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INDIA ANDBANGLADESH
India and Bangladesh signed a
historicprotocolonlandboundary
agreement following the talks
between Prime Minister
MahmohanSinghandBangladesh
PrimeMinisterSheikh Hasinain
Dhakaon 6 September 2011.The
agreement in itself is historic,
after signingagreements, Indian
PrimeMinistersaidthatsigningof
theprotocolonlandboundarywill
resolve all issues relating toun-
demarcated boundary areas ,
enclavesand landunderadverse
possession.
During thevisit ofManmohan
Singh to Bangladesh, India and
Bangladesh signed the following
agreements:
(i) Framework Agreementon
Cooperation for
Development
(ii) Protocol to the Agreement
concerningthedemarcation
of the Land Boundary
between India and
Bangladesh and related
matters
(iii) Addendum to the MOU
between India and
Bangladesh to facilitate
Overland TransitTraffic
between Bangladesh and
Nepal
because for the first time India
will have a fully demarcated
boundary with one of it s
neighbours.In ajoint statement,
INDIA & THE WORLD
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(iv) Memorandum of
Understanding for
Cooperation inRenewable
Energy
(v) Memorandum of
Understanding on
Conservation of theSunderban
(vi) ProtocolonConservationof
theRoyalBengalTigerofthe
Sunderban
(vii) Memorandum of
Understanding on
Cooperationin Fisheries
(viii) Memorandum of
Understanding on
Cooperation between
Doordarshan and
BangladeshTelevision
(ix) Memorandum of
Understanding on
Cooperation between
JawaharlalNehruUniversity
and DhakaUniversity
(x) Agreementof Cooperation
betweenNational Institute
of Fashion Design (NIFT),
Indiaand BGMEA Instituteof Fashion Technology
(BIFT), Bangladesh
BangladeshPrimeMinister Sheikh
Hasina described the land
boundaryagreementasahistoric
momentinbilateralrelationsand
added that the framework
agreementon cooperation and
development is a visionary
document that looksnotjustonthe reality today but also the
potentialsoftomorrow.Indiaand
Bangladeshalsoagreedtoremove
al l barriers and improve
infrastructurelikeroad, portand
rail linksforenhancingbilateral
trade. Thiswas agreed after a
two-daysuccessfulvisitbyPrime
MinisterManmohanSingh. During
hi s visit, Manmohan Singh
announcedtoremove 46 textiles
lines, of interest to Bangladesh,
fromIndiasnegative listfor the
least developed countriesunder
theSouth Asia FreeTrade Area
Agreement (SAFTA). Import
duties on these items from
Bangladeshwillbeeliminatedwith
immediateeffect.
INDIA AND PAKISTANAt the invitation of the
CommerceMinisterofIndia, Shri
Anand Sharma, the Commerce
MinisterofPakistan, Makhdoom
Mohammad Amin FahimvisitedIndiafrom 26thSeptemberto 2nd
October, 2011.
Aftermorethanthreeandahalf
decades, thisisthefirstvisitbya
Pakistan CommerceMinister toIndia. Theofficialleveldiscussions
wereheld on 28th September
betweentheCommerceMinisters
and their respective official
delegations. BothMinistersnoted
with satisfaction that India and
Pakistanareenteringanewphase
of fullnormalizationofbilateral
traderelations. Thisaugurswell
for enhancingmutual trust and
understanding.
TheMinisters agreed tojointly
work to more than double
bilateraltradewithinthreeyears,
fromcurrentlevelsof2.7 BillionUSdollarsperannumtoabout 6
Billiondollars. Thisgoalshallalso
be facilitated through the
MemorandumofUnderstanding
signed todaybetween the India
TradePromotionOrganization
and the Trade Development
AuthorityofPakistan. TheMoU
shall foster better trade
promotional activities, for the
benefitofbusinesscommunitiesofboth countries.TheMinisters
mandated their Commerce
Secretaries topursuewithvigor
the task of fully normalizing
bilateral trade relations. Theyagreedthattheircountrieswould
cooperateforahighambitionof
preferentialtraderelationsunder
theframeworkoftheSouth Asia
FreeTrade Agreement (SAFTA).
Theynotedwithsatisfactionthe
joint and collaborative efforts
alreadybeingmadebyIndiaand
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Pakistan to liberalize trade in
goodsandservicesunderSAFTA.
