The two officials spoke of ways of strengthening the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and the US to serve common interests…reports Asian Lite News
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the US discussed strengthening coordination between the two countries to stop Iranian interference in the region.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, also discussed stopping the Islamic Republic’s financing of the Houthi militia in Yemen and terrorist groups that threaten international peace and security.
The two officials spoke of ways of strengthening the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and the US to serve common interests on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting being held in Matera, Italy.
Prince Faisal and Blinken also touched upon the most prominent topics raised at the G20 meeting.
Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 major economies met on Tuesday for the first time in two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Later, Blinken and Prince Faisal met with France’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and they discussed the latest regional and international developments.
The US secretary of state wrote on his Twitter account that the three officials held an important discussion “regarding the need for Lebanon’s political leaders to show real leadership by implementing overdue reforms to stabilize the economy and provide the Lebanese people much-needed relief.”
Addressing the Meeting, Ambani said that he expects RIL’s partnership with Saudi Aramco will be to be formalised in an “expeditious manner during this year”…reports Asian Lite News
In a major development in the much anticipate Reliance Industries, Saudi Aramco partnership, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Chairman of Saudi Aramco will join the RIL board as an Independent Director, announced RIL CMD Mukesh Ambani.
Addressing the 44th Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Ambani said that he expects RIL’s partnership with Saudi Aramco will be to be formalised in an “expeditious manner during this year”, after obtaining required regulatory clearances.
He said that Rumayyan’s joining the board is also the beginning of internationalisation of Reliance and more announcements on international plans of the company would come in times to come.
Further, RIL is set to disrupt the new energy business amid climate concerns.
“We have established the Reliance New Energy Council,” the CMD said.
Ambani also said that the company’s performance in FY21 exceeded expectations despite the ongoing pandemic.
Addressing the AGM he also commended the company and its employees for the humanitarian efforts during the pandemic.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivers a speech in Gaza City, on Jan. 23, 2018. The Islamic Hamas movement called on Tuesday for Palestinian national conference to discuss a new Palestinian strategy. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh stressed in a televised speech the need for a new strategy that addresses the U.S. and Israeli declaration aimed at striking the Palestinian issue. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar/IANS)
Geopolitical expert Fabien Baussart says the ideological fount from which Hamas has sprung is organically linked to Pakistan and its jihadist orientation, reports Asian Lite News
A recent revelation by an ex-Pakistani minister of how Islamabad has been helping Palestinian militants by providing training to them, has made geopolitical observers take notice of how Pakistan is confusing the already obfuscate matters in Middle East.
In an op-ed for the Times of Israel, geopolitical expert Fabien Baussart has argued that the role of countries like Iran, Qatar and Turkey in sustaining Hamas has been well documented, however, the role of Pakistan has remained off the radar.
This comes amid the recent outbreak of clashes between Hamas and Israel and the subsequent ceasefire, which no one really expects to endure.
Baussart, who is the President of the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA), said the ideological fount from which Hamas has sprung is organically linked to Pakistan and its jihadist orientation.
“The Muslim Brotherhood from which Hamas has remerged and the Jamaat Islami which is the mother organisation of jihadism in Pakistan, are two sides of the same coin. This ideological link and affinity is one of the basis of the burgeoning relationship between the Pakistani state and the Hamas para-state.”
Aside from the ideological connection, Baussart said Hamas makes a great fit for Pakistan’s ambitions to exercise influence beyond its borders. “Since these constraints prevent Pakistan from doing things that normal states do to expand their influence, Islamabad (or more appropriately Rawalpindi, the city where all strategic policy is framed and implemented) prefers to use asymmetric methods to expand its footprint without leaving behind its fingerprints,” he added.
Accusing Pakistan of muddying the waters in the Middle East, Baussart said Hamas is of course not the only terrorist organisation in the Middle East that Pakistan has flirted with. The expert even pointed to the reports of Pakistani terrorists moving into Syria to fight on the side of Daesh.
He further said of late Pakistan has been doubling down in its advocacy of the Palestinian cause. Although the Pakistanis are very vocal about Israeli actions in Gaza but avoid openly endorsing Hamas.
“The ideological, sectarian and religious dimension of this nexus is only one part of the story. The other even more important aspect of this nexus is that it neatly dovetails with Pakistan’s larger strategic play in the region where it is trying to forge new alliances with countries like Turkey, Qatar and Iran, all of which are not only backing Hamas but are also arraigned against the Saudi-led bloc or Arab countries,” Baussart said.
According to the writer, Pakistan’s efforts to amplify the Palestinian issue at the UNHRC suggests a diplomatic power play against countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE. The development is taking place as these Arab nations are moving towards normalizing relations with Israel.
The Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh has met UNESCO’s Stefania Giannini on the sidelines of the G20 education ministers’ meeting in Catania in Italy….reports Asian Lite News
Assistant director general for education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has hailed Saudi Arabia for promptly switching over to online learning methods during the pandemic times.
The Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh has met UNESCO’s Stefania Giannini on the sidelines of the G20 education ministers’ meeting in Catania in Italy.
During the meeting, Giannini said the Kingdom has achieved great success in e-learning and distance education during the pandemic, the Arab News reported.
