Tag: envoy

UN envoy to Yemen holds constructive talks with Houthi militia

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Sanaa: UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg announced that he had “positive engagements” with the Houthi militia in capital Sanaa, calling on concerning parties to take bold steps to end the years-long war in the country.
Speaking to reporters after concluding his two-day talks, Grundberg said the discussions were “frank, detailed and constructive”, reports Xinhua news agency.
He said he was encouraged by the “positive and constructive atmosphere” and looked forward to holding further talks with the rebel group, Yemen’s internationally recognised government, as well as Saudi Arabia and Oman.

“Moving forward, any agreement needs to deliver tangible benefits for all Yemenis. It should durably stop the violence through a cease-fire that ensures the safety of the Yemeni people,” Grundberg said, adding that any agreement should pave the way for an “inclusive, Yemeni-owned political process under the UN auspices”.
The UN envoy called for increasing aid access through the Sanaa airport and Hodeidah ports, resuming oil exports, and opening key roads.
After a year of relative calm in Yemen, Grundberg urged all sides to take “bold steps” to end the conflict that has ravaged the country for over eight years.
Grundberg arrived in Sanaa on Monday to meet with high-ranking leaders of the Houthi group.
The envoy’s visit comes after two diplomatic delegations from Oman and Saudi Arabia visited the city in early April and held direct talks with Houthi representatives, which the militia described as “serious and positive” and made progress on some issues.

Yemen has been embroiled in a years-long military conflict after the Houthi militia took control of several northern cities and ousted the government from Sanaa in 2014.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in a staggering number of casualties and has plunged the Arab world’s poorest country into humanitarian crises, including widespread famine.
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#envoy #Yemen #holds #constructive #talks #Houthi #militia
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 4, 2023
Biden’s Ottawa envoy ridicules ‘noise in Canada’

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But Cohen said Wednesday that there was no threat because Canada’s electric vehicle industry was just coming into existence.
The ambassador said his response to Canadians went something like this: “I’m struggling to understand how the inapplicability of a tax credit to a segment of your industry that currently produces no vehicles that are eligible to it is an existential threat to the entire Canadian economy.”
Freeland’s office responded to Cohen’s comment Wednesday night by pointing POLITICO to a quote from a speech she delivered in Washington last month. “You need us as much as we need you,” she said at the time of the EV dispute.
The ambassador’s comments come a day after Freeland traveled to Washington for the inaugural meeting of the Canada-U.S. Energy Transformation Task Force.
Cohen used his time on the Wilson Center stage to obliterate “some noise in Canada about alleged protectionist policies.”
Cohen said the real competition is against China and Russia and authoritarian regimes. The U.S. is also competing against Europe “to some extent,” he said. “I will argue any day of the week that that requires a close, collaborative relationship with Canada as a like-minded country.”
An international race to secure major clean energy investments has forced Washington and Ottawa to work closely to decarbonize and protect each country’s economies.
Tranches of U.S. government funding have been opened up to Canadian firms in order to get projects built. Under the Defense Protection Act, $250 million was made available by the Biden administration for American and Canadian companies that mine and process critical minerals. Awards will be announced “this spring or summer,” Cohen said.

International Trade Minister Mary Ng met with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Tuesday in Washington and “expanded Buy America provisions” came up, according to a Canadian readout.
Cohen defended the Biden administration’s trade agenda, saying “any intonation that these programs and legislation are protectionist could not be further from the truth.”
Canadian concerns about protectionism are a common refrain, Cohen said. He referenced trade data, pointing out that of Canada’s top 25 exports to the U.S., only two — lumber and aluminum — are covered by Buy American federal procurement provisions.
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#Bidens #Ottawa #envoy #ridicules #noise #Canada
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 4, 2023
Netanyahu likely to visit India by end of 2023: Envoy