They agreed that al l mutual
obligations contracted under
SAFTA wouldbe implemented
withfullsincerity.
The Ministers appreciated theprogressmadeand roadmap laid
fortradeliberalizationintheApril
2011 meetingof the Commerce
Secretaries . They further
mandated their respective
CommerceSecretariesthatwhen
theymeet inNovember, 2011
they shall lay down specific
timelines tonormalize all trade
relationshipsincludingdismantling
of all non-tariff barriers. Fullimplementation of SAFTA
obligationswasalsomandated.
BothMinisters agreed thatjoint
and concerted effortswill be
made in all areas to create an
enabling environment for trade
and to encourage greater
engagementbetweenthebusiness
communitiesofbothcountries.
Theyagreed to furtherpromotegreaterintra-regionalconnectivity
throughroad, rail, shippingandair.
This meeting has been an
important milestone in
identificationof issues impeding
trade (insectorssuchascement,
textiles, surgical instruments) as
perceived by the business
communities ofboth countries.
Customsarrangementshavealsobeen significantly synchronized
and both sides are vigorously
addressingissuesofinfrastructure,
tofurtherpromotebilateraltrade
throughthelandrouteofAttari-
Wagah.
The new business visa regime
would allowmultiple entry and
couldbe for aperiodup toone
year.TheMinistersexpressedthe
hopethatsuchanewvisaregime
wouldrapidlyexpandthevistasof
bilateral commerce .They
emphasized that amore secure
regional environment would
progressivelyhelpbothcountries
to keep liberalizing the visa
arrangementsforbusinesspersons.
The Ministers agreed that the
bilateral trade liberalization
processshouldbeuninterruptible
andirreversible.
Theyaffirmedthatbothcountries
would cooperate and work in
closecoordinationatmultilateral
forum , such as WTO andSAARC, to support eachother,
thereby strengthening their
economies.
INDIA AND CHINA
Indiaand Chinaheld their firstStrategic Economic Dialogue inBeijing on 26 September 2011.Indiaand Chinaagreedtodeepenbilateralinvestmentcooperation,furtheropenupmarketstoeachotherandimprovetheinvestment
environment.IndiaandChinaalsoagreedtostrengthencooperationon energy efficiency andconservation, as well as onenvironmentalprotection. Inorderto promote sustainabledevelopment, the two sides
agreed to cooperate in therenewableenergysector.
Thetwosidesagreedtohostthe
next SED in 2012 inIndia.Strategic Economic Dialoguewillincreasemutualunderstandingand trust between India andChina.
Through this dialogue, bothnations could share theirexperience to achieve economic
development. Although thebilateral tradecrossed 61 billionUSdollarsin 2011, Indiawasleftwithdeficitofover 40.9 billionUS dollars due to acceleratedexportsfrom China.
INDIA AND USAMinister of Power Shri
SushilkumarShindevisitedUnited
StatesofAmericatotakepartin
the8thIndiaInvestment Forumin
NewYork.TheIndiaInvestment
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Forumhaddistinguishedgathering
of top ranking India centric
investors, captainsofIndianand
US Industries,especially those
from power sector, senior
governmentrepresentatives, Fund
Managersand Analysts.
Calling upon the American
investors to invest in Indian
powersector, ShriShindesaidthat
Indiahastakenseveralmeasures
to make the power sector
investorfriendlyinafastgrowing
competitiveenvironment, hesaidthat an independent regulatory
frameworkinIndianowprovides
business confidence to power
companiesand a fairly lucrative
rateof returnonequityof 15.5
percentperannum.
Highlighting the reforms in the
power sector theMinister said
that the Electricity Act 2003
allows the sector to align itselfwithmarketdynamicsandclears
the roadblocks especially in the
wayofgreaterparticipationby
theprivatesector.ShriShindesaid
thatwhile thepresent installed
generation capacity in India is
about 1,81,000 MW, more than
80,000 MW of new power
capacityisunderconstruction. He
informed thegathering that the
12th Plan aims at a capacity
additionofnearly 100 thousand
MW. TheMinistersaidthatinthe
11thPlan period from 2007 to
2012, thefundingrequirementin
thenorm. ShriShindesaidasof
January 2011, all power tobe
procuredismandatedthroughthe
competitivebiddingroute. Hesaid
100% Direct ForeignInvestment
hasbeen allowed for sometimes
nowinallsegmentsofthepower
sector including power trading.
