• India, Ireland Sign Three Agreements
• World Leaders Make a Beeline For India
• Indian Appointed New Force Commander of UNMIS
• India in a Six-Nation Clean Energy Initiative

• India, Ireland Sign Biotechnology Pact
• 'Invite India, China to G-8, IEA'
• Five-Nation Meet on Drug Trafficking

India and Ireland signed three agreements on cultural, scientific and technological cooperation on Thursday. One of the two agreements signed on Science and Technology was a memorandum of understanding between the Indian National Science Academy and the Science Foundation of Ireland. The visiting Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He called on President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Mr. Ahern, who also held discussions with Leader of the Opposition L. K. Advani, is scheduled to visit Mumbai.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, January 20, 2006

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THE Irish BioIndustry Association (IBIA) and its Indian counterpart, the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), today signed an MoU in Bangalore as part of the ongoing Ireland trade mission to the country. The MoU lays the foundation for research and commercial collaboration between the growing biotechnology sectors of the two countries, according to a joint release. The agreement was signed at the headquarters of Biocon Ltd, in the presence of the Ireland Prime Minister, Mr Bertie Ahern, and the visiting Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Micheál Martin. The ABLE President, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, and the IBIA Chairman, Dr Cormac Kilty, MD of biotech company Biotrin, signed the MoU. In 2005, the domestic biotechnology industry posted combined revenues of over $1 billion, showing a 36-per cent growth over the previous year. Ms Mazumdar Shaw said, "Biotechnology is a growing industry both in India and in Ireland, and I am confident that with this agreement we have taken a step towards potential collaborations and knowledge sharing between our two countries." According to the joint statement, the Irish biotech sector has seen investments totalling euro 3 billion. The Irish pharmaceutical-chemical sector is worth over euros 37 billion and nine out of the world's top 10 pharma companies are in Ireland.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, January 18, 2006

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India is set to see some high-profile visits from foreign dignitaries this year, including the Irish PM, the Saudi king, the US President and the French President. The big-ticket visits clearly point to India's emergence as a global and financial power and a hot investment destination. Kickstarting the process next week will be Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. Coming on a week-long visit beginning January 16, the Prime Minister will be leading a delegation of over 100 officials and industry leaders. The mission will focus on leveraging India's burgeoning market and its know-how in information and communication technology and bio-technology. The Irish leader, who will also go to Mumbai and Bangalore, is likely to help New Delhi gain greater access to the European Union market. Days after his trip, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will arrive here on a three-day visit starting January 18. "The focus will be on India's technological prowess and its reputation for innovations," senior officials in the Dutch embassy in New Delhi said. India is likely to tap Mr Balkenende for his country's influence with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to relax its norms relating to civil nuclear trade in favour of India. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud will attend the Republic Day parade as the chief guest. This is the Saudi monarch's first visit to India in 51 years. Although energy security will remain the dominant element in India-Saudi relations, New Delhi is keen to discuss counter-terror measures with the Saudis who have the knowledge and perspective about the way international terrorism operates. According to sources, King Abdullah's visit will send a message that his country's relationship with India is independent of its ties with Pakistan, and wants the relationship to be strengthened economically and politically. The king's visit will be followed by French President Jacques Chirac. Civilian nuclear energy, the formal inking of the $3.3 billion Scorpene submarine deal, as well as military and trade and economic relations would be on the agenda. The grand finale would be US President George W Bush's visit-a historic event set to put a seal on India's emergence as a major world power. The President is likely to visit India some time in the middle of February or in March. The implementation of the India-US nuclear deal and business ties, which have been steadily blossoming after the setting up of a CEOs forum during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington last year, will dominate the agenda.

Courtesy: The Financial Express: January 13, 2006

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The dramatic rise of China and India is a wake-up call that should prompt people in the United States and around the world to take seriously the need for strong commitments to build sustainable economies, according to a report by a US-based research organisation. This change presents one of the "gravest threats and greatest opportunities" facing the world today, says the Worldwatch Institute in its 'State of the World 2006' report. And, viewing this colossal shift in global geopolitics as an opportunity rather than a challenge holds the greatest prospect for ensuring a stable and peaceful twenty-first century, the report by the global environmental and social policy research body, said. The report calls for broader cooperation between China, India, Europe, and the United States to develop new energy and agricultural systems, maximize resource efficiency, and continue recent progress towards participatory decision-making in China and India. Educational and professional exchanges should also be stepped up, it recommends. "China and India should urgently be invited into key international bodies such as the G-8 and the International Energy Agency," the report suggests. In next few years the choices these countries will make will lead the world either towards a future beset by growing ecological and political instability or down a development path based on efficient technologies and better stewardship of resources, it says.

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, January 12, 2006

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Lt. Gen. Jasbir Singh Lidder of India has been appointed as the new force commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). Lt. Gen. Lidder replaces Major General Fazle Elahi Akbar of Bangladesh, who served as Military Adviser to the UN Advance Mission in the Sudan (UNAMIS) before becoming Force Commander in September 2004. As of last November UNMIS comprised 4,222 uniformed personnel, including 3,638 troops, 362 military observers, and 222 police, supported by 511 international civilian personnel, 983 local civilians and 67 United Nations Volunteers (UNVs). Its authorized strength is at most 10,000 military personnel, including some 750 military observers, 715 police, 1,018 international civilian staff, 2,623 national staff and 214 UNVs. The Mission was established in March last year to monitor the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement which ended almost two-decades of separatist war in the Southern part of the country. UNMIS also continues to work closely with the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) that is monitoring the situation in Darfur, where violence and war crimes continue unabated.

Courtesy: www.deccanherald.com, January 12, 2006

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In a significant regional initiative against drug trafficking, senior officials from China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand met on Wednesday to explore common strategies and synergise their political commitment to combating organised crime. Playing host to the third senior officials' meeting of the Pentalateral Group on Drug Control (PGDC), India is expected to take the lead in bringing out a blueprint for enhancing cross-border cooperation and developing strategies to fight drug trafficking and illicit crop cultivation. "The two-day meeting will also explore common control strategies and measures for prevention and diversion of precursor and essential chemicals," a senior official of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said. The five-nation meet will be followed by a bilateral one between India and China exclusively devoted to co-ordinating action against regional drug trafficking.

Courtesy: The Times of India, January 11, 2006

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A NEW partnership of six major Asia-Pacific nations aiming to deploy and commercialise cleaner energy technologies will be launched on January 11-12 at the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate Change in Sydney, Australia. The voluntary initiative among Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the US is designed to accelerate the development and use of cleaner, more efficient technology in a way that promotes economic development and reduces poverty, said a statement. The new initiative is a complement, not an alternative, to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to that pact, it added. Participating nations have formed task forces to study the following sectors: cleaner fossil energy, renewable energy and distributed generation, power generation and transmission, aluminium, steel, cement, buildings and appliances, and mining.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, January 11, 2006

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