India and Nepal signed a slew of agreements, including cooperation among the higher educational institutions of the two countries and the state power authorities, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lumbini. The list of agreements signed between the two countries included the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Lumbini Buddhist University for the establishment of Dr. Ambedkar Chair for Buddhist Studies. An MoU was signed between ICCR and CNAS, Tribhuvan University on the establishment of the ICCR Chair of Indian Studies. Another MoU was inked between Indian ICCR and Kathmandu University (KU) on the establishment of the ICCR Chair of Indian Studies. Other agreements included "MoU between Kathmandu University (KU), Nepal and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), India and also between Kathmandu University (KU), Nepal and Indian Institute of Technology (IITM), India for a joint degree program at Master's level." An agreement between the Indian public sector undertaking SJVN Ltd and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for the development and implementation of the Arun 4 hydro-project was also signed. PM Modi arrived in Lumbini this morning on an official visit. On arrival at Lumbini, Prime Minister was received by the Nepal PM and his spouse Arzu Deuba. Both the leaders participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of a Centre of Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti. They also visited the Maya Devi Temple. As Prime Minister, this is his fifth visit to Nepal and first to Lumbini. Source: ANI  

  India’s export performance has never been as good as it has been in 2021. In the first 11 months of the year, exports exceeded $354 billion, over $57 billion (or 19.2 percent) higher than the previous best for the same period, which was achieved in 2019. Imports, too, have touched a record high of $513 billion, almost 9 percent above the previous high of $472 billion in 2018. Importantly, higher imports could well be the sign that the economy is on course for a sustained recovery in 2022. Buoyed by rapid expansion of exports in the earlier months of the year, the government had set an export target of $400 billion for fiscal 2021-22. A similar target has also been set in the past, but India’s exports have not gone beyond $330 billion (in 2018-19). In the first 8 months of the current fiscal (April-November 2021), exports had reached well over $263 billion, exceeding the previous high for this period by almost 22 percent. Although in November 2021 exports were at their lowest level during this fiscal year, there is every likelihood that the $400 billion target will be reached. Driving India’s export surge were five major product groups — metals, ores, agricultural products, electronics, and petroleum products. Specific products within metals and agricultural products performed exceptionally well, which include iron and steel, copper, non-basmati rice, sugar, and wheat. Exports of each of these products have more than doubled during January-October 2021, as compared to the level in the corresponding period during 2019. Raw cotton and to a lesser extent cotton yarn, also experienced surge in exports in current year. India’s exports to most of its major destinations touched record levels during 2021. Exports to the largest destination, the United States (US), increased to $58.7 billion, by almost a third as compared to the level in 2019. Even more impressive was India’s exports to China, the third largest destination, where the increase was more than 42 percent during the same period. Bangladesh emerged in the top 5 export destinations for the first time; India’s exports to its neighbour increasing by over 67 percent when compared with 2019 figures. However, exports to the second largest export destination, namely, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), declined in the midst of the overall surge. Products triggering the export surge in the major destinations varied considerably. Among India’s major exports to the US, petroleum products, non-electrical machinery and organic chemicals expanded the fastest in 2021. On the other hand, higher exports of metals, including iron and steel, copper, and aluminium exports, besides cotton and ores, allowed India to increase its presence in China. Bangladesh emerged as one of India’s largest destinations largely due to higher exports of cotton and cereals (both rice and wheat). Backed by this impressive export performance, a confident India is now seeking to forge several free trade agreements (FTAs). This is a complete turnaround from 2019 when India had walked out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the mega-regional trade agreement of East Asia. The first of India FTAs could be with the UAE, which was once its largest export destination. However, with the decrease in India’s oil imports, trade with the UAE has lost momentum over the past several years. As the major gateway to the Gulf and, more importantly, the African continent, increase in trade ties with the UAE could provide further buoyancy to India’s exports. India has also begun discussions for a possible FTA with the United Kingdom (UK), which is seeking to overcome the handicap it could suffer in the post-Brexit phase by rapidly forging close trade links with partner countries. Since it left the European Union less than two years back, the UK has already formalised 40 FTAs with its trade partners. It is showing similar urgency to formalise an FTA with India, and therefore, the New Year could well see heightened engagement between the two countries for closer trade relations. For several years, speculation has been rife about a possible FTA between the US and India. But the dealings of the Trump Administration with India, especially the withdrawal of the GSP (generalised system of preferences) that India had enjoyed since the inception of the scheme and the initiation of the tariff war, resulted in a trust deficit that could not be bridged. However, the Joe Biden administration appears to be in a conciliatory mood, as was evident from the recent visit of the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai. The next steps the two countries take would be decide whether an India-US trade deal is possible. (About author: Biswajit Dhar is Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.) Source: moneycontrol

