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Sorting out Indo-US differences on trade: Mike Pompeo says ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’
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Expressing hope that India would lift trade barriers, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo hinted that it was possible to reinstate the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a programme for preferential access to certain goods markets in the US, for India.
Pompeo is expected to discuss this as well as 5G network technology and data localisation while in New Delhi later this month on a visit. He will travel to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Korea from June 24 to 30. Mike Pompeo’s four-nation tour is aimed at deepening US partnerships in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Putting his own spin on the BJP poll slogan, Pompeo, in a speech at the India Ideas Summit of US-India Business Council on Wednesday, June 12, said: “As Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi said in his latest campaign, ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai,” or ‘Modi makes it possible”, I am looking forward to explore what’s possible between the US and India.”
“I am very much looking forward to my trip to New Delhi later this month, and meeting PM Modi, and my new counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar,” he said.
Mike Pompeo listed out some of the “big ideas and big opportunities” that can take bilateral relationship between US and India to a new level.
He said differences between the two countries remain in some of the key trade and business issues, he acknowledged. “We’ll probably discuss the recent decision about the GSP program…we remain open to dialogue, and hope that our friends in India will drop their trade barriers and trust the competitiveness of their own companies, their own businesses, their own people and private sector companies,”
In addition to GSP, data localisation regulations and proposed policies have been a source of friction between the two countries.
“We’ll also push for free flow of data across borders, not just to help American companies, but to protect data and secure consumers’ privacy,” Pompeo said.
“And speaking of privacy, we are eager to help India establish secure communications networks — including 5G networks as well,” Pompeo said.
The Trump administration is pushing its allies and partner countries to block the Chinese telecom giant Huawei from participating in building their next generation (5G) telecommunication networks and has put Huawei on a trade blacklist for US companies.
Pompeo went to some lengths to stress that the US understood India’s post-Independence economic history and current geopolitical realities, Pompeo touched on a common theme — a India-US partnership based on values.
India and the US, he said, must embrace the strategic framework that works for both the nations. “We get it. We respect India as a sovereign power, with its own unique politics and strategic challenges. We realize it’s different to deal with the likes of China and Pakistan from across the ocean than it is when they are on your borders. That’s why in this room and not so many months ago, I elaborated on President Trump’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pompeo said.
Giving a preview of his India mission, he said he truly believes the two nations have a unique opportunity to move forward together for the good of their people, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world.
Making a strong case for a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said it starts from the premise that the two share common values of democracy, freedom, and a belief in the ingenuity of the human spirit. “It’s only natural that the world’s most populous democracy should partner with the world’s oldest democracy to maintain their shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.”
“Third, we have to deliver,” Pompeo said.
He said under President Donald Trump, the US has taken defence cooperation to newer heights, solidified their common vision for the Indo-Pacific and taken a far tougher stand on Pakistan’s unacceptable support for terrorism.
“Forging strong ties means formalizing these individual friendships. Last year, we kicked off the ‘2+2 dialogue’ alongside the Department of Defence. We’ve also reinvigorated the Quad Dialogue among India, the United States, Japan, and Australia – all like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific. These are all good steps,” he said.
The Trump Administration has already enabled American companies to export more high technology items to India, including cutting-edge defence platforms like armed UAVs and ballistic missile defence systems. “We’ve already launched the Asia-EDGE programme, to help India raise private capital to meet its energy security and access needs,” he said.
“These are solid achievements, but we want to do much more. We clearly have overlapping interests in defence, energy, and space,” he said.
Mike Pompeo said the first batch of India’s Apache helicopters are coming off Boeing’s production line in Arizona. Lockheed Martins F-21 and Boeing’s F/A-18 are state-of-the-art fighters that could give India the capabilities it needs to become a full-fledged security provider in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
On space, NASA is already working with the Indian Space Research Organisation on the world’s most advanced earth-observation satellite and India’s second lunar mission.
Pompeo also used the dais to make a pitch for US crude oil and natural gas during a question answer session with LNG company Tellurian’s CEO, Meg Gentle.
