Opening of the India-China Cooperation Forum

On May 22nd, the India- Pacific Island Nations Cooperation Forum took place in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape affirmed that India plays a leading role in the Southern Hemisphere – a region with many low- and middle-income countries.

Meanwhile, speaking before 14 leaders at the India- Pacific Islanders Cooperation Forum, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed that the South Asian nation would be a reliable partner for small island nations facing difficulties due to supply chain disruptions and climate change. India is committed to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Earlier, during a bilateral meeting with the leader of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Modi said that the two sides had discussed measures to strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, technology, health, and climate change response.

According to the plan, on May 22nd, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will sign a defense cooperation agreement between the US and Papua New Guinea, and will also hold a meeting with leaders of Pacific island nations that afternoon.

The U.S. State Department said Washington will provide $45 million in a new fund in partnership with Papua New Guinea to strengthen economic and security cooperation, including providing defense equipment to Papua New Guinea, mitigating climate change, and addressing transnational crime and HIV/AIDS.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins described the defense agreement between the US and Papua New Guinea as an expansion of the existing relationship between the two countries, not only in terms of military presence but also in terms of development.

According to the previous schedule, US President Joe Biden was also supposed to visit Papua New Guinea after attending the G7 Summit in Japan. However, the US leader had to shorten his schedule and return home early to resolve the deadlock in negotiations on raising the debt ceiling.

VNA

India assists China in the search for missing crew members in the Indian Ocean.

The Chinese Embassy in India has requested the Indian Navy's assistance in the search and rescue of the missing crew members after the Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel "Lupeng Yuanyu 028" capsized in