TheMinister said that investor
confidencehas returned to the
sectorwhichisamplyborneout
bythefactthatallprojectsofthe
11th FiveYearPlan and 78,000
MW for the 12 th plan have
achievedfinancialclosure.
ShriShindeinformedthat 16 Ultra
MegaPowerProjects (UMPPs)
and 14 InterStateTransmissionschemeshavebeenidentifiedfor
developmentbytheprivatesector
on competitive bidding route.
Statingthatwhilethebiddingof
fourUltraMegaPowerProjects
andsixtransmissionprojectshave
beencompleted, ShriShindesaid
thatmore than 5 UMPPsare in
thepipeline, forwhichSpecial
PurposeVehicles (SPVs) have
beencreatedbythePFC.
Regarding Hydro power Shri
Shinde said that estimated
potentialinhydrosectorinIndia
is 1,50,000 MW out ofwhich
only 30,000 MW has been
harnessed. Theremainingcapacity
needs to be developed which
provides the investors an
opportunity. To enable the
projectdeveloper in the HydroSector a reasonable and quick
returnon investmentmerchant
saleofuptoamaximumof40%
of the saleable energyhasbeen
allowed, making investments in
thesectormoreattractive.
TheMinister said that India is
activelypursuing a low carbon
IndianPower Sectorhad been
estimatedatUSD 230 billion, and
the similar investment is
anticipatedfor12thPlan.
Allaying the apprehensions of
investors on the availability offuel, Shri Shinde said India is
workingonincreasingimportsas
well as domesticproductionof
coal. Hesaida GroupofMinisters
has been formed to quickly
address the coal shortage issue.
TheMinisteraddedthatinorder
toincreasetheavailabilityofgas,
India isworking on anRLNG
poolingmechanism.Onthepolicy
front, ShriShinde said that theNational ElectricityPolicy, 2005
andtheTariffPolicy, 2006 have
paved the way for renewed
interestamongstbothdevelopers
andinvestors. Hesaidthebidding
documents have been
standardizedandthecompetitive
biddingrouteisslowlybecoming
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growth strategywhich includes
Super Critical Technology in
Thermal Plants, the rapid
induction of Clean Coal
Technologiesandasharperfocus
on renewables.He said that
international majors like
Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Hitachi,
Alstomand Ansaldohavealready
startedtheprocessofpartnering
withIndianmanufacturerstoset
upSuperCriticalManufacturing
facilities in India. He also
highlighted Indias commitment
towards renewable energy and
said that India plans to add
20,000 MW of solar power by
2022. He said that the StateElectricity Regulatory
Commissions (SERCs) are
mandatingaminimumRenewable
PurchaseObligations (RPOs) to
Discoms and amechanism for
trading of Renewable Energy
Certificates (REC s) through
powerexchangeshasalsostarted
workinginIndia.
HesaidthataninvestmentofRs.
74,000 crores ($ 15 billions)
wouldbe required for energy
efficiencyinitiativesinIndia. He
said that in order to improve
confidence among the Financial
Institutions , a robust and
transparentenergy audit system
has been created. Sharing that
both thePartialRisk Guarantee
Fund and theVenture Capital
Fund are being created forboostinginvestmentsinthearea
ofenergyefficiency, theMinister
said thataNationalMission on
Enhanced Energy Efficiency is
underimplementation.Duringthe
visitShriShinde also addressed
CEOsmeetorganisedbyUSIBC.
ShriShindewasonafivedayvisit
to the USA which aimed at
enhancing cooperationbetween
the two countries in the power
sector.
INDIA AND GERMANY
International AdvancedResearch
CentreforPowderMetallurgy &
New Materials (ARCI)
Hyderabad of India and the
Fraunhofer Society of Germany
has signed a path breaking
cooperativeR&D agreement in
the field of automotive
technologies. Thispartnershipisa
resultofthedialoguebetweenthe
Indian Core Group on
Automotive R&D (CAR) and
German FraunhoferSociety (FhG)
some time ago.CAR is amajor
initiativeof the Government of
India to promote collaborativeR&D among Indian Industry,
R&D Institutions and Academia
forthebenefitoftheautomotive
industry. The CARprogrammes
were initiatedby thePrincipal
Scientific Adviser to the
Government of India. The
Department of Science &
Technologyas thenodalagency
hasfundedtheprojectsdeveloped
by DST-TIFAC under the CAR
programme. The ministriesof
Heavy Industry, Electronicsand
RoadTransportationhavebeen
theothermembers of the CAR
apex committee and provided
fundswherenecessary. FhG isa
leading industrial R&D
organization in Europe. With a
viewtoexploring thepossibility
of collaboration between CAR-
FhG workshopswereheldinIndia
and Germany. Distinguished
experts drawn from Indian
academia, national laboratories
and industry and Fraunhofer
institutes participated in the
workshopsandidentifiedprojects
under four broad themes:
Materials , Manufacturing ,Automotive Electronics and
Propulsioninshort-term, medium-
termandlong-termcategories.