Declaring "the dawn of a new Middle East," President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed historic diplomatic pacts with Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that he hopes will lead to a new order in the Mideast and cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign. Hundreds of people massed on the sun-washed South Lawn to witness the signing of agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The bilateral agreements formalize the normalization of the Jewish state's already thawing relations with the two Arab nations in line with their common opposition to Iran and its aggression in the region. "We're here this afternoon to change the course of history," Trump said from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn. "After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East." The agreements do not address the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the UAE, Bahrain and other Arab countries support the Palestinians, the Trump administration has persuaded the two countries not to let that conflict keep them from having normal relations with Israel. Trump's political backers are looking for the agreements to boost his standing as a statesman with just seven weeks to go before Election Day. Until now, foreign policy has not had a major role in a campaign dominated by the coronavirus, racial issues and the economy. The pandemic was in the backdrop of the White House ceremony, where there was no social distancing and most guests didn't wear masks. The agreements won't end active wars, but supporters believe they could pave the way for a broader Arab-Israeli rapprochement after decades of enmity and only two previous peace deals. Skeptics, including many longtime Mideast analysts and former officials, have expressed doubts about their impact and lamented that they ignore the Palestinians, who have rejected them as a stab in the back by fellow Arabs. During the ceremony, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, thanked Israel for "halting the annexation of Palestinian territories," although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel has only temporarily suspended its plans to annex West Bank settlements. "Today, we are already witnessing a change in the heart of the Middle East — a change that will send hope around the world," al-Nahyan said. Even the harshest critics have allowed that the agreements could usher in a major shift in the region should other Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, follow suit, with implications for Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Other Arab countries believed to be close to recognizing Israel include Oman, Sudan and Morocco. "We are very down the road with about five different countries," Trump told reporters before the ceremony. In addition to the bilateral agreements signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, all three are signing a document dubbed the "Abraham Accords" after the patriarch of the world's three major monotheistic religions. "This day is a pivot of history," Netanyahu said. "It heralds a new dawn of peace." "Despite the many challenges and hardships that we all face — despite all that, let us pause a moment to appreciate this remarkable day." The Palestinians have not embraced the U.S. vision. Palestinian activists held small demonstrations Tuesday in the West Bank and in Gaza, where they trampled and set fire to pictures of Trump, Netanyahu and the leaders of the UAE and Bahrain. A poll released Tuesday found that 86% of Palestinians believe the normalization agreement with the UAE serves only Israel's interests and not their own. The poll, carried out by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, was carried out Sept. 9-12 and surveyed 1,270 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Even in Israel, where the accords have received widespread acclaim, there is concern they might result in U.S. sales of sophisticated weaponry to the UAE and Bahrain, thus potentially upsetting Israel's qualitative military edge in the region. Trump said he is OK with selling military aircraft to the UAE. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also welcomed the agreements but said she wants to learn details, specifically what the Trump administration has told the UAE about buying American-made F-35 aircraft and about Israel agreeing to freeze efforts to annex portions of the West Bank. Bahrani Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani said Bahrain would stand with the Palestinians. "Today is a truly historic occasion," he said. "A moment for hope and opportunity." And while the UAE and Bahrain have a history of suppressing dissent and critical public opinion, there have been indications that the agreements are not nearly as popular or well-received as in Israel. Neither country sent its head of state or government to sign the deals with Netanyahu. Bahrain's largest Shiite-dominated opposition group, Al-Wefaq, which the government ordered dissolved in 2016 amid a years long crackdown on dissent, said there is widespread rejection of normalization. Al-Wefaq said in a statement that it joins other Bahrainis who reject the agreement to normalize ties with the "Zionist entity," and criticized the government for crushing the public's ability to express opinions "to obscure the extent of discontent" at normalization. The ceremony follows months of intricate diplomacy headed by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, and the president's envoy for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz. On Aug. 13, the Israel-UAE deal was announced. That was followed by the first direct commercial flight between the countries, and then the Sept. 11 announcement of the Bahrain-Israel agreement. Source: AP/UNB AH