She praised the swiftness of the Saudi authorities in switching over to online learning without compromising on the quality of education.
The UNESCO official said the Kingdom’s success in introducing distance learning in a short time has propelled it into a leadership role in this field. Giannini said the Madarasti online learning platform introduced by the Kingdom is among the top four global models, the Arab News reported citing Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The fully interactive platform was developed as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which shut down schools across the Kingdom. It is designed so that students can log in and attend their lessons digitally, interact with their teachers and track their progress, it was reported.
It provides students with virtual classes, homework assignments, and delivery tools and is used in conjunction with the iEN YouTube channel and the iEN national education portal, it was reported.
Iran is currently indirectly negotiating with the US in Vienna over how to salvage the nuclear agreement…reports Asian Lite News
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister on Tuesday said that the Kingdom will judge the President-elect of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi’s government by “the reality on the ground.”
“From our perspective, foreign policy in Iran is in any case run by the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and therefore we base our interactions and our approach to Iran on the reality on the ground, and that is what we will judge the new government on, regardless of who is in charge,” the Arab News quoted Prince Faisal bin Farhan as saying.
During a press conference with his Austrian counterpart during his official visit to the capital, Vienna, the foreign minister said he was “very concerned” about unanswered questions on Iran’s nuclear program, an apparent reference to the UN nuclear watchdog seeking explanations on the origin of uranium particles found at undeclared sites in Iran.
According to Arab News, Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies continue to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is entirely peaceful, and its ballistic missiles. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons program that it halted in 2003.
Iran is currently indirectly negotiating with the US in Vienna over how to salvage the nuclear agreement, from which former President Donald Trump’s administration unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
The new Iranian leader also called on Saudi Arabia to cease hostilities in Yemen. “Stability must return so that the people of Yemen can decide for themselves … whom they wish to give those management responsibilities to. And again we reiterate the most immediate cessation of attacks by the Saudis against Yemen,” he said.
When Taliban were invited to talks with Afghan government representatives in Moscow, India had sent retired diplomats as observers, rather than officials in the delegation, reports Asian Lite News
An Indian delegation made a “quiet visit” to the Gulf nation of Qatar to meet with the Taliban, a senior Qatari government official stated on Monday.
During a webinar, Qatar’s special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani revealed this information in the first official acknowledgment of links between India and the Afghan insurgent group, Taliban.
There has been no response from the Indian government following the significant remarks by the Qatari government official.
In answer to a question from a mediaperson about role of India in the stalled Afghan peace process, Al Qahtani stated that it was a “very complicated question”.
“Afghanistan soil should not become a proxy for any countries. Yes, it is in the interest of Pakistan to have a more stable Afghanistan. It is in the interest of India to have a more stable Afghanistan. We understand Pakistan is a neighbouring country. India is the country that has done a lot of economically and of course they want Pakistan to be more peaceful and stable,” he said.
The Qatari official then noted that New Delhi has also reached out to Taliban’s political office in Doha. “I understand that there has been quiet visit by Indian officials from India to speak with the Taliban. Why? Because not everyone is believing that Taliban will dominate and take over, but because the Taliban is a key component of future Afghanistan. So, I see the reason of having a dialogue or talks and reaching out to all parties in Afghanistan,” he stated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23gl5hPXhaA
He cautioned that since it was a “critical stage” in the Afghan peace process, if any meeting is taking place, “it should be for a main reason to encourage the parties to solve their differences by peaceful means”.
India’s official policy has been to not recognise the Taliban in any way, with the Afghan government accorded the recognition as the only legitimate stakeholder in the war-ravaged country.
When Taliban were invited to talks with Afghan government representatives in Moscow, India had sent retired diplomats as observers, rather than officials in the delegation.
During the official signing of the Doha agreement last year, India’s ambassador to Qatar had attended the ceremony. When the intra-Afghan talks began in September 2020, India sent a senior diplomat to Doha, while Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar attended through video link.
Last week, during his visit to Kenya and Kuwait, Jaishankar transited twice through Qatar. India stated that he had met with the Qatari leadership and US Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha.
This is the second time that an official of a Gulf kingdom has mentioned an Indian diplomatic initiative which is largely kept under wrap by New Delhi.
In April, UAE’s ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, stated that the Gulf nation played a role “in bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.
The change reflects a broad shift within the Defence Department to focus its efforts on countering China and Russia as the threats of the future…reports Asian Lite News
Headquarters of the US Department of Defence, the Pentagon is pulling missile Defence systems and other military hardware and personnel from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.
Citing CNN, The Frontier Post reported that the US pulled out of the region to realigns its mission and forces to confront China and Russia, said a Defence official.
The change reflects a broad shift within the Defence Department to focus its efforts on countering China and Russia as the threats of the future, moving away from the wars of the past in the Middle East.
Austin is nearing the completion of a global review of US forces. Underpinning the review is the assessment that China is the “pacing challenge” to the United States military, reported The Frontier Post.
The Pentagon’s China Task Force recently completed its work and submitted its recommendations, which will influence US strategy moving forward, including the global posture review.