The first of the collaborative
projectsMultiJoinisthebasisof
the agreement signed today
betweenthe GermanandIndian
sides.A special feature of this
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projectarisesfromthewayR&D
projects were identified.
Multijoinprojectprioritywas
industry-drivenand Government
supported. MultiJoin project
aimsatenablinglightweightingof
automotivebodythroughhybrid
designsinvolvingmulti-materials.
Four Indian institutions , ARCI
Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru, IIT
Madras and ARAI Pune; four
FraunhoferinstitutionsIWU, IWS,
IFAM and IZFP; with
participationofIndianautomotive
OEMswillworkonevaluationof
fourdifferentjoiningtechniquesto
joinaluminium, steelandplasticin
dissimilarcombinations leadingtodevelopmentofdesignguidelines
for incorporationof thenewly
generated knowledge into
automotivebodydesigns. Optimal
technology concepts including
appropriate quality control
strategiesbasedonacostbenefit
analysiswillbe implemented in
production by interested
industries.
INDIA AND SOUTHAFRICA
IndiaandSouth Africaagreedto
strengthenbilateralcooperationin
theMSME (micro, small and
mediumenterprise) sector. South
Africahousesmany prominent
centresoflearningandexcellence.
TheMSME sectoraccountsfora
large shareof industrialoutput,employmentandexportsinboth
countries. There are immense
opportunitiesofcooperationand
strategic alliances in MSME
sector, whichcouldbeintheform
ofjoint ventures , technology
collaborationsormarketing tie-
ups.
Thetotaltradebetweenthetwo
countries in the financialyear
2010-11 was 10.6 billion US
dollars, higherthanbilateraltrade
targetof10 billionUSdollarsby
theyear2012, setduringthevisit
ofSouth AfricanPresidentJacob
Zuma to India in June, 2010. A
revisedbilateral trade targetof
15 billionUSdollarshasbeenset
fortheyear 2014.
South AfricaisIndias 2ndlargest
tradingpartnerinAfrica. Thereis,
however, ample scope of
diversifying the existing trade
basketbybringinginmanymore
manufactured goods. There is
activecontactbetweenIndiaand
South Africainmultilateralfora,
particularly at the NAM,Commonwealth, G-77, G-20,
NAASP and WTO. Both
countries arepartof the IBSA
trilateralinitiative. Bothcountries
are currently non-permanent
members of the UN Security
Council (2011-2012). SA
renderedpro-activesupportinthe
NSG decisiontoenable fullcivil
nuclear cooperationwith India.
SA recently participated in the
BRICS summitheld in China in
April, 2011.
INDIA AND MYANMARIndia and Myanmar on 27
September 2011 agreed to set a3 billionUSdollarsastradetarget.
Thetradetargetwillbeachieved
by 2015. Atpresent, thebilatral
tradebetweenIndiaandMyanmar
is 1.5 billionUSdollars. Thiswas
decided at a fourthmeeting of
jointtradecommissionwhichwas
attendedbytheUnion Commerce
Minister, AnandSharmaandthe
Myanmars Minister of
Commerce, U. WinMyint.IndiaandMyanmaralsoagreedtobuild
aLand CustomStationat India-
Myanmar Border (Mizoram) to
facilitate the movement of
vehiclesandgoods enteringand
leavingMizoram. Bothnations
notedthatthebordertradepoint
atMorehontheIndiansideand
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TamuontheMyanmarsidehad
hugepotentialfornormaltrade.
