COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Bangladesh

• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia demands for a fresh election; Government revises the GDP growth target; six priority projects for government; EU has no plan to cancel the GSP facility for Bangladesh; Bangladesh Nationalist Party forms four probe committees to investigate the recent attacks on Hindus.

Sri Lanka

• Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa has set a five-point agenda for the fishermen level talks between India and Sri Lanka; MR visits Abu Dhabi; Sri Lankan assistance to Uganda; USAID announces new program to revive the fishery community in the North; Australian PM arrives in Sri Lanka; Iraninan parliament is for the cooperation between Iran and Sri Lanka; Lalith Weeratungavisits US to brief the American leaders about the developments in Sri Lanka; Vietnam assures its support to Sri Lanka in the UNHRC; Concerns for Sri Lanka’s human rights records continues; Sri Lanka assumes the chairmanship of the Vienna Chapter of the Group of 77.

Maldives

• President Gayoom visits Sri Lanka; India to renovate Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH); India allows visa exemption for Maldivian medical tourists; India to supply oil to Maldives; Maldives is not for signing SOFA with the United States; Home Ministry orders implementation of all death sentences through lethal injection; British High Commissioner to the Maldives calls on President.

East Asia

Japan

• Japanese Prime Minister visits India, agrees to promote bilateral defense ties

South Korea

• South Korean President visits Switzerland, vows to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields

North Korea

• North Korea expresses its readiness to rejoin the Six party Talks (SPT); North Korea makes some conciliatory steps towards South Korea, but Seoul remains suspicious of its intentions

CENTRAL ASIA & RUSSIA

Russia

• Foreign Minister Lavrov: Inter-Syrian dialogue needs to be enlarged to make it truly representative; Russia has rules out talks with terrorists in Syria; Russia delivers a new humanitarian consignment for Syrian refugees; Russia warns against unilateral interpretation of Geneva Communiqué; Prime Minister Medvedev criticises the revocation of Iran’s invitation to Geneva-2; Putin and Obama discuss peace conference on Syria; Russia calls for non-interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs; Russia refuts allegations of the arrival of Russian riot police in Kiev; Russia-EU summit scheduled for January 28 to focus on economic ties, Syria and Iran; FM Lavrov calls upon Russia to do ‘everything’ for stability in Balkans; Russia has seeks to enhance cooperation with Norway; Finland backsa a visa free regime between Russia and EU; Russian and German Foreign Ministers discuss Syria and Ukraine; Russia to establish multi-discipline research and development center on Svalbard; Russia to modernize its Antarctic stations; FM Lavrov outlines Russia’s G8 Presidency priorities; Russia seeks UN’s central role in normalizing situation in Afghanistan; Russia and Belarus discuss plans for implementation of joint projects; Russia and Palestine sign a number of agreements; Russia will strive for deeper integration in the Asian-Pacific region; Russia and Tajikistan have discussed bilateral economic relations; Russia and Japan to continue with their peace treaty talks; FM Lavrov hope that Latin America will become visa-free zone for Russians; Industrial output stagnated in Russia in 2013; President Putin orders ministries to study the possibility of creating a military space system.

DEFENCE REVIEW

National

• AGNI-IV, the 4000 kms range Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile successfully launched; Indian Air Force expresses reservations about Indo-Russian project to co-develop a futuristic Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft

International

• Germany’s new defense minister for a greater engagement of Germany in Africa; French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian: US military’s partnership with France in Africa is indispensable in the fight against extremist groups in the Sahel region.