“These initiatives, some of which will remain classified, are designed to focus departmental processes and procedures and better help department leaders contribute to whole of government efforts to address the challenge of China,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week at a press briefing.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed the commander of US Central Command, which oversees the region, to remove the forces this summer, reported CNN.
Some of the military capabilities and platforms will be returned to the United States for much-needed maintenance and repair, said Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr Jessica McNulty, while other assets will be redeployed to other regions.
“This decision was made in close coordination with host nations and with a clear eye on preserving our ability to meet our security commitments. It’s about maintaining some of our high demand, low density assets so they are ready for future requirements in the event of a contingency,” McNulty said in a statement, adding that the Pentagon would not disclose where the military assets would be going or when.
The US bolstered its military footprint in Saudi Arabia following a September 2019 attack on the country’s oil facilities, attributed to Iran, that disrupted the global oil supply.
In the wake of the attack, the US sent thousands of troops into the country, as well as two Patriot missile batteries and one Terminal High Altitude Air Defence (THAAD) system, reported The Frontier Post.
The US also sent Patriot missile batteries into Iraq to defend US forces following the killing of Qasem Soleimani and the subsequent threats from Iran.
The withdrawal of forces from the Middle East would primarily affect these and other air Defence assets, the statement said.
The US had deployed Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia and Iraq to counter the threat posed by Iran and its proxies in the region, including in Iraq and Yemen.
Patriot missiles are effective at intercepting ballistic missiles, including the type of short-range ballistic missiles that have been fired from Yemen in recent years.
But the missiles are far less effective at detecting and intercepting drones and cruise missiles flying at low altitudes, reported The Frontier Post.
The removal of forces from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries comes as part of a broader drawdown in the region.
The US is set to complete the withdrawal of all forces from Afghanistan before the September 11 deadline. Less than 1,500 troops remain in the country. Under the Trump administration, the number of US troops in Iraq was reduced to 2,500. (ANI)
A total of five warships from four navies are participating in the exercise on June 18th and 19th….reports Asian Lite News
Indian Naval Ship Trikand deployed for anti-piracy operations is participating in the maiden Indian Navy (IN) – European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Joint Naval Exercise in the Gulf of Aden which commences today.
A total of five warships from four navies are participating in the exercise on June 18th and 19th.
Other warships include Italian Navy Ship ITS Carabinere, Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Navarra, and two French Navy Ship FS Tonnerre and FS Surcouf, said the Indian Navy in a statement.
The two-day exercise will see high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, tactical manoeuvres, boarding operations, underway replenishment, search and rescue, man overboard drills, and other maritime security operations, added the statement.
Ships of the four navies will endeavour to enhance and hone their war-fighting skills and their ability as an integrated force to promote, peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.
Concurrently, a virtual “Information sharing Exercise” was also conducted between the Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Security Centre in Horn of Africa on June 18th 2021, the statement added. EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy converge on multiple issues including counter piracy operations and protection of vessels deployed under the charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
The Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR also have regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and De-confliction) meetings held annually at Bahrain.
This engagement showcases increased levels of synergy, coordination and inter-operability between the Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR.
It also underscores the shared values as partner navies, in ensuring freedom of seas and commitment to an open, inclusive and a rules-based international order. (ANI)
The leaders discussed the global effort against COVID-19 and support for international initiatives to combat the pandemic, including COVAX…reports Asian Lite News.
Bahraini Prime Minister Salman Bin Hamad al-Khalifa has met Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the possibility of a free trade agreement with Gulf states and renew an old friendship.
The Prime Minister welcomed the Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad to Downing Street on Thursday morning for an hour-long meeting on a range of issues from trade to security, media reported.
They reflected on the close and historic partnership between the UK and Bahrain and agreed to further strengthen our economic, security and diplomatic cooperation, the Downing Street in a press release said.
The leaders discussed the global effort against COVID-19 and support for international initiatives to combat the pandemic, including COVAX.
They also spoke about regional security issues and defence collaboration, and the Prime Minister commended the Bahraini government’s steps to normalise relations with Israel.
However, the major focus was on a possible economic deal between the UK and the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that could see an increase of trade between the nations.
UK has just struck its first post-Brexit free trade agreement with Australia and hopes to cement many more in the coming months.
PM Johnson looked forward to welcoming Bahrain to the COP26 climate summit in November and to deepening cooperation on green technology and the transition to renewable energy, the Downing Street said.
Kuwait decided in February to stop the entry of non-citizens to prevent the spread of the coronavirus….reports Asian Lite News
Kuwait will lift the entry ban for vaccinated non-citizens from August, the government announced.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, government spokesman Tareq Al-Mezrem said the inbound travellers must present a certificate of Covid-19 vaccination to enter the country, reports Xinhua news agency.
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti citizens will not be able to travel outside the country unless they have received two doses of the vaccine approved by the Ministry of Health, he added.
In addition, those who have been vaccinated will be allowed into malls, gyms, salons, and restaurants from June 27, Al-Mezrem said.
Kuwait decided in February to stop the entry of non-citizens to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Kuwait has so far reported 334,216 coronavirus cases and 1,842 deaths.
