Indian PM Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart, Pravind Jugnauth, will jointly inaugurate a new airstrip at the Agalega Island in Mauritius on Thursday. The two PMs will also inaugurate the St. James Jetty and six community development projects via video conferencing. The move comes after India recently launched Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and RuPay Card services in Mauritius on 12 February.
The India-US Senior Officials’ Homeland Security Dialogue was held in New Delhi on Wednesday. At the meeting, the two sides reviewed ongoing cooperation in counter-terrorism and security domains. They discussed efforts made to combat terrorism, violent extremism, drug trafficking, and organised crime, and ensure transportation security to boost bilateral ties. India also urged US authorities to investigate pro-Khalistan groups. The meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on law enforcement training between the US Federal Law Enforcement Training Centre and India’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and his Nepali counterpart, Sewa Lamsal, held a bilateral meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. Lamsal is in India to take part in the Asia Economic Dialogue 2024 in Pune on Thursday. This is the Nepali Foreign Secretary’s first visit to India since assuming office. The two foreign secretaries discussed the full spectrum of multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal during the meeting. They also followed up on the outcomes of the 7th India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting, which was co-chaired by the Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Nepali counterpart, NP Saud, in Kathmandu last month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has urged an “industry revolution” in rural areas by establishing factories across the country. This initiative comes as the nation faces persistent food shortages and increasing economic disparities. During the inauguration of a plant in Songchon County, east of Pyongyang, Kim committed to advancing his “Regional Development 20×10 Policy,” aiming to inaugurate modernised factories in a minimum of 20 remote counties annually for the next decade.
On Wednesday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo bestowed the rank of honorary four-star general upon Prabowo Subianto, the country’s Defence Minister and presumed successor, as well as a former special forces commander. This recognition comes decades after Prabowo was discharged from the military amid accusations of human rights violations. The awarding of the four-star general rank took place at a ceremony in Jakarta’s military headquarters, following Prabowo’s decisive lead in the unofficial quick counts of the presidential election on 14 February.
A German delegation from the German Federal Foreign Office is on a technical inspection trip to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. The visit is part of assessing the German embassy’s condition, which was closed during the Covid pandemic in March 2020. However, there is yet to be a decision on its reopening.