Itshouldbenotedthatonethird
of Indias importsofpulses and
one-fifthof Indias imports of
timber are fromMyanmar. At
present , pulses and woodproducts accounts for 97.5
percent of Myanmars total
exports to India while
pharmaceuticalsandbuffalomeat
accounted for 45 percent of
Indias total exports to
Myanmar.India andMyanmar
implemented the India-ASEAN
(AssociationofSoutheast Asian
Nations) FreeTrade Agreement
(FTA) on 1 September 2010.Indiahad also implemented the
Duty Free Tariff Preference
(DFTP) scheme forMyanmar in
January 2009, under which
Myanmar would gain market
access for 94 per centof Indias
products at zeroduty.India and
Myanmarhavealsoincreasedthe
listofitemsforbordertradefrom
22 to 40.
INDIA AND ISRAELIndiaand Israelhavedecided to
enhancecooperation inTourism
Sector. Thiswas decided at a
meeting between Stas
Misezhnikov, TourismMinisterof
IsraelandUnionTourismMinister,
SubodhKantSahaiheld inNew
Delhion 5 September2011.Both
the countries havedecided toconsiderexchangingexperiencein
destination management and
promotion. Manpower
developmentwillbeanotherarea
ofcooperationbetweenIndiaand
Israel. Exchangeprogramme for
teachers, students, andexchange
of information on teaching
moduleswillbeconsideredbythe
twocountries.
Touroperatorsand travelagents
ofboththecountrieswillinteract
with each other in order to
promote two-way tourism
between India and Israel. The
possibilities for promoting
package tours in either of the
countrieswillalsobeexploredby
thetraveltradeoftwocountries.
TouristtrafficfromIsraeltoIndia
was 40581 in 2009, whichroseto
43539 in the year 2010. An
agreement between India and
Israeloncooperationinthefield
of tourismwas signed inNew
Delhi inMay , 1993. Both the
countries have rectified this
agreement. IndiaTourismOfficelocatedin Frankfurtisresponsible
forpromoting India as a tourist
destinationintheIsraelimarket.
INDIA AND NEPALIndiaandNepalresumedbilateral
talks on security issues in
Kathmandu on 22 September
2011. The -two-day joint
secretary level talks between
India and Nepal was resumed
afteragapoffouryears. Thelast
onewasheld inNew Delhi in
2007.Besidesinformationsharing
and security issues, India and
Nepal also discussed about
constructionoftheNepalPolice
AcademyatPanautiwithIndian
assistance of 5 billion Nepali
rupees. The two nations also
deliberated on border
management and trans-border
crime, human trafficking and
smugglingoffakeIndiancurrency
throughtheopenborder.Although
India-Nepal agreement tohold
joint-secretarylevelsecuritytalks
everysixmonthsisinplace, thesecurity talkswerenotheld for
the past four years. India and
Nepalshare 1800 kmlongborder
betweenthem.
INDIA AND URUGUAYThe GovernmentoftheRepublic
ofIndiasigneda DoubleTaxation
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Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)
with the OrientalRepublicof
Uruguay for the avoidance of
double taxation and for the
preventionoffiscalevasionwith
respecttotaxesonincomeandon
capital on 8th September,
2011.The DTAA provides that
businessprofitswillbetaxablein
thesourcestateiftheactivitiesof
an enterprise constitute a
permanentestablishmentinthat
state. Such permanent
establishmentincludesabranch,
factory , etc. Profits of a
construction , assembly or
installationprojectswillbetaxed
in the state of source if theprojectcontinuesinthatstatefor
morethansixmonths.
Profitsderivedby an enterprise
from the operation of ships or
aircraftininternationaltrafficshall
be taxable in the country of
residence of the enterprise .
Dividends, interest and royalty
incomewillbetaxedbothinthe
country of residence and in the
countryofsource. However, the
maximum rate of tax to be
chargedinthecountryofsource
willnotexceed 5% inthecaseof
dividendsand 10% inthecaseof
interest and royalties. Capital
gainsfromthesaleofshareswill
be taxable in the country of
sourceandtaxcreditwillbegiven
in the countryof residence.The
Agreement further incorporatesprovisionsforeffectiveexchange
ofinformationincludingbanking
information and assistance in
collectionof taxes between tax
authoritiesofthetwocountriesin
linewithinternationallyaccepted
standards including anti-abuse
provisions to ensure that the
benefitsof the Agreement are
availed of by the genuine
residentsofthetwocountries.The
Agreement will provide tax
stabilitytotheresidentsofIndia
andUruguayandfacilitatemutual
economiccooperationaswellas
stimulatetheflowofinvestment,
technologyandservicesbetween
IndiaandUruguay.
