International News
The Afghan conundrum
After a relatively silent phase on Afghan situation, which was overtaken by the global geo-political concerns after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, it was once again on top of the agenda of regional and global powers in Moscow, last week.
At the Moscow Conference on Afghanistan, representatives and officials from more than 14 countries exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan. The meeting was hosted by Russia and participants discussed the political, economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
The 10 countries, none of which was involved in military occupation of Afghanistan, were meeting after over a year in Moscow. The participants included representatives from India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were also present.
At the start of the conference special Russian envoy Zamir Kabulov stated that we have to provide a comprehensive solution to the Afghan economic issue. To achieve this, the main responsibility lies with the collective West. Those who drove the country for 20 years to the current deplorable state, as well as shamelessly continued economically suffocating the country by holding the frozen national assets of Afghanistan, are not ready to step in, an obvious reference to the US, which was not present at the conference.
Regional views
At the conference, the MEA’s Joint Secretary J.P. Singh, who called for joint work to ensure that the “voice” of the Afghans is not lost, represented India. We all need to work together to ensure that the voice and aspiration of Afghans is not lost and reassure them that we are standing with them at this difficult time, he said.
The Chinese special envoy on Afghan affairs, Yue Xiaoyong said that the US has shamelessly seized the $7 billion assets of Afghan Central Bank and suspended all development aid, unilaterally.
The Iran special envoy for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazimi Qomi, said that there will be a meeting of the regional foreign ministers in Tehran very soon to discuss Afghanistan’s economic woes.
Right from the beginning India’s view has been that of engaging with the Taliban. Though after making an initial foray by engaging in dialogue with the leadership in Doha, before the formation of the Islamic Emirate, it acted rather slowly afterwards. Yet, it remains firm that development and reconstruction of Afghanistan should be dealt with its regional neighbours and those countries, which in the past have played a factitious role in Afghanistan politics, should be kept away from it.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate has made clear that meetings in which there is no representative from Kabul are not effective. The Afghan Foreign Ministry in a statement said that, “We want to underscore that Islamic Emirate, just as it fought against the 20-year occupation posing a direct threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan and the region, as an independent government will not allow any third country to place military facilities in Afghanistan. Similarly, we strongly urge other countries to not put their land and airspace at the disposal of other countries against Afghanistan,”
It also said that the interim Taliban regime is an “accountable government” and has taken “serious steps against antagonistic groups”.
Pakistan’s criticism
However, in an unusual move, Pakistan gave a damning assessment of the Afghan Taliban regime’s 16 months in power, saying the interim government has done little to form inclusive government, protect the rights of women and eradicate terrorist groups.
Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, called for support for Afghans. The lack of progress, he noted, means that the critical support needed by Afghanistan to deal with the humanitarian and economic crises and other challenges has faltered.
Sadiq said the progress report of the last 16 months was mixed, while some of the worst fears, including a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, mass exodus of refugees and a prolonged period of instability and violence did not materialise, the interim Afghan government had also not made the kind of progress that the international community would ideally expected.
Despite assurances by the interim Afghan government, the rights of women and girls also appeared to have regressed, not progressed, according to the Pakistani envoy. He added that the footprint of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, had yet to be fully eradicated.
He said that Pakistan has been the advocate of engaging with the Afghan Taliban government after the withdrawal of foreign forces. But the latest assessment suggests Islamabad is not happy with the interim government. Pakistan is increasingly frustrated over the Taliban’s lack of intent to eradicate threat posed by certain terror outfits to Pakistan.
But despite expressing strong reservations, Ambassador Sadiq made a passionate appeal for help to millions of Afghans, who he said, were in desperate need of urgent humanitarian support, including food, medicine and essential life supplies, before the advent of winter.
On top, he said, Afghanistan remained cut off from the international banking system and faces serious liquidity challenges. Billions of Afghan assets are frozen, thus deprived of being gainfully used for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan.
Though Pakistan wants to be a seen as an important and sincere player for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, yet there is a lot of bad blood between Pakistan and IEA. During the last 16 months, their forces have acted against each other on the border issue several times. Moreover, even the international comity does not seem ready to entrust Pakistan with any meaningful role in Afghanistan, which might be a replay of its earlier roles during the Soviet and American interference in the country.
In the given scenario, the Indian government should step up its diplomatic and outreach activities with the IEA and international players. India’s past role in Afghan affairs can’t be erased easily and now as the G20’s chair, India can definitely move forward in a resolute manner to start a meaningful and result-oriented outreach for Afghanistan.
Further IEA should be made a part of the consultative process of any future action on Afghanistan, as without their presence no one can guarantee the actions and provide legitimacy to any sincere intervention.
Washington, May 21: US President Donald Trump has said that his administration is “in the final stages” of peace talks with Iran and is willing to wait a few days for the “right answer.”
“We’re in the final stages of Iran,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll see what happens.”
“We’ll either have a deal, or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty. But hopefully that won’t happen,” he added.
