their discussion, they celebrated the progress made on the outcomes of the India-Uzbekistan Virtual Summit, which was held between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December last year. They also positively assessed their cooperation in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and the India-Central Asia Dialogue.
Ireland
India and Ireland convened for virtual bilateral discussions on issues pertaining to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. During the meeting, they congratulated each other for their inauguration into the council and exchanged information on each of their priorities during their tenure. In light of this, they agreed to cooperate and work closely to further each other’s aims.
The discussions saw the participation of the United Nations Director and Head of United Nations Security Council Task Team of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Gerard Keown and the Indian Joint Secretary (UNP & Summits) Prakash Gupta.
Brazil
On Wednesday, Indian Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan met with his Brazilian counterpart Marcos Cesar Pontes. According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of Science & Technology, they discussed “a wide range of scientific and technical issues and possible bilateral and multilateral collaborations such as BRICS”. In particular, they spoke of issues including “health, drugs, and vaccine for COVID-19; medicines and vaccines, biotechnology, energy, nanotechnology, ICT, artificial intelligence(AI), cybersecurity; monitoring of biomes and agriculture areas, oceans, water quality, air quality and atmospheric pollution by satellite; development of earth system modelling for weather forecasting and climate change.”
Harsh Vardhan also discussed India’s plan to set up several scientific events as the chair of the BRICS in 2021, and expressed India’s desire to collaborate with Brazil on this front. In response, Pontes spoke of the Brazilian side’s keenness to collaborate in areas including “weather forecasting, climate change, [and] space sciences.”
Further, the Indian Minister informed his Brazilian counterpart of the Indian “Vaccine Maitree” campaign, which aims to secure affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines to partnered nations.
United States of America (USA)
On the same day, the 24th edition of the India-USA Steering Group was also concluded in New Delhi. The discussion, which lasted for three days, saw the participation of a 12 member team representing the US Army. Meanwhile, 40 other American officers attended the meeting virtually. The Indian side was represented by 37 officers of the Indian Army.
This platform, which is convened every two years, was set up to provide a forum for the armies of the two countries to interact. It aims to enhance cooperation in several fields to further defence cooperation.
India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue
The India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue was held on Wednesday, which saw the participation of Indian Joint Secretary (Europe West) Sandeep Chakravorty, French Director (Asia and Oceania) Bertrand Lortholary, and Australian First Assistant Secretary (North and South Asia Division) Gary Cowan and Australian First Assistant Secretary (Europe and Latin American Division) John Geering.
During this discussion, the three sides’ senior officials conducted a review of the progress made on the outcomes of the Foreign Secretary Level Trilateral Dialogue, which was held in September last year. According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, this included “Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Blue Economy, Protection of Marine Global Commons, Combatting Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) Fishing and Cooperation in Multilateral Fora.” The leaders also spoke of the need to further take steps to enhance trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Mauritius
On Monday, India and Mauritius signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), which is the first trade agreement signed between India and an African country. The deal aims to help both countries focus on “post-pandemic economic recovery”, along with “enable business expansion and greater investments.” This comes shortly after a similar Free Trade Agreement was signed between Mauritius and China on January 1.
According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the agreement covers “310 export items for India, including food stuff and beverages (80 lines), agricultural products (25 lines), textile and textile articles (27 lines), base metals and articles thereof (32 lines), electricals and electronic item (13 lines), plastics and chemicals (20 lines), wood and articles thereof (15 lines), and others. Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.” Further, in terms of services, it paves the way for Indian service providers to access “115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors, such as professional services, computer-related services, research & development, other business services, telecommunication, construction, distribution, education, environmental, financial, tourism & travel-related, recreational, yoga, audio-visual services, and transport services.”
Additionally, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry of Mauritius, the deal “will allow it to export 40,000 tons of special sugar at 10% duty compared to 100% duty at present, 2 million litres of beer at 50% duty compared to 150% duty, 1.5 million litres on rum at 50% duty compared to an existing duty of 150%, 5000 litres at 50% duty compared to current duty of 150% on fruit wine, 7.5 million pieces duty free on garments and 7000 tons duty free access on canned tuna.”
Following these discussions, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said that during his discussions with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, apart from discussing the terms of the CECPA, they also agreed to enhance their partnership and bolster cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. He said, “We have the common ambition and responsibility of preserving and working for a safe and secure and prosperous Indian Ocean.”
Maldives
Over the weekend, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited the Maldives, during which he extended a $50 million Line of Credit to help the country fund its defence projects. According to a statement by Jaishankar, the deal was signed between India’s EXIM Bank and the Maldivian government with the aim of enhancing the country’s maritime capabilities. He also signed an agreement for a $25 million Line of Credit to improve the connectivity in the country by construction of roads.
Furthermore, Jaishankar and Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi entered into an agreement to help the country “develop, support and maintain” a naval facility at Uthuru Thila Falhu to enhance its defence capabilities in the Indian Ocean. As a part of this deal, the Indian side will also help develop other “infrastructure, communications resources and radar services”, along with assist in the training of Maldivian personnel. Following the conclusion of this deal, Didi celebrated the development of the harbour and dockyard and said that it will mark “another significant milestone” in the two countries’ cooperation in defence.
During his visit, Jaishankar also held a meeting with Maldivian Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, National Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam, and Economic Development Minister Fayyaz Ismail. At these discussions, the leaders conducted a comprehensive review of the several infrastructure projects and other economic activities that the Indian side has helped the Maldives initiate.
European Union (EU)
The India-EU Joint Steering Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation convened for its 13th session. The discussions were co-chaired by the Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Jean-Eric Paquet, and the Secretary of the Indian Department of Science and Technology, Ashutosh Sharma.
To begin with, they appreciated the achievements of the two sides in the fields of science and technology innovation cooperation and further spoke of the need to expeditiously adopt an “action-oriented agenda”. Furthermore, they agreed to pursue the vision of the “EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025”, which was adopted during the EU-India Summit in July. In pursuance of this, according to a statement by the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology, they agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of “[Information, Communication and Technology], cyber physical systems, including artificial intelligence and robotics, circular economy and resource efficiency (waste-to-energy; plastics; etc.), electric mobility and sustainable agri-food processing and so on.” Additionally, they spoke of the need to use science and technology to further the aim to achieve a carbon-neutral planet.
Ethiopia
On February 19, Demeke Mekonnen, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, concluded his two-day visit to India. According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, during the trip, he met with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during which they discussed several issues of bilateral, regional, and global concern, which included the need to bolster trade ties and further expand their historical friendship.
Moreover, the Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi organised the India-Ethiopia Business Forum, during which Indian investors and Ethiopian representatives discussed several investment opportunities in their respective countries. Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan also attended this discussion and called upon the Ethiopian business community to make complete use of the business opportunities in the country.
The two sides also signed an Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption for holders of Diplomatic Passports. As a consequence of the trip, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Leather Research Institute in India and the Wollo University in Ethiopia.
Following this visit, the Ethiopian Ambassador to India, Tizita Mulugeta, communicated the Ethiopian government’s intention to seek Indian investment in certain priority sectors, including “textile and apparel, leather and leather products, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, tourism, information and communication technology and mining and energy.”