New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) India and Spain have agreed to advance technical discussions on interoperability between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain’s Bizum digital payments platform, according to a statement issued by the Commerce Ministry.The issue was taken up during Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Spain as part of his four-nation tour to Europe from July 13 to 18.Goyal held productive discussions with Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, First Vice-President and Minister of …
Latest Brussels News & Updates
New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) The European Commission has issued a stern caution regarding Pakistan’s continued eligibility for preferential trade benefits under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) unless it improves its human rights record at home, thus putting access to USD 837 million in tariff relief at risk, according to a report. By linking tariff access to human rights compliance, Brussels is not only asserting conditionality over trade preferences but also incentivising struc…
New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) China’s mounting economic vulnerabilities are creating fresh strategic and economic risks for Europe, with Beijing becoming more assertive at home and abroad despite slowing growth, a report has said.According to an analysis by The Diplomat, Europe has long assumed China’s rise would continue uninterrupted and eventually lead to political liberalisation. However, with those expectations proving misplaced, the European Union needs to adopt a more pragmatic and interest-d…
New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) The European Union (EU) and India have agreed to deepen ties on trade and technology, making India only the second country after the United States to have this level of formal partnership with Brussels, according to a report in The European Conservative news portal.The move sends a clear political message that Brussels wants India to play a much bigger role in its supply chains, technology sector and wider economic strategy, the report states.The third meeting of the EU…
Zurich, July 16 (IANS) India’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Mridul Kumar, on Thursday met External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar at the Zurich Airport during his return to New Delhi from a six-nation tour.”Amb Kumar warmly welcomed Hon’ble EAM S Jaishankar at Zurich Airport, Switzerland, during transit, on his return from a successful six-nation tour covering Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the US and Belgium. Amb Kumar took this opportunity to brief Hon’ble EAM on the latest developments in…
New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) complements ongoing efforts towards an ambitious, balanced and mutually beneficial India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.Co-chairing the Ministerial Meeting on the India-EU TTC in Brussels, the minister said “we reviewed progress across resilient supply chains, critical and emerging technologies, clean energy and innovation, deep-tech startups, green hydrogen, and EVs and b…
Brussels, July 15 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and his counterpart from Belgium, Maxime Prevot, on Wednesday reviewed bilateral cooperation, including in political, economic, investments, clean energy, defence, mobility and pharmaceutical domains. The two leaders focused on opportunities in ports, maritime, semiconductors and broader cooperation for supply chain de-risking. The discussions were held during the inaugural India Belgium Strategic Dialogue in Brussels on Wedne…
Brussels, July 14 (IANS) India has reaffirmed its continued support for a two-state solution, as well as for Palestine’s membership of the United Nations (UN), at the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Palestine Donor Group (PDG) in Brussels.Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), represented India during the meeting, which was jointly organised by the European Commission and the Palestine Authority on Monday (local time). The meeting also saw partic…
New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) China’s thriving rare earth industry is leading to massive pollution in the Mekong River, that flows downstream into South East Asian countries like Thailand, with heavy metals like arsenic being confirmed in the river’s mainstream sediment, according to a report in Myanmar’s Mizzima news portal. The report highlighted that China tightened environmental enforcement on its own rare earth industry but shifted the mining operations across the border into Kachin and S…
Muscat, July 10 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM), S Jaishankar, on Friday met his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, and explored ways to elevate the strategic partnership between both countries.According to the Foreign Ministry of Oman, the meeting addressed the course of the historical relations between Oman and India, and explored ways to elevate the strategic partnership between the two India and Oman, particularly in the fields of trade and investment, ene…