Over 400,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan following Pakistan’s crackdown on illegal migration, under which 31 October was announced as the deadline for all illegal migrants to leave or face arrests. According to Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, the majority of the returnees have been using the border crossings of Torkham and Spin Boldak to return home.
The 10th India-Armenia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held in New Delhi on 18 November. Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), led the Indian side in the meeting, while the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Mnatsakan Safaryan, led the Armenian delegation. The two sides discussed political, trade and economic, consular, cultural, and people-to-people ties, as well as energy, agriculture, connectivity, and capacity building. Additionally, both delegations exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the multilateral fora.
Before its 13 January presidential and parliamentary elections, Taiwan must choose whether it should pick frontrunner Lai Ching-te, vice president and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, who continues to help the self-governing island move forward on the road to democracy, or “(walk) into the embrace of China” by siding with the largest opposition party, the Kuomintang. The issue of China looms large ahead of the elections, especially as Beijing has been strengthening its military hold on the island.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko in San Francisco last week to discuss strengthening trilateral security cooperation to respond to and block North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats more effectively.
The BRICS countries’ leaders will attend an emergency video conference on 21 November to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the Gaza Strip, as reported by the South African President’s Office. According to the statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the summit. South Africa now holds the rotating leadership of BRICS. The new leaders of the [new] BRICS countries, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, will also participate in the virtual session, the statement read.
President Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Monday that Turkey would not allow the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons to be withdrawn from the global agenda. Erdoğan claimed following a cabinet meeting that the West was attempting to “vindicate” Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, adding that Western countries had a “fraternity of lies” with Israel, which he branded “shameful.” “The shame of the Holocaust has literally taken European leaders hostage,” Erdogan asserted.