INDIA AND CANADA
GovernmentofIndiaand Canada
agreed that residual issueswithregard to Foreign Investment
ProtectionAgreement (FIPA) and
Bilateral Social Security
Agreement (SSA) between the
twocountrieshavebeenresolved
andbothagreementscouldnow
be signedat anopportune time.
Mr. Edward Fast, Minister of
InternationalTrade of Canada
alsoconfirmedthatthe Canadian
sidehasdelinked theSSA from
FIPA. Indias CommerceMinister
AnandSharmaraisedtheissueof
constrainedsupplyofPotashfrom
Canada to the Indianbuyers.He
said that the Government of
Canada shouldview thismatter
froma strategicperspective and
urge the Canadianbusinesses to
enterinto longtermagreements
with the Indian buyers on
commercialterms.
ThetwoMinisters took stockof
the current status of trade and
commercial linkages between
India and Canada. They alsodiscussed steps to be taken by
both sides to intensify the
interaction between the
governmentandtheprivatesector
stakeholderonbothsides.Minister
Sharmaunderscoredtheneedto
convenethemeetingoftheIndia-Canada CEO Forum at an early
date so that the agenda for
positiveengagementbetweenthe
businessesof the two countries
could be furthered.Minister
Sharma strongly raised the
problems being faced by
professionals of the Indian IT
industryinobtainingappropriate
visasforCanada. Hesaidthatthis
was limiting services trade
betweenthetwocountries. Inthis
regard, heaskedMinisterFastto
sensitize the relevant Canadian
authoritiestoremoveimpediments
to the movement of IT
professionals from India to
Canada. Minister Fast said that
the Canadian governmenthad
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recently changed its policy and
under the revised guidelines
Canadawas giving appropriate
multiple entry visas if the
passports were of 10 year
validity.
INDIA AND LIBYA
India announced support for
LibyasTransitional National
Council in the UN on 17
September 2011.The Union
government of India supported
the acceptanceof credentialsof
the delegation of the TNC, to
attend the 66th session ofUN
General AssemblyinNewYork.
TheTNC delegationwasheadedby itsPresidentMustafa Abdel
Jalil .India participated as an
observer in theLibyan Contact
GroupmeetinginIstanbulinJuly
2011. Indiaschargedaffairesto
Libya, atpresentbasedinTunis,
formallyestablishedcontactwith
theTNC mission inTunis. India
recently gave humanitarian
assistanceof 1 milliondollarsto
Libya.
INDIA AND ZIMBABWEIndia andZimbabwe agreed to
expeditetheratificationofBIPA( BilateralInvestmentPromotion
particular, intherailsectorwhere
India had gained considerable
expertise in layingof tracksand
development of rolling stock,
IRCON andRITES could assist
Zimbabwe in theexpansionand
rehabilitation of it s rail
infrastructure. In the aviation
sector also India could provide
technical assistance to
Zimbabwe.Mr. Scindiainformed
hisZimbabwecounterpartthatit
had been decided to further
strengthen the India-Zimbabwe
bilateraltiesbysettingupRural
technologyParkand Foodtesting
laboratoryinZimbabwe.
Mr. Scindiastressedthatthereisscope for significant
diversificationofIndianexportsto
Zimbabwe , and Zimbabwean
exports to India, and to
substantiallyincreasethepresent
lowlevelofbilateraltradeofUS
$ 125 mn registered in 2010-11.
Hehighlightedthefactthatinthe
comingyearsmaximumgrowth
will be from south-south trade
amongst the countriesof Asia,Africa andLatin America. The
minister also appreciated the
contribution of 10000 strong
Indian DiasporainZimbabweto
the economy of Zimbabwe.
Speakingaboutthepotentialareas
of cooperationbetween the two
countries, he mentioned that
Zimbabwehastheworldslargest
platinum reserves and also
possesses large reservesofgold,
coal, asbestos, copper, nickeland
ironore.Indianminingcompanies
couldpartnerZimbabweanmining
majors in key value-added
activities. He alsomentioned
aboutotherbusinesssectors, such
as renewable energy, where
Indian and Zimbabwean
and Protection Agreement)
betweenIndiaandZimbabwefor
further strengthening the
investmentandtradetiesbetween
the twocountries. Thiswasone
oftheimportantoutcomesofthe
bilateral meetings between
Honble minister of state
Commerce and IndustriesMr.
