New Delhi: In what is being perceived to be a thaw in the India-China face off in Eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley , the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question – Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor of India and Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China spoke on telephone this week.
The two Special Representatives had a frank and in-depth exchange of views on the recent developments in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas.
They agreed that both sides should take guidance from the consensus of the leaders that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas was essential for the further development of our bilateral relations and that two sides should not allow differences to become disputes. So it was necessary to ensure at the earliest complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity.
In this regard they further agreed that both sides should complete the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC expeditiously. The two sides should also ensure a phased and stepwise de-escalation in the India-China border areas.
They re-affirmed that both sides should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control and should not take any unilateral action to alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident in the future that could disturb peace and tranquility in border areas.
The two Special Representatives agreed that the diplomatic and military officials of the two sides should continue their discussions, including under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC), and implement the understandings reached in a timely manner to achieve the above outcomes.
It was also agreed that the two Special Representatives will continue their conversations to ensure full and enduring restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols.
Congress raises students’ issue affected by US visa policy
New Delhi: After the US Department of Immigration and Custom Enforcement said that students whose classes are going completely online will not be issued visas for the next semester nor will such students be allowed to stay, the Congress has lashed out at the government for not paying heed to the sufferings of these students.
The Congress said the government should have settled the issue with their “so called friend Donald Trump.”
The US had more than one million international students enrolled in various graduate and undergraduate programmes in 2018-19, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE). That’s about 5.5 percent of the total student community in the country.
Out of these, nearly three-quarters were from Asia – 48 percent Chinese and 26 percent Indians.
According to the IIE, F-1 students participate in academic course work while M-1 students are students of ‘vocational course work.
The Congress has also hit out at the government over the law passed in Kuwait which can make 8.5 lakh Indians jobless in the country.
Kuwait has approved the draft of a migrant quota bill and 8 lakh Indians may have to leave the country. The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait, with a total population of about 1.45 million. Kuwait has a population of 4.3 million.
Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi asked what was the government doing when such a law was passed while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting these states frequently.
The party alleged that 120 million jobs were lost in April due to the lockdown imposed to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
