New Delhi: It is time for some significant changes on the global stage. The expected transition in Germany could make things a bit tougher for China and some of its designs.
Angela Merkel would be finally out of power in Germany, and the new coalition regime is to be headed by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who was Vice-Chancellor under Merkel. Under the influence of Greens, the FDP party, Berlin is expected to draw out new and possibly tougher policies towards China and Russia in its diplomatic realm. Chancellor Merkel was often accused of being lenient to Beijing and Moscow, which might have cost Germany's trade interests.
The new ruling combine comprises the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Ultimately, Olaf Scholz's march as Chancellor of his country is punctuated with the drama of coalition politics often discussed and debated in India.
Scholz was Vice-Chancellor to Merkel and was also the Finance Minister.
SDP was a junior ally under Angela Merkel for 12 of the last 16 years. Foreign policy experts say Germany's next government represents an odd mix of status quo thinking and reformist instincts in more ways than one. Of course, it's a marriage of convenience between strange bedfellows.
Scholz is now set to succeed Merkel. Merkel has decided to stay away from the contest.
On the China front, the new government would raise human rights abuses, especially in Xinjiang, and support "democratic Taiwan". Regarding Russia, interestingly, NordStream II, the gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany that is supported by the SPD but opposed by the Greens, is not mentioned in the coalition treaty.
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron could be hoping the new dispensation would not block his EU reform ideas.
Critics say Germany is too much dependent on China on trade, which has often forced it to ignore human rights violations by authorities in Beijing. China became Germany's biggest trade partner in 2016.
Meanwhile, Germany has announced new commitments worth more than Rs 10,025 crore to India to support its fight against climate change.
The focus of the financial commitment to India will be to tackle climate change and assist in the country's ongoing energy transition.
Once called 'eternal Chancellor', Merkel was a good alter ego to masculine leaders like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Her admirers say she provided steady leadership, presenting herself as a unifying figure and steered Germany well during multiple crises that hit the world in the last 16 years.
She began as the youngest and first female Chancellor in 2005. The 67-year-old leader has seen the times of former headline hunters such as George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac.
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Jewar airport will give run for money to Delhi airport from 2025 : Civil Aviation Minister
New Delhi: As many as 20 years after it was first mooted, Uttar Pradesh is now finally setto get Vikas Jewar, its tenth airport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Jewar International Airportnear Noida on Thursday.
Hours later Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said "....Let me tell this todaythat 2025 onward, Jewar is going to give Delhi Airport a run for its money".
PM Modi also said the northern state was shown "false dreams" by the previous governments and they kept it in "deprivation" and "darkness" for decades.
Mr Scindia said the coming of the airport reflected the drastic change in governance approachas for years the western UP has faced negligence and ignored.
"This part of UP has always been ignored....There have been issues of poverty, riots, issues acrossthe board here. For a change, this part of UP is going to see now an investment of Rs 34,000 crorealone in the airport, and there will be an overall investment of about Rs 60,000 crore," the Civil AviationMinister told a television channel.There will be moreover creation of one lakh jobs, he said.
He pointed out that the scale of developmental works carried out in the last few years isphenomenal.UP had only four airports in 70 years and now has nine and the proposed new airport is the tenth.UP will soon have a total of 17 airports, he said and the state will have five international airports- a quick jump from only two. Besides Varanasi and Lucknow, now three more international airports will be at Kushinagar,Ayodhya and Jewar. The new airport at Jewar is located only about 72 km away from IGI airport in Delhi and a sum of Rs 10,050 crores has been released for the first phase of construction.
The first phase of the construction is expected to be completed in 2024. Two runways will be developed in stage 1. The construction works have been assigned to theZurich Airport International.
Moreover, Scindia also pointed out that UP is now connected to as many as 80 cities acrossIndia."Please understand, the old paradigm was that the growth brings with it the connectivity.Today it is connectivity that brings growth," the Minister said adding the first question anyinvestor would ask today about investing in any remote corner is what's the connectivity.
It is worth mentioning that all major expressways like the Yamuna Expressway, Western peripheral Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be also connected to the airport.
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India's CBI officer elected to top position in INTERPOL due to Intense campaign
New Delhi
India’s candidate, Praveen Sinha, Special Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was on Nov 25 elected as Delegate for Asia on the Executive Committee of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
This victory is the result of an intense and well-coordinated election campaign across the world, sources
revealed.
"This was a tough election, with India running against four other contestants from China, Singapore,
Republic of Korea and Jordan. There were two posts," the source said.
The elections were held in Istanbul (Turkey) during the ongoing 89th INTERPOL General Assembly.
INTERPOL is a vital body for tackling the rising spectre of trans-national organized crimes, terrorism and
cyber-crimes.
"India will continue to actively contribute to INTERPOL’s aims and objectives and to enhance its effectiveness
through our professional competence and experience".