JyotiradityaM. Scindia andhis
counterpart minister from
Zimbabwe Government. Mr.
Scindia was on a visit to
Zimbabwe accompanied by a
business delegation.He offered
Indias full support in the
development of telecom,
highwaysandrailwayssectors. In
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companies could strike project
partnerships.
India is helpingZimbabwe in
capacitybuildingandassistingin
developing itsownresearchand
knowledge base by sharing
experiences in various sectorssuchasSME, Power, Agriculture
etc. Zimbabwewillsoonjoinother
African countries that are
benefitingfromthePan-Africane-
Network, a project that will
connect all 53 countriesof the
African Union (AU) with a
satelliteandfibreopticforsharing
Indiasexpertiseineducationand
health. GovernmentofIndiaalso
providesassistancetoZimbabweunder the ITEC programme for
capacitybuilding.
INDIA AND TURKEYIndia and Turkey agreed for
futurecooperationincoalrelated
areasduringthemeetingbetween
Sriprakash Jaiswal, Ministerof
Coal, Governmentof India and
TanerYildiz, MinisterforEnergyand Natural Resources ,
government of Turkey on 12
September 2011.The meeting
tookplaceatIstanbul, Turkeyon
the sidelinesof the 22ndWorld
Mining Congress inaugural
session. India and Turkey
discussed about the energy
situation in the two countries,
particularly in the fieldofcoal
mining. India offered technicalcooperation todevelop coaland
lignitedepositsandcoalwashing
inTurkey. Turkeyisplanningto
set up some 15000 MW coal
based power generationplants
andrequestedIndiancompaniesto
participateinthetenders.
INDIA AND BHUTAN
India and Bhutan signed a
MemorandumofUnderstanding
for a period of five years to
facilitateexchangeofknowledge
and experience, information,
material, expertiseandtechnical
knowhow, trainingofpersonnel
and development of human
resourcesinelectoralmattersand
alsofortakingupjointinitiatives
and providing assistance to
others.The MoU was signed
duringthevisitofChiefElection
Commissioner SY Quraishi to
Bhutan on 16-18 September
2011.The Chief Election
CommissionerofIndiaofferedto
createaSAARC Resource Centre
attheIndiaInternationalInstituteof Democracy and Election
Management for preserving and
nurturing election related
documentation in relation to
SAARC countries .The Chief
Election CommissionerofBhutan
askedfortrainingoftheirnewly
inducted officers through the
IIDEMplatforminIndia. Quraishi
agreedtothatandofferedtotrain
Bhutaneseelectionofficialsduring
theprocessofforthcomingState
elections.
INDIA AND UGANDAThe government-run IndianInstituteofForeignTrade (IIFT)
setupitsfirstoverseascampusinKampala, Uganda to assiststudents of African nationsunderstand the nuances ofglobalisationandcapacity-buildinginthecontinent.Thenewinstitute,named India-Africa InstituteofForeignTrade (IAIFT), isbeingset up as a part of the Indiangovernments initiative tohelpdevelop a higher educationsystem in African countries in
specialisedfields.Itwillbeapan-Africa institute-part of Indiascommitmentforcapacity-buildingin Africa. Establishedin 1963 bythegovernmentofIndia, DuringtheIndia-Africa ForumSummitin2008, PrimeMinisterManmohanSinghhadannounced that Indiawould help establish 19
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educationalinstitutionsin Africa.IIFT is one of them and theAfricanUnionwantedittobesetupinKampala.
INDIA AND ESTONIA
India signed DTAA (DoubleTaxation Avoidance Agreement)
with Estoniaon 19 September
2011 and forged apact towork
withitinthefieldofinformation,
communicationsandtechnology
(ICT).The DTAA andthepacton
ICTwassignedduringthevisitof
communications andInformation
TechnologyMinisterKapilSibalto
Estonia. Estonia isa state in the
BalticregionofNorthern Europe.
Kapil signed the DTAA withEstonian Minister of Finance
JurgenLigi.Indiawillalsosetupa
ChaironCyberSecurityinTallinn
Universityanda ChaironIndian
languages, historyandliteraturein
another of Estonias
universities.The governmentof
Estonia also announced 20
scholarships for Indian students
that enroll with Estonian
universities for accredited
doctoralprogrammeleadingtoa
PhD degree in informationand
communication technology,
environment technology,
biotechnology, material
technologypowerengineeringor
health.
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