INDIA NEWS
May 16-31, 2022 - Vol 2, Issue 21
WORLD THIS WEEK Contributed by the National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru
Authored by Ashwin Immanuel Dhanabalan, Padmashree Anandhan, Rishma Banerjee and Angkuran
India-Nordic Summit 2022: Focus on building mobility, blue economy and SDGsto the Indo-Pacific
What Happened? On 4 May, the prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, organised the second IndiaNordic Summit in Copenhagen, hosting the Prime M inister of India, Narendra Modi, and other leaders of Nordic countries. A joint statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs read: “During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to continue to deepen cooperation between the Nordic countries and India and focused their discussions on key issues related to international peace and security, including the conflict in Ukraine,
multilateral cooperation, green transition and climate change, the blue economy, innovation and digitalisation. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a driver for achieving inclusive growth and realising the Sustainable Development Goals.” What does it mean? First, the summit outcomes. The discussions were held on various fronts covering the SDGs, blue economy and more partnerships towards green transition, digital India
and cultural exchange. On the agreements signed, the focus remains on meeting the gaps in mobility, shipping, waterways, trade, environment, education and start-ups, which serve as a restart to the investments. Other collaborations are likely to conclude on the following: engaging Norway in India’s Arctic Policy, refocusing on the Joint Action Plan with Sweden, renewable energies and fisheries with Iceland, and increasing the investments in India-Finland digital partnerships.
Second, new areas. The spotlight has shifted from improving trade relations to boosting connectivity, and transit. More focus is now on peace and security, vaccine development, blue economy and sustainable goals to strengthen the cooperation. The focus is not only in terms of economy and climate change but also towards human security and maritime. One could see a broadbasing of the relations between India and the Nordic.
EU: New sanctions on Russia What happened? On 4 May, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. While the EU has been contemplating a ban on oil from Russia for some time now, this meeting consolidated the arguments and was presented by Von der Leyen as a proposal. She proposed a new set of sanctions against Russia, which would enable the 27 member states to phase out their usage of Russian oil completely. She also suggested including Patriarch Kiril, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the draft blacklist for people who are to face a travel ban and an asset freeze. On the same day, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister said that they would seek an exemption from the EU’s proposed embargo. On 03 May, Hungary and Slovakia said that they would not support the sanctions against Russian oil, as they are too dependent on it and have no other immediate alternatives to switch to. What does it mean? First, the new proposal. It remains to be accepted by the member states. Most EU countries have to stop buying
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Russian crude oil six months after adopting these measures, and halt imports of refined oil products from Russia by the end of the year. To ensure that none of the member states veto the proposal, some have been allowed an exemption period, during which they will figure out other sources of supply. However, this oil ban will be more difficult for the EU than Russia, as the latter can still export oil to the Commonwealth of the Independent States. Second, Russia’s response. Though Moscow has not issued a statement, it has banned exports of 200 plus products until the end of 2022; this ban includes telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, electrical equipment and timber. Besides, it is blocking interest payments to foreign investors who hold government bonds, and banning Russian firms from paying overseas shareholders. But, sending oil to India and China, who are willing to buy it and have been negotiating a discounted price, might prove to be logistically costly and a mammoth task. It remains to be seen if the oil that would head to Europe finds a home. If it does not, then Russia’s biggest geopolitical lever may be facing a risk.
Third, options for the EU. If the proposal gets passed, the EU will have to find ways to address the deficit. The EU is looking at global LNG imports from the US, Qatar and Algeria. An LNG import terminal is to start operation near the port city of Alexandropoulos, to boost the new Trans Adriatic Pipeline running from Azerbaijan to Italy. A new interconnector pipeline connecting the networks of Greece and Bulgaria is also set to launch next month. Poland and the Czech Republic are set to restart their talks on building the Stork II gas pipeline. Czech Republic has also been looking to increase the capacity of the TAL pipeline which runs from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline running from Azerbaijan to Italy. There are options for the EU, but they would be ready only in the long term.
