21-Mar-2023: India-Jordan Second Consultative Meeting on Defence Cooperation
The second Consultative Meeting on Defence Cooperation between India and Jordan was held today in New Delhi. The two countries discussed a range of issues including military training and courses, Cyber Security, military exercises, military medicine and capacity building in various areas to enhance defence engagements. Both sides also exchanged their respective capabilities in defence industry and research & development for forging collaborations in mutually beneficial areas.
The Jordanian delegation also interacted with the representatives of defence industry. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, and Brigadier General Hasan Dakhlallah Nimer Al-Sbeihat, Director, Directorate of Military Training, Jordan.
13-Mar-2023: MoC to strengthen research cooperation between India and Sweden
A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), and The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), Stockholm, Sweden, to strengthen cooperation and promote research networking between research institutions from both countries.
The MoC aims to promote mobility funding opportunities in both countries. It will facilitate academic cooperation through mobility activities as well as through seminars, workshops and conferences.
Many such international collaborations are taking impetus and the partnership between India and Sweden will take forward joint S&T efforts particularly in smart cities, artificial intelligence, quantum computer, transportation, and many more futuristic technologies. This MoC will enable a smooth exchange of activities between our young scientists and Swedish researchers.
This collaboration between India and Sweden and gives the opportunity to Sweden & India to spur cooperation in research and development. It can also lead to more common projects involving interaction between researchers in Sweden & India where they can come together and explore new areas of research.
A STINT partnership with SERB is a natural step for scaling up academic cooperation between universities in Sweden and India, especially following the call offered by STINT last year for initiating new collaborative projects between universities in the two countries. Both institutions will facilitate and fund researcher mobility through their regular funding programmes.
The two organisations will announce a call that will focus on funding new mobility projects that will be used to exchange several individuals, including workshops between participating research groups. Researchers and scholars at institutions of higher education in Sweden and research institutions in India are eligible to apply for funding under this call, in which applications will be jointly funded.
12-Mar-2023: Joint Statement of 18th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC)
India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, and Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, met yesterday to discuss next steps for further enhancing the bilateral economic relationship.
Ministers discussed implementation of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), negotiations for the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and further developing two-way investment. Ministers also discussed engagement in the G20, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Ministers noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese look forward to swift progress in negotiations and for an early conclusion of an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will build on the foundation laid by the ECTA, including new areas of trade, investment and cooperation. CECA will create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and improve the general welfare in both countries. Ministers look forward to concluding CECA as soon as possible, are pleased with the progress resolving various bilateral technical market access issues and look forward to continuing engagement.