Crucial support of friendly countries was sought at bilateral engagements at different levels.
Indian Embassies and High Commissions regularly followed up with host governments and
also the Ambassadors and High Commissioners resident in Delhi were also reached out.
"Moreover, India’s National Central Bureau (NCB-India) reached out to its counterparts around the
world to campaign for this election".
The Indian Ambassador in Turkey also camped in Istanbul for the last few days and held on-the-ground
bilateral meetings with delegations for the final efforts to gain support.
"We deeply appreciate all those countries who voted for India," the source said.
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Jaishankar blasts Pak repeated bids to bring bilateral issues into SCO
New Delhi
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Thursday, Nov 25, made a veiled attack
on Pakistan saying repeated attempts to deliberately bring bilateral issues into
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) deliberations ought to be 'condemned'.
"India considers the SCO as an important regional group to promote cooperation in various fields
based on universally recognized international norms, good governance, Rule of law, openness,
transparency and equality. It is unfortunate to note that there have been repeated attempts to deliberately
bring bilateral issues into SCO," he said at the 20th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government.
Dr Jaishankar said such efforts only violate the well-established principles and norms of SCO Charter.
"Such acts are counterproductive to the spirit of consensus and cooperation that define this organization
and should be condemned," he said.
The Minister said this meeting was taking place as SCO celebrates its 20th anniversary in a rapidly
changing global and regional environment.
"India remains committed to contributing constructively to the implementation of the mandate of SCO,"
he said.
"The recent meeting of COP 26 in Glasgow has sharpened the realization that for many developing countries,
climate change remains the biggest existential threat. Fighting climate change calls for resources, innovation,
cooperation and lifestyle modifications .....we must simultaneously pay heed to the climate change
impact of our joint activities," he said.
Dr Jaishankar pointed out that today the world acknowledges that India is among the few large economies
that have delivered in letter and spirit on the Paris Agreement.
"A developing country like India that is working to lift millions out of poverty, has not spared any effort to
fulfil its global environment obligations. In parallel, we have surged ahead in developing renewables and
today India ranks 4th in the world in installed renewable energy capacity," he pointed out.
Dr Jaishankar said, "India today is an emerging economic force at the global level. Despite the economic
devastation caused by COVID-19, India’s agile response in fighting the pandemic and ensuring economic
stability has been noteworthy."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a 9.5% growth in the Indian economy in 2021.
India's trade performance has also been strong, growing by more than 20% this year. Despite COVID, India
attracted record FDI inflows of $77 billion in 2020-21 and another $22 billion in the first three months
of this year, he said.
He also said that India believes greater connectivity is an economic force multiplier that has acquired greater
importance in the post-Covid era, though “any serious connectivity initiative must be consultative, transparent
and participatory”.
A Joint Communique of SCO Heads of Government and other decisions were adopted at the conclusion
of the Meeting.
The 20th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government was held in Nur-Sultan through
video-conference under the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan.
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Gujarat, whole of India 'business ready' like never before: Foreign Secretary
New Delhi: The state of Gujarat and the whole country are now ready for business "as never before", stated Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla while speaking at the Curtain Raiser Event for Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.
"The government has placed great emphasis on improving the ease of doing business. The implementation of Goods and Services Tax and other measures of simplification and consolidation of taxes have reduced transaction costs and improved ease of doing business," he said.
Mr Shringla said India has also made doing business smarter.
"We have made doing business faster and smoother through digital processes, online transactions and single point interfaces. Digital payments, including direct transfer of government benefits, are now under full implementation. India has created one of the largest eco-systems in the world for start-ups and a
number of them have come up in the tech domain," the Foreign Secretary said.
India is also making huge public investments in improving its infrastructure, he said and pointed
out that lately Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Gati Shakti – the National Master Plan for
Multi-modal Connectivity – designed to create a 'seamlessly connected India'.
"Our National Education Policy has laid the framework for educating a workforce for the 21st century"
he said.
The next edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, initially conceptualized during the tenure of
Narendra Modi as the state Chief Minister, is scheduled to be held in January next year,
The Summit is being organised as the Gujarat government envisions to scale up investments.
The three-day summit will be inaugurated by Modi on January 10, 2022.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel called on Modi in the capital on Thursday. He also
met industry captains.
In his address, Foreign Secretary Shringla also said that Gujarat has been quick in recovering from
the economic impact of the pandemic.
Despite the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, India’s FDI inflows stood at USD 81.72 billion in 2021.
Gujarat was one of the top recipients of these FDI inflows among the Indian States.
He said, Gujarat has opened its doors to global companies looking to diversify their manufacturing bases
following the pandemic.
"The Government of India is partnering with the State Government in its endeavors to attract fresh investments
and boost economic activity".
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