“On energy, we want to complete the Westinghouse civil nuclear project, and deliver more American LNG and crude,” he said adding that these steps will give Indians reliable and abundant energy and help reduce dependence on regimes like Iran and Venezuela.
“We’ve been blessed with abundant affordable energy right here in the United States, and we’re now out producing it at enormous levels, not just crude oil but natural gas as well,” Pompeo said, adding that the U.S. would need to ensure that it had the infrastructure for delivery.
Under threat of US sanctions, India had, reluctantly, stopped oil imports from Venezuela and Iran, India’s ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the press at the end of May. On Monday, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan spoke with U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry about volatile oil prices and energy security.
“They [buyers of US fuel] can have a fully diversified energy portfolio where they don’t have to rely on nations that aren’t as reliable as the United States,” Pompeo said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Suicide bombing near Turkey Parliament building in Ankara, 2 cops injured
Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday asserted that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara. He added that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities there.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry. A footage from Reuters showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey’s capital, where the police have blocked multiple key roads.
Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 9:30 a.m. He added that two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of their Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack.
The interior minister further mentioned that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised, which usually means was killed. He noted that their struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.
Reports said that Ankara’s chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack. Authorities did not identify any specific militant group, as yet.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity. The leader of the Republican People’s Party mentioned that no matter from whom and where it came from, they will fight it together as a country and will never give treacherous ambitions a chance.
The concerned authorities in Ankara have cautioned the citizens over suspicious packages and bags that are being detonated in a controlled manner. Ankara Security Directorate asked citizens not to panic.
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Balochistan blast: Pakistan alleges India’s involvement in suicide attack, toll rises to 60
Sarfaraz Bugti told media that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing.
Pakistan interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti in a shocking claim alleged India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for the suicide blast in Balochistan. The blast that took place on Friday claimed the lives of nearly 60 people, leaving 60 others injured. The Indian government, on the other hand, is yet to make an official statement on Sarfaraz Bugti’s allegations.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a procession which gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday near the Madina Masjid at a place called Mastung. The blast tore through the mosque in the southern province of Balochistan after the bomber denoted his explosive near a police vehicle where the people gathered for the procession.
Sarfaraz Bugti told media at Quetta that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. Without providing much details or evidence, the Pakistan minister claimed that RAW is involved in the suicide attack.
Wasim Baig, the spokesman for Balochistan’s health department, asserted that seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, which had caused the rise in the death toll. He added that more patients remained in critical condition.
In addition, a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed nearly five people. Police on Saturday lodged a report to initiate an investigation, mentioning that they had sent DNA from the suicide bomb attacker to be analysed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in terror attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow on preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January’s general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s blasts. On Saturday, a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been registered against an unidentified attacker.
The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.
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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahmood Qureshi held guilty in cipher case
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were found guilty on Saturday by Pakistan’s top investigating agency in the cypher case, a case involving the alleged exposure of state secrets.
The charge sheet against Khan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, and Qureshi, who are both presently being held in custody on judicial remand, was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act, according to the Pakistan Observer website.
Imran Khan, 70, was detained last month following the filing of a complaint against him for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act by revealing a covert diplomatic cable (cypher) issued by the nation’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
The vice chairman of PTI is 75-year-old Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Asad Umar, the former general secretary of the PTI, is not on the FIA’s list of suspects, but former principal secretary Azam Khan has been portrayed as a key witness in the FIA’s case against Imran Khan, according to GeoTV, a well-known news outlet. The challan also contains Azam Khan’s statement recorded under sections 161 and 164.
The speeches by Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan from March 27 are also included in the FIA’s attachment.
The Pakistan Observer further noted that the FIA had provided the court with a list of 28 witnesses in addition to the charge sheet. According to the report, the list of witnesses includes names such as current foreign secretary Asad Majid, previous foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.
Imran Khan had been imprisoned on remand three times earlier on September 26. Along with Qureshi, his judicial remand was initially extended until September 13 and then again until September 26.
The former PM was transferred from Attock prison to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on the same day, one day after the Islamabad High Court instructed authorities to do so.