The president claimed he is in “no hurry” to finalise a peace agreement with Iran, suggesting that he would not consider making a “limited deal” only focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reports Xinhua news agency.
“We’re going to give this one shot,” Trump said of a potential deal, ruling out the idea of a partial compromise.
“I’m in no hurry. You never think, ‘Oh, the midterms, I’m in a hurry.’ I’m in no hurry,” Trump said.
The president added that he had a “very good” phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Wednesday. Turkey is seen as one of the key mediators during US-Iran negotiations.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps on Wednesday warned that if the US and Israeli aggression against the country is repeated, the war will extend beyond the West Asia region.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned in a post on X that returning to war with Iran will have many more surprises for the United States, citing a recent report by the US Congress that acknowledged the loss of dozens of aircraft.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US bases and assets in the Middle East.
A ceasefire was reached between the warring parties on April 8, followed by one round of peace talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
US and Israeli officials have escalated threats of repeating military attacks against Iran over the past few days. Trump on Tuesday claimed Iran’s leaders were “begging” to make a deal, warning that a new US attack could take place in the coming days if no agreement is reached.
Rome, May 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a light-hearted and unique gift — a “Melody” toffee packet– to his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, bringing back the widely popular “#Melodi” moment that has often gone viral on social media.
The informal exchange, marked by laughter between the two leaders, was later shared by the Italian PM on Instagram, where she also spoke about the gesture and the gift received from the Indian Prime Minister.
Sharing the video of the moment, Meloni said, “Prime Minister Modi brought us a gift — a very, very good toffee — Melody,” as both leaders were seen sharing a laugh during the interaction.
She further added in her caption, “Thank you for the gift.”
The “Melodi” phenomenon — a portmanteau combining the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Giorgia Meloni — has become a recurring viral trend online, reflecting the visible personal rapport and friendly exchanges between the two leaders during various international engagements.
The term has frequently been used by social media users to highlight their light-hearted interactions at global platforms, often turning into viral moments that generate memes, discussions and widespread online engagement, while also symbolising a perceived strengthening of India-Italy relations.
Earlier in the day, visuals and pictures from a special dinner hosted near the iconic Colosseum in Rome also attracted significant attention online. The two leaders were seen sharing a casual moment, including a smiling selfie and a relaxed interaction that quickly spread across social media platforms.
They were also seen standing on a balcony enjoying the sunset over the historic city of Rome, adding to the series of informal and friendly exchanges that have characterised their public appearances.
The viral ‘Melodi’ trend originally gained momentum after Meloni posted a selfie on X during the COP28 summit in Dubai, where she captioned it, “Good friends at COP28, #Melodi”. Till then, Melodi was just a meme hashtag used by Internet users.
Since then, the duo has frequently drawn attention for their warm greetings, handshakes and cordial interactions at multiple international events, including their widely shared selfie at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi.
Gothenburg, May 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed from Gothenburg on Monday after successfully concluding his visit to Sweden, during which he elevated the bilateral ties between the two countries to a Strategic Partnership. He is now en route to Norway for the fourth leg of his five-nation tour.
In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “A visit advancing innovation, sustainability and strategic cooperation. PM Narendra Modi departed from Gothenburg for Oslo after a productive visit marked by the elevation of India-Sweden ties to a Strategic Partnership. The visit opened a new chapter in India-Sweden ties.”
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Sweden on Sunday for a two-day official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi thanked the people and the Government of Sweden for the warmth and friendship.
The Sweden visit was marked by several important outcomes that will add new momentum to relations.
“From elevating our ties to a Strategic Partnership, launching the Joint Innovation Partnership 2.0 and the India-Sweden Technology and Artificial Intelligence Corridor, to setting an ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade in the next five years, the discussions were highly productive,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
During his visit, PM Modi also addressed the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) in Gothenburg.
The Prime Minister said his speech focused on the growing convergence between India and Europe, the opportunities emerging from the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and India’s reform-driven economic growth journey.
He also held wide-ranging conversations with the business leaders in Sweden on how economic linkages between India and Sweden can be enhanced, particularly in futuristic technologies, R&D, AI, security and healthcare.
During the visit, PM Modi was also conferred with the ‘Royal Order of the Polar Star, Degree Commander Grand Cross’ in recognition of his exceptional contribution to India-Sweden relations and his leadership in deepening cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, also exchanged special commemorative gifts honouring the enduring legacy of Rabindranath Tagore, highlighting the deep cultural ties between India and Sweden.
PM Modi is now heading to Oslo, where he will hold discussions focusing on strengthening the bilateral cooperation.
He will participate in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit and hold bilateral engagements with Norwegian leaders.
The visit marks PM Modi’s first trip to Norway and the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 43 years. During the visit, he is scheduled to call on King Harald V and Queen Sonja, besides holding bilateral talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
The Prime Minister will also address the India-Norway Business and Research Summit along with the Norwegian Prime Minister.
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