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New Delhi: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit India by the end of this year, the country’s envoy Naor Gilon said on Sunday.
“We can expect the Prime Minister of Israel to visit India by the end of this year… India and Israel have wonderful ties in all fields, it is based on people to people element,” the Ambassador said.
Both the countries are also observing 30 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Gilon further said that both Israel and India have “good commercial relations, which have grown 40-fold in 30 years”.
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#Netanyahu #visit #India #Envoy
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 30, 2023
SL envoy gifts to India 2 paintings depicting arrival of Ashoka’s son, daughter

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New Delhi: Sri Lankan envoy Milinda Moragoda gifted to India two paintings depicting the arrival of Emperor Ashoka’s son and daughter in the country, officials here said on Saturday.
The paintings, replicas of the original paintings at a temple located close to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, will be housed at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), they said.
Union Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi received the paintings at the NGMA, a senior official said.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda accompanied a group of senior monks from the country, led by Most Venerable Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Mahanayake Thero, to hand over the two paintings depicting the arrival of Ashoka’s son Mahendra and his daughter Sangamitra in Sri Lanka, she said.
The NGMA, located in Jaipur House near India Gate, comes under the purview of the Union Ministry of Culture.
The handover ceremony took place on the sidelines of the two-day Global Buddhist Summit that ended on Friday.
The Sri Lankan delegation to the Global Buddhist Summit was present, along with Mahabodhi Society representatives.
The minister later hosted them over lunch and ‘Theravada meal’ was served to the delegates at her office, the officials said.

Lekhi mentioned the close historical, cultural and traditional relationship between Sri Lanka and India, especially in the context of Buddhism.
While highlighting the ancient linkage between the two countries, Lekhi emphasised that this relationship should be “further strengthened by future generations over centuries”.
She described the pictures in detail, explaining how the king in Sri Lanka received Ashoka’s son and daughter. Lekhi thanked the Sri Lankan delegation and the high commissioner for their contribution to the NGMA. Some of the monks gifted books on Buddhism to Lekhi, said the officials.
The delegation was “elated” over the minister’s decision to do “something more concrete” on the Buddhist network between Sri Lanka and India in the coming months and years, the official said.
Lekhi also tweeted about the paintings being gifted and also shared some pictures.
“Happy to unveil the beautiful murals painted by Solias Mendis and presented by @SLinIndia on the sidelines of the Global Buddhist Summit,” she tweeted.
“The murals showcase historical events marking the advent of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and reflects the strong civilisational bonds between our two countries,” she added.
“The paintings as part of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka depicts the arrival of King Ashoka’s son, Mahendra, and his daughter, Sangamitra, to Sri Lanka,” she added in her tweet.
Ashoka, also referred to as Ashoka the Great, was an emperor of the Mauryan Empire whose capital was located in ancient Pataliputra (current day Patna). He had sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sangamitra to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism.
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#envoy #gifts #India #paintings #depicting #arrival #Ashokas #son #daughter
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
Visa interviews for Indian students to be increased by 30 per cent this summer: US envoy

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Aurangabad: The US aims to increase visa interview appointments for Indian students by 30 per cent this summer, US Consul General in Mumbai Mike Hankey said here on Tuesday.
He said US consulates processed nearly 1.25 lakh visa applications of students in India.
During his visit to Aurangabad, Hankey held meetings with members of industries. He also visited Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and interacted with students.

“Last year, we sent more than 1.25 lakh Indian students to the US, setting a new record for Indian students going to the US in a year and establishing India as the leading country of sending students. This year we are trying to increase that number (of students) further,” he told PTI.
“Our goal is to expand the number of interview appointments we offer for students by 30 per cent this summer. We hope to welcome more Indian students to the USA,” Hankey added.
During his interaction with students, the American envoy appealed to them to visit websites and find an appropriate curriculum for them.
The US Consulate Mumbai tweeted that Hankey met with conservationist and industrialist Mukund Bhogale to learn about the historical legacy of the Marathwada region, efforts towards the preservation of its heritage, and areas of cooperation with the city’s business community.
He also interacted with an industrial delegation over supplying aluminium to support the global aerospace and defence supply chain.

