Tejas

New Delhi: Egypt on Wednesday reaffirmed its interests in procuring the Tejas light combat aircraft, radars, military helicopters and other platforms from India, with both sides vowing to ramp up the overall defence engagement in the face of the evolving regional security matrix.

The Egyptian side conveyed its keenness on acquiring the Indian platforms during delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, people familiar with the matter said.

The 68-year-old influential Arab leader arrived here on a threeday visit on Tuesday. He will grace the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest on Thursday.

Addressing Inefficiencies

‘INDIA-PAK WERE ON BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR’

Washington: Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo wrote in a book published Tuesday that India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war in 2019 and that US intervention prevented escalation.

“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019,” he wrote. India in February 2019 broke precedent by launching airstrikes inside Pakistani territory after blaming a terrorist group there for a suicide bombing that killed 41 CRPF jawans in Kashmir.

hankar. In May 2019, we welcomed “J” as India’s new foreign minister. I could not have asked for a better counterpart. English

DISRESPECTFUL: S JAISHANKAR ON POMPEO REMARKS

New Delhi: EAM S Jaishankar has condemned the “disrespectful colloquialism” used for his predecessor late Sushma Swaraj by former US Secy of State Mike Pompeo. In his latest book ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’, Pompeo said that he never saw his counterpart Swaraj as an “important political player” in the Indian foreign policy system but got along famously with Jaishankar. He used the American slang words “goofball” and “heartland political hack” as he described Swaraj in a critical manner in his book.

is one of the seven languages he speaks, and his is somewhat better than mine,” writes the former top American diplomat.