New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) India now has market access to 70 per cent of global GDP, in most cases at zero duty for domestic products, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.Speaking at an event here, Goyal said that nine Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been concluded in the last three years, covering 38 countries with strong per capita incomes, and most developed markets now have trade arrangements with India.“Agreements include the 27-nation EU bloc, four-nation E…
Latest Central Asia News & Updates
Washington, Feb 12 (IANS) Lawmakers urged the State Department to back the repeal of the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik amendment for Central Asian nations, arguing that the outdated provision hampers US investment and undercuts strategic competition with Russia and China. During a House subcommittee hearing on South and Central Asia, Democratic Rep. Ami Bera pressed Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur to support legislative efforts to remove the trade restric…
Islamabad, Jan 30 (IANS) The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a 53.02 per cent decline in revenue due to the continued closure and suspension of trade at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border since October last year, resulting in provincial government seeking intervention from the federal government, local media reported on Friday. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border closure has caused revenue losses for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the collection of Infrastructure Development Cess (IDC) reduced to P…
New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that India is closely watching the fast-developing situation in Iran and assured that it will take all necessary measures for the welfare of Indians. While addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that around 9,000 Indian nationals reside in Iran, which include students, people connected to business, professionals, pilgrims and seafarers.”Given the situation th…
Washington, Jan 15 (IANS) A US funding bill for the fiscal year 2026 proposes to withhold a portion of American assistance to Pakistan, according to the text of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill says that of the funds made available for Pakistan, $33 million “shall be withheld from obligation” until the Secretary of State reports to Congress that Dr Shakil Afridi “has been released from prison and cleared of all charges relating to the assistance provided to …
Moscow, Jan 14 (IANS) India and Russia could leverage their decades-long bonds of goodwill, trust and friendship to guide global transition in areas of shared interest in the current turbulent international system, a report said on Wednesday. It stressed that following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December 2025 and amid a global order in a free-fall, both nations – as vectors of stability – may have little choice but to operationalise the ‘Russia-India plus’ formulation…
New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) While US President Donald Trump’s recent warning that any country trading with Iran could face an additional 25 per cent tariff has direct implications for India, any choppy waters ahead may affect future operations at the Chabahar port as well. India is among Iran’s top business partners, as are China, Turkey, the UAE, Pakistan, and Armenia. The proposed addition will compound earlier US duties, which included a 25 per cent reciprocal trade tariff plus an equal amou…
Rajkot, Jan 12 (IANS) The Reverse Buyers-Sellers Meet at Hall No. 1 of the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Exhibition (VGRE) has emerged as one of the event’s biggest attractions, drawing strong international interest and significant business traction. The meet brought together 53 international buyers from 23 countries and more than 1,800 manufacturers and sellers from across Gujarat, creating a powerful platform for direct global trade.According to Suvidh Shah, Additional Director General of the Fed…
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) The situation in Iran has turned chaotic, and protests have spread across over 100 cities in the country. India is keeping a close watch on the situation as regime instability is rising in Iran. This poses a risk to India’s strategic investment in Iran’s Chabahar Port.Officials in New Delhi say that these protests are concerning when it comes to the safety and continuity of operations at the critical port, in which India has an investment of nearly $500 million. An o…
Kabul, Jan 7 (IANS) Pakistan continues to face massive losses from the prolonged shutdown of border crossings with Afghanistan as trade between two nations remains halted, the local media in Kabul reported quoting an official of Afghanistan’s chamber of commerce. Khan Jan Alokozay, a board member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), said Afghanistan previously used to conduct trade worth USD 200 million with Pakistan in a month, majority of them being imports from Islama…