• Relation with Shri Lanka
• पीएम मोदी ने महिद्रा राजपक्षे से की बात कहा, श्रीलंका के साथ संबंधो को प्राथमिकता देता है भारत

Key points:

1. ्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी से श्रीलंका के प्रधानमंत्री महिंद्रा राजपक्षे के साथ कई मुद्दों पर बातचीत की. दोनों देशों के बीच बाइलैटरल वर्चुअल समिट का आयोजन किया था. प्रधानमंत्री ने कार्यक्रम को संबोधित करते हुए भारत की पड़ोसी पहले की नीति को दोहराया. उन्होंने कहा की श्रीलंका से संबंधों को विशेष प्राथमिकता देते हैं. दोनों देशों के संबंध हजारों साल पुराने हैं.
2. विदेश मंत्रालय ने कहा कि श्रीलंका के पीएम महिंदा राजपक्षे ने बातचीत के दौरान भारतीय सहायता से निर्मित एक प्रतिष्ठित परियोजना जाफना सांस्कृतिक केंद्र का जिक्र किया. जो बनकर लगभग तैयार हो चुका है. श्रीलंका के प्रधानमंत्री ने अपने भारतीय समकक्ष को इसका उद्घाटन करने के लिए आमंत्रित किया है.
3. मंत्रालय की ओर से कहा गया कि प्रधानमंत्री मोदी को उम्मदी है कि कुछ उत्पादों के आयात पर श्रीलंकाई पक्ष द्वारा लगाए गए अस्थायी प्रतिबंधों में जल्द ही ढील दी जाएगी इससे श्रीलंका की अर्थव्यवस्था समेत वहां की आम जनता को भी फायदा होगा.

(Prabhat Khabar, 26 September, 2020) News Link

• Relation with Japan
• Navies of India, Japan to hold 3-day mega military exercise from Saturday

Key points:

1. Indian and Japanese navies will hold a three-day mega military exercise beginning Saturday in the North Arabian Sea to further consolidate their operational convergence , officials said.
2. The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of growing concerns over China’s military muscle flexing in the Indian Ocean Region as well as in the Indo-Pacific.
3. The officials said the fourth edition of the India-Japan maritime exercise JIMEX will feature a multitude of advanced exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations, in reflection of high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills.

(Times of India, 26 September, 2020) News Link

• Relation with Afghanistan
• India opens a communication channel with key non-Pashtun leader of Afghanistan

Key points:

1. On Friday External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with former Afghan vice president and Delhi’s old friend Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum (Uzbek origin). Dostum is no stranger to India having engaged with Delhi in the past.
2. In an interesting development close on the heels on Afghan peace talks in Doha India hosted a key non-Pashtun leader of Afghanistan as part of Delhi’s efforts to broadbase its engagements in the war-affected landlocked country.
3. Following the meeting, Jaishankar tweeted that India remains fully committed to an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace process. “Glad to meet Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum. Exchanged views on developments in Afghanistan and the larger region. His vast experience and deep insights were evident. India remains fully committed to an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace process,” he said.
4. India has been a major stakeholder in peace and stability of Afghanistan and while being part of Taliban peace talks remains cautious about Taliban and its mentor Pakistan. (Economic Times, 26 September, 2020) News Link

• Nepal favors Bharat
• Nepal PM KP Oli backs India’s proposal for common definition of terror at UNGA

Key points:

1. Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has extended support to India over its proposal for a common definition of terrorism — CCIT or Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism — during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
2. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other Indian officials have from various forums and during several bilateral meets urged world community for the early passage of CCIT.

(Zee News, 26 September, 2020) News Link

• Relation with Maldives
• Maldives helps India block bid to hold Saarc summit in Pakistan

Key points:

1. After it stood up for India at the OIC earlier this year, the Maldives again came to India’s rescue at the Saarc foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday by helping India block the proposal to hold the 19th Saarc summit in Pakistan. Islamabad is the host for the summit which was to take place in 2016 but has remained suspended after India’s call to boycott the event because of the Uri terror attack carried out by terrorists from across the border the same year.
2. In his Saarc address, Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid called for creation of a conducive environment to reach consensus on convening the 19th Saarc summit. “At this point, we are preoccupied with dealing with Covid-19  and do not think it is the appropriate time to discuss the time of summit,” he said. The current Saarc chair Nepal had put the stalled summit process on meeting agenda, calling for member states to explore options to hold the summit. The proposal had to be dropped.
   (Times of India, 26 September 2020) News Link

1. “Lies, Misinformation, Warmongering”: India Hits Out At Pakistan Over Kashmir

Key points:

1. Responding to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, India firmly said, “The only dispute left in Kashmir relates to the part of Kashmir that is still under illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to vacate all those areas that it is in illegal occupation of.”
2. “This Hall heard the incessant rant of someone who had nothing to show for himself, who had no achievements to speak of, and no reasonable suggestion to offer to the world. Instead, we saw lies, misinformation, warmongering, and malice spread through this Assembly. The words used today at this great Assembly by the leader of Pakistan (Imran Khan) demean the very essence of the United Nations,” said Mijito Vinito, First Secretary, India Mission to the United Nations.
3. “This is the country that brought genocide to South Asia 39 years ago when it killed its own people. This is also the country that is shameless enough not to offer a sincere apology for the horrors it perpetrated even after so many years. This is the same country that provides pensions for dreaded and listed terrorists out of State funds. This is the same country that has the dubious distinction of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the United Nations,” Mijito Vinito, First Secretary, India Mission to the United Nations added.
4. Mijito Vinito, First Secretary, India Mission to the United Nations said, “What should rather be on the agenda of the UN is Pakistan’s deep state and its unrelenting political and financial support to terrorist organisations and mercenaries which are a threat to global peace and security. The only crowning glory that this country has to show to the world for the last 70 years is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism, and clandestine nuclear trade.””The only way for Pakistan to become a normal country is to abjure its moral, financial and material support to terrorism, turn its attention to the problems faced by its own population including its minorities and stop misusing UN platforms to further its nefarious agenda,” the statement concluded.

(NDTV, 26 September, 2020) News Link

• At UN, Pakistani Leader Says India Sponsors Anti-Muslim Hate

Key points:

1. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday assailed India’s Hindu nationalist government and its moves to cement control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, calling India a state sponsor of hatred and prejudice against Islam.
2. Khan said at the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders that Islamophobia rules India and threatens the nearly 200 million Muslims who live there.“They believe that India is exclusive to Hindus and others are not equal citizens,” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly, which is being held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.
3. “The international community must investigate these grave violations and prosecute the Indian civil and military personnel involved in state terrorism and serious crimes against humanity,” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said.

(US News, 26 September, 2020) News Link