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#Visa #interviews #Indian #students #increased #cent #summer #envoy
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 18, 2023
Climate envoy Kerry: No rolling back clean energy transition

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“But we’re not doing everything we said we’d do,” he said, after attending a meeting of energy and environment ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy nations. “A lot of countries need to step up including ours to reduce emissions faster, deploy renewables faster, bring new technologies online faster all of that has to happen.”
Kerry said the G-7 talks in northeastern Japan’s Sapporo were “really constructive” in yielding a show of unity for phasing out use of unabated fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases.
A meeting Thursday of President Joe Biden’s Major Economies Forum, which includes leaders of 20 nations that account for more than three-quarters of global carbon emissions, offers another opportunity for committing resources to the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050, Kerry said.
“The United States and all the developed world has the responsibility to help the developing world through this crisis,” he said. “Those countries will really determine what happens. If they will reduce, if they will take the lead, if they will start deploying the new technologies, if they will stop using unabated fossil fuels, we’ll up the chance of winning this battle.”
Kerry held out hope for cooperation with China on climate despite friction over Taiwan, human rights, technology and other issues, saying he had a “very good conversation” with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, just days earlier.
“We agreed that we need to get back together personally, visit and try to see what we can find to work on together to accelerate the process. Is that doable? I hope so,” Kerry said.
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#Climate #envoy #Kerry #rolling #clean #energy #transition
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 16, 2023
Naga political impasse: Centre’s envoy holds separate meetings in Dimapur

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Kohima: Days after four influential Naga organisations urged the Central government to “honour its word” in the Ceasefire Agreement (1997) and Framework Agreement (2015) and “resolve the Naga political impasse accordingly”, Central government envoy on the Naga political issue A.K. Mishra has held separate meetings with the NSCN-IM and other Naga bodies.
Sources in the know of things said on Friday that Mishra, a retired Intelligence Bureau officer, held separate meetings with a high-level 20-member delegation of the NSCN-IM led by its Secretary General Thuingaleng Muivah and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPG) on Thursday at the Chumoukedima police complex in Dimapur.
NSCN-IM leader Rh Raising Thangkul said that they have reiterated to solve the Naga political issue on the basis of the Framework Agreement, signed in August 2015.

Like previous occasions, Mishra and other leaders of the NSCN-IM and the NNPG did not disclose any details of the closed-door meeting.
In the meetings, Mishra was accompanied by Intelligence Bureau joint director Mandeep Singh Tulli and Nagaland’s intelligence officer Don Jose.
However, an NNPG leader on the condition of anonymity said that they expressed their displeasure on the delay of the decades-old unresolved Naga political issue.
The Centre has been in talks with the NNPGs since 2017.
Four influential Naga organisations, including the powerful Naga Hoho, last week urged the Central government to honour its word in the Ceasefire Agreement (1997) and Framework Agreement (2015) and “resolve the Naga political impasse accordingly”.

The four Naga bodies — the Naga Hoho, the Naga Mothers’ Association, the Naga Students’ Federation, and the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, in a joint statement had said that the government must “stop its militarisation and military operations”.
“The Naga political conflict cannot be solved militarily and must be solved politically, as admitted by no less than three Indian Army Generals and others,” the statement noted.
The Centre has been holding separate negotiations with the dominant Naga outfit NSCN-IM since 1997 and the NNPG, comprising at least seven groups, since 2017.
A Framework Agreement was signed with NSCN-IM in 2015 and Agreed Position with NNPGs in 2017.
The stalemate continued as the NSCN-IM remained firm on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas.
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#Naga #political #impasse #Centres #envoy #holds #separate #meetings #Dimapur
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023
Border issue very complicated; but neither side want war, confrontation: Chinese envoy

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New Delhi: China and India will have to face the “difficulties” arising out of the border situation but none of the two countries want war or confrontation, Charge D’affaires at the Chinese embassy Ma Jia said on Wednesday.
Addressing a media briefing here, Ma described the situation along the border areas as “very complicated” and said it was not easy to reach an agreement which was the reason the two countries were holding discussions through the established Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander-level meetings.
She said the situation with regard to the Ukraine issue had “intensified” since the consensus at the G20 Summit at Bali and it was now “more difficult to reach the accommodation”.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of a joint statement issued following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping indicating that the two sides will oppose the use of multilateral platforms to take up “irrelevant issues”.
China is yet to name its Ambassador to India after Sun Weidong completed his tenure in October last year. Senior diplomat Ma has been in-charge of the mission in New Delhi.
Earlier, in her suo moto remarks, Ma has said the current situation on the border was stable and China and India were in maintaining communication through the established channels – Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander level meetings.
“There are difficulties, I have just said that. But, we have to face it. We are also confident that China and India do not want war. Neither of us want a war. Neither of us want confrontation along the border areas,” the top Chinese diplomat in India said, giving her assessment of the border situation.
She said the border issue has lived through the history of many years and it was not easy to reach an agreement.

“That is why we keep on talking about it. We have to face the problems and we have to talk. I think the intention on both sides is to improve relations. Our two leaders already have consensus on that and I think we can find a way out,” Ma said.
Amid indications that Russia and China will oppose raising of the Ukraine issue on multilateral platforms, the Chinese diplomat said reaching a consensus at the G20 could be difficult if “prominent security issues” were raised at a forum established to deliberate on economic and financial matters.
“As long as you are out of the track and discussing prominent security issues on economic and financial platforms, it is very difficult to reach consensus. In G20, we have this consensus principle. Even if one country does not agree, it is not a consensus,” she said.
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#Border #issue #complicated #side #war #confrontation #Chinese #envoy
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023
UK envoy summoned after Khalistan supporters take down Tricolour at Indian High Commission in London

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New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) late on Sunday summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in India to convey its strong protest after some pro-Khalistani groups allegedly took down the Tricolour at the Indian High Commission in London.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted: “India lodges strong protest with UK”, along with a ministry statement.
Some pro-Khalistani groups staged a demonstration at the Indian High Commission in London over Punjab government’s crackdown against self-styled radical preacher Amritpal Singh.
The MEA, in a statement, said an explanation was demanded for the complete absence of the British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises.
“She was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK government under the Vienna Convention,” it said.
A statement said it finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK.
“It is expected that the UK government would take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in today’s incident, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” it added.

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#envoy #summoned #Khalistan #supporters #Tricolour #Indian #High #Commission #London
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
Adani largest Indian investor in Australia, no impact on business: Envoy

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New Delhi: Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell on Monday said the Adani Group has successful businesses and continues to be the largest investor from India in Australia.
Interacting with reporters here, O’Farrell said the impact of the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group is a matter for India’s regulators and that there have been no reports about the business group ceasing operations in Australia.
“Mr Adani’s investments in Australia are fully functioning and fully providing the resources, whether it is clean energy or coal. There have been no reports that I have seen in Australia that his operations have ceased. So, he is still a significant investor from India in Australia,” the envoy said in response to questions on the Adani Group.
Adani Group operates a port terminal, coal mines and solar energy projects in Australia.
The Australian envoy added that the Adani Group is probably the largest investor from India in Australia.
“He has successful businesses in Australia. In countries like Australia and India where you have a Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), free trade deal or a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, people make decisions to invest or buy companies on the basis of what they feel is in their interest at that time. These matters are not for the government,” O’Farrell said.
The envoy refused to state if Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is visiting India from Wednesday, will meet Adani.

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#Adani #largest #Indian #investor #Australia #impact #business #Envoy
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 6, 2023