bilateral ties

Japanese Representative to Taiwan Mikio Numata yesterday said that he hoped Taipei and Tokyo could take their “best relationship” to the next level, as he unveiled the new doorplate for the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, which on Sunday changed its name from the Interchange Association, Japan.

India and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday signed six MoUs including in the fields of tourism, agriculture and food industry, youth development and broadcasting and exchange of audio-visual programmes. The agreements were inked after the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev in New Delhi.

Officials in Qatar and Spain are reportedly mulling the creation of a $1 billion joint investment fund – and a meeting is being scheduled for next year to progress the plans. Spanish ambassador to Qatar, Ignacio Escobar, told Gulf Times in an interview that a bilateral visit by Spanish officials to the Gulf state is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017, and that the visit could include the signing of an agreement to establish the fund.

Chile and South Korea have announced they are beginning negotiations to strengthen the bilateral Free Trade Agreement they signed 12 years ago, the first ever between a Latin American and an Asian country. Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, together with South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Power Minister Joo Hyung-hwan, signed a joint declaration in Lima on Friday to boost the existing agreement, which has been in force since 2004.

South Korea and Albania held a series of cultural events in the Balkan country last week to mark a key anniversary in their bilateral ties, the Korean Embassy in Greece said Sunday. The two countries celebrated 25 years since establishing diplomatic relations with a host of cultural events in the Albanian capital of Tirana from Thursday through Saturday, according to the embassy, which oversees Albania affairs from Greece.

The 22nd edition in the series of bilateral exercises between armed forces from Singapore (SAF) and Malaysia (MAF), demonstrated “unity in spirit”, said the Chief of Staff-General Staff of the Singapore Army, Brigadier-General (BG) Desmond Tan Kok Ming at the closing ceremony of Exercise Semangat Bersatu today. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef), this year’s exercise was a 10-day affair conducted in Kluang, and involved around 980 personnel from both the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, and the 5th Royal Malay Regiment.

Alone again. Since World War II’s end, Europe has looked at the world through a transatlantic lens. There have been ups and downs in the alliance with the United States, but it was a family relationship built on a sense that we would be there for each other in a crisis and that we are fundamentally like-minded. Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president threatens to bring this to an end – at least for now.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said that Pak-US Knowledge Corridor is one of the most significant initiatives in the entire diplomatic history of Pakistan and US. [...] He vowed to facilitate as many as 10,000 talented Pakistani scholars for enrolment in the top US universities in next 10 years

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