ALSO IN NEWS
UK and Japan: Tokyo inks a new defence deal with London On 6 May, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the UK led to the signing of a new defence deal as announced by the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The deal will allow the two countries’ military to work closely in training, joint exercises, and disaster relief.
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This is the first defence deal in recent times that Japan has signed beyond its fellow Indo-Pacific states. Johnson, while speaking about the association, said: “There is direct read across from the actions of autocratic coercive powers in Europe to what may happen in East Asia. That is why we want to work more closely together.” North Korea: Pyongyang conducts its 14th missile test in 2022 On 4 May, North Korea launched another missile which took off from its east coast, just days before South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol was scheduled to take office. The missile reached an altitude of 485 miles and flew a distance of 292 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan. However, North Korea’s military is yet to disclose any information about the type of missile. The test comes as North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un vowed to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal at the fastest possible speed. Indonesia: The EU shows resilience to Jakarta’s palm oil export ban On 4 May, the EU stated that Indonesia’s palm oil ban did not raise concerns for the bloc as it had stocked reserves for several weeks. EU’s vegetable oil group FEDIOL said: “...facilities and the temporary decision by the Indonesian government does not give rise to concern for the supply on the European market in the short term.” Additionally, the EU imported about 40 per cent of its total crude palm oil from Indonesia, totalling 335,000 tonnes, but it diversified its imports in Southeast Asia. Pakistan: Islamabad and Abu Dhabi strengthen economic ties On 4 May, a team of economic experts from the UAE met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. The delegation expressed their will to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries in trade, energy, infrastructure, and petroleum. The statement released by the Pakistan Prime Minister stated: “Pakistan attached the highest priority to its brotherly relations with the UAE and was desirous to strengthen the relations to the next level, especially on the economic front.” Afghanistan: Kabul says it is improving its relations with foreign countries On 6 May, the Islamic emirates spokesperson, Mohammad Naeem, mentioned that the country has been working towards improving its ties with other countries. Naeem added: “Our diplomatic relations started with some big countries like Russia, China and Turkey and improved gradually, finally the political offices of Afghanistan surrendered to the Islamic Emirate.” He further stated that countries should not be allowed to operate their embassies in the country without recognising the new government of Afghanistan.
WORLD THIS WEEK Sri Lanka: Colombo’s usable reserves drop to USD 50 million On 4 May, Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ali Sabry mentioned that the country’s foreign reserves, which stood at USD seven billion in 2019, had now fallen to USD 50 million. Sabry addressed the parliament, which had assembled after the opposition parties submitted a no-trust motion against the ruling government. Sabry hailed India’s assistance to Sri Lanka and reminded the warring parties to contribute to reviving the island’s economy. He further stated that the country needed around USD 3-4 billion to bridge the financial gap until the IMF facilitates its support. Russia: Putin renders a rare apology to Israel over Foreign Minister’s antisemitic comment On 5 May, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin apologised to Israel’s Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet over comments made by Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov stirred controversy by dismissing the Jewish faith of Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming that “Hitler also had Jewish blood”- which is a discredited antisemitic claim. Bennet’s office released a statement, stating: “The Prime Minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the President’s attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.” The US: Washington condemns Israel’s West Bank expansion On 7 May, the US said it strongly opposed Israel’s plans to build new settlements in occupied Palestine’s territories of the West Bank. US state department spokesperson Jalina Porter said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements which exacerbates tensions and undermines trust between the parties. Israel’s program of expanding settlements deeply damages the prospect for a twostate solution.” This comes as Israel had approved the setting up of 4,000 housing units in the West Bank region. About the authors Ashwin Immanuel Dhanabalan and Padmashree Anandhan are Project Associates at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. Rishma Banerjee is a Research Intern at the School of Conflict and Peace Studies at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. Angkuran Dey is a Postgraduate Scholar at the Centre for South Asian Studies at Pondicherry University. The report has been modified by India News due to space considerations.
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