About Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT)

🔆About Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT)

✅In 1972, India and Bangladesh signed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT).

✅ It is a bilateral protocol connecting the inland waterways of India and Bangladesh for the transportation of goods and keeping their respective waterways navigable, while providing infrastructure facilities.

✅The protocol further states that both countries will mutually decide the proposed expenses; voyage permissions shall be taken at least four days prior to the actual journey; and the vessels shall share equal tonnage.

✅The India-Bangladesh Protocol Routes include parts of rivers Ganga, Hooghly, Brahmaputra, and Barak, and the Sundarbans

Note: In 2018, India and Bangladesh signed an agreement for inclusion of Dhubriin India and Pangaonin Bangladesh as new Ports of Call in PIWTT.

India and Afghanistan Relations

📝India and Afghanistan Relations

📝 Background ( Part 1 )

 

🔸Relations between the people of Afghanistan and India traces to the Indus Valley Civilisation. 

 

🔸The Durand Line is the 2,430-kilometre International border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sir Mortimer Durand had drawn this line in 1893 between Afghanistan and then British India, which later got divided into two countries India and Pakistan in 1947. 

 

🔸 The Durand Line cuts through the Pashtun tribal areas and further south through the Balochistan region. It politically divides ethnic Pashtuns, as well as the Baloch and other ethnic groups, who live on both sides of the border in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan.

🔸 During the Soviet intervention (1979-89), India was the only South Asian nation to recognise the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. India also provided humanitarian aid to then Afghan President Najibullah's government. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces, India continued to with humanitarian aid.

India-UAE Virtual Summit

🔆 India-UAE Virtual Summit

✅ In a historic move, India and UAE signed the futuristic Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA) during a virtual summit.

♻️ What is CEPA?

✅ The CEPA is a bilateral trade agreement that includes trade in goods and services, investments, competitions and Intellectual Property Rights.

♻️ About Free Trade Agreement:

✅ A free trade agreement is a pact between two or more countries to reduce trade barriers facilitating imports and exports.

✅ The goods and services can be brought within the purview of free trade policy.

✅ It involves trade across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies or any inhibition in the exchange of goods and services. 

✅ It is implemented by a formal and mutual agreement between the participating nations. 

✅ A government need not take specific action to promote free trade and is free from stringent regulations and interference which is often referred to as laissez-faire trade or trade liberalisation. However, in the US and European Union, free trade agreements do not come without regulations and oversight.

✅ In the modern-day practice of international trade, few trade agreements result in completely free trade. 

✅ The US has a number of free trade agreements such as NAFTA and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. 

♻️ The India- UAE trade agreement:

✅ The free trade agreement aims to boost the trade relations between the two countries to US$ 100 billion in the next five years. 

✅ The joint vision statement emphasised on enhanced maritime cooperation, collaborative efforts to fight terrorism and measures to boost trade and investments. 

✅ The signing of CEPA will result in several benefits like promoting businesses, enhancing market access and reduced tariffs. 

✅ Two MoUs have been signed including a MoU between APEDA and DP World and Al Dahra has been signed to set up a food security corridor and MoU between India’s Gift city and Abu Dhabi Global Market on cooperation in financial projects and services. This will be a welcoming move to enhance resilience and reliability of food supply chains.

✅ The two countries also agreed to work together on logistics and services, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agriculture, agri-tech and steel and aluminium. 

✅ According to CEPA, an extension of zero duty will be given to several sectors comprising 9% of India’s exports within five to ten years. 

✅ The trade agreement will also facilitate the automatic registration and marketing authorisation of Indian generic medicines in 90 days. UAE plans to become a global regional distribution hub for pharmaceuticals by 2030 which will be of immense benefit to India.

Russia-Ukraine crisis

 *Russia-Ukraine crisis*

🌈अमेरिका के राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडेन ने 22 फरवरी 2022 को घोषणा की कि अमेरिका रूसी बैंकों और कुलीन वर्गों के खिलाफ कड़े वित्तीय प्रतिबंध लगाने के आदेश दे रहा है.

🌈 राष्ट्रपति बाइडेन ने कहा कि मॉस्को ने यूक्रेन पर हमला करके अंतरराष्ट्रीय कानूनों का सरेआम उल्लंघन किया है.

🌈 अमेरिका ने यूक्रेन पर रूस के रुख को देखते हुए अपना तेवर और ज्यादा सख्त कर लिया है.

🌈 राष्ट्रपति बाइडेन ने कहा कि रूस के राष्ट्रपति व्लादिमीर पुतिन के यूक्रेन संबंधी दावों से हममें से कोई मूर्ख नहीं बनेगा. 

🌈 उन्होंने कहा कि यदि रूस के राष्ट्रपति पुतिन आगे कोई कार्रवाई करते हैं तो और प्रतिबंध लगाए जाएंगे.

🌈 उन्होंने कहा कि रूस के पूर्व में मौजूदगी बढ़ाने के मद्देनजर अमेरिका नाटो बाल्टिक सहयोगियों की सुरक्षा हेतु अतिरिक्त बल भेज रहा है.

🌈 राष्ट्रपति बाइडेन ने यह भी कहा कि रूस अब पश्चिम देशों से धन नहीं जुटा सकता है तथा हमारे बाजारों या यूरोपीय बाजारों पर अपने नए कर्ज के अंतर्गत व्यापार नहीं कर सकता है.

🌈 उन्‍होंने कहा कि ये नए कदम रूस के स्‍टेट डेवलपमेंट बैंक और देश के अभिजात वर्ग के सदस्यों को लक्षित करते हैं.

🌈 उत्तर अटलांटिक संधि संगठन (नाटो) के महासचिव जेंस स्टोलटेनबर्ग ने कहा कि रूस यूक्रेन के विरुद्ध सैन्य कार्रवाई कर रहा है.

🌈 उन्होंने दक्षिण-पूर्वी यूक्रेन में अलगाववादी क्षेत्रों की स्वतंत्रता को मान्यता देने के मॉस्को के फैसले की निंदा की.

India-Pakistan Relations A Framework:Dialogue-Disruption-Dialogue ( Part 1 )

📝India-Pakistan Relations A Framework:Dialogue-Disruption-Dialogue ( Part 1 ) 

 

🔶 The relations between India and Pakistan are marked by divergent narratives starting with the very beginning of these countries as independent nations in 1947 in the backdrop of the colonial rule, the two nation theory and the partition of India. This had made it difficult to reconcile positions on issues ranging from territory (J&K), boundaries (Sir Creek and Siachen) and Security (Terrorism).

 

🔶The foundational apprehensions of Pakistan against India and its quest for defining itself as the opposite has led to its intransigence on many issues.

 

🔶The structure of this relation has been conflict prone and marked by asymmetry. 

🔶 The pattern in the decades since independence has shown a cycle of Disruption-Dialogue- Disruption. This means cooperation and peace have often taken place parallel to the threats of war or have been disrupted by violent episodes of terrorism.