Russia will continue to develop its strategic partnership with India in all spheres keeping in mind the long-term interests of both the nations, a Kremlin foreign policy review said.

Indian-born mathematician, Srinivasa S R Varadhan has been awarded the Norwegian Abel Prize or the Nobel Prize for mathematics.

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has been voted as the 'Best Airport in India' in a survey of passengers and opinion makers conducted by Air Passengers Association of India.

1. Framework Agreement between Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the UAE for developing Industrial Relations signed by H.E. Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry of India and H.E. Dr. Mohammad Khalfan Bin Khirbash, Minister of State for Finance & Industry of UAE.

A Memorandum of Understanding on Consultations between India and Libya was signed today in New Delhi. Shri N.Ravi, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs signed the MoU from Indian side. Visiting Libyan Minister of Asian Affairs, Mr. Mohamed Al-Burrani signed from Libyan side.

The Minister of External Affairs of India, H.E. Shri Pranab Mukherjee, is paying an official visit to Japan at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Taro Aso, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. The Minister of External Affairs of India held talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on 22nd March 2007. They also initiated the first Ministerial Level Strategic Dialogue between the two countries. The Minister of External Affairs called on H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan. He also had meetings with H.E. Mr. Akira Amari, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, H.E. Mr. Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, Minister for Land Infrastructure and Transport and H.E. Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Chief Cabinet Secretary. He will be meeting with H.E. Mr. Fumio Kyuma, Minister for Defense on 23rd March, 2007.

The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, paid an official visit to India between 19 and 22 March 2007 at the invitation of the Vice-President of India, His Excellency, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Mr. Don Mckinnon, Commonwealth Secretary General (CSG) will pay an official visit to New Delhi from 21-23 March, 2007. CSG’s visit is a part of his regular exchange of views with Government of India. He last visited India in February, 2006. CSG will call on Rashtrapatiji and Prime Minister, meet Finance Minister, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri E. Ahamed who will also host a dinner in CSG’s honour. CSG will participate in the International e-Partnership Summit of the Commonwealth Connects Programme, which will be inaugurated by Rashtrapatiji on 23 March and deliver a lecture on “21st Century Challenges” at the Indian Council of World Affairs.

New Delhi, March 20: Bahrain Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Tuesday said that Bahrain hopes to develop and build on its existing relationships with India, mainly in the social and economic fields.

At the invitation of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Dubai will be paying a State visit to India from March 25-26, 2007. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed will be accompanied by a high-level official and business delegation.

Chandigarh, March 19: Giving Information Technology an edge in the field of cyber security and research, the Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with NASSCOM and Punjab Engineering College (PEC), has established India’s first Regional Cyber Security and Research Centre (RCSRC) on the premises of PEC.

Parliament today approved a crucial legislation to give more operational flexibility to the Reserve Bank of India in the conduct of monetary policy.

Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India Pvt. Ltd. will invest INR3 billion in its existing manufacturing plant in northern India, a company executive said Monday.

Dr. Arjun Sengupta,
Syed Babar Ali,
Dr. Nagesh Kumar,
Distinguished delegates to this Conference,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am glad to have this opportunity of addressing you at this Regional Conference on Economic Cooperation in SAARC, which could not have been timed better. In ten days from now, we start our deliberations to prepare for the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi on April 3-4, 2007.

I thank the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations for organizing this Seminar on the important and relevant subject of “Economic Security for Peace and Development in South Asia”. Coming as it does barely a fortnight before the opening of the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi, this Seminar could not have been timed better.

Taking tourism to greater heights, Santosh George Kulangara, a Keralite, is all set to become the first Indian space tourist.

Foreign Secretary Mr. Menon: Thank you very much. Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan has narrated points of agreement. I will confine myself to a few general points. Yesterday, I had the privilege of calling on H.E. Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Foreign Minister Kasuri. In those meeting, I found that there was clear political will on both sides to make all round progress in the composite dialogue and to the process forward towards establishing normal, friendly and good neighbourly relations between our two countries. Both leaders emphasized their commitment to this process. With Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan as he mentioned, we had two good rounds of talks; one yesterday and one today. When we reviewed the third round of talks and where it has brought us, we noted the significant improvement brought in our relations by the dialogue process especially in promoting people to people relations qualitatively better than they have been for a very very long time and that the composite dialogue has proven record of success. The dialogue process has seen implementation of a number of confidence building measures, narrowing of the divergences and the improvements in the understanding of each other positions on the issues which divide us.

Peace and Security

Expedite negotiations to conclude an Agreement on Prevention of Incidents at Sea. To fully observe the ceasefire.

Bureaucracy, transport troubles, power cuts - foreign investors have a lot to contend with on the sub-continent. But it's now a market no one can ignore

Then Vodafone agreed to buy a controlling stake in India's fourth- largest mobile phone operator, Hutchison Essar, for $11.1bn (£5.7bn) last month, it was a sign of the times. No longer is India seen as one of investment's wild frontiers, where you can make big bucks if you take big risks. Increasingly, Western companies are viewing India as a market in which they simply can't afford not to be present.

Japan Friday said it hoped to clinch a special economic partnership agreement with India within a year that will take economic and strategic ties between the two countries to a new plane.

Mr. Chairman
Honourable Ministers
Distinguished Delegates

Let me, at the outset, convey my warm appreciation to the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the gracious hospitality extended to me and the members of my delegation and for the excellent arrangements made for our meeting here.

Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon everyone. You may have seen the Joint Statement that has been issued in Islamabad. I will read it out to you.

In response to a question, the Official Spokesperson said:

“India has always been strongly supportive of the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine through negotiations with the State of Israel. The Mecca Agreement is an important step in this direction. In this context, India notes with appreciation the significant contribution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and H. M. King Abdullah himself in facilitating the formation of a Palestine Government of National Unity, in the expectation of a resumption of dialogue on the Israel- Palestine track.

New Delhi
6th March, 2007

 Indian space scientists will begin satellite integration for moon mission Chandrayaan-1 this month to ascertain that the country's first-of-its-kind venture next year is on track.

Tata Teleservices, parent company of Tata Indicom mobile services, has launched the MotoFone F3c in India, the first global unveiling of this ultra low cost handset for the code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular service.

The Indo-US joint working group on counterterrorism met today to discuss cooperative strategies to fight the global menace of terrorism. The US delegation, led by the Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Frank Urbancic met over a full day with KC Singh, Additional Secretary for International Organizations at the Ministry of External Affairs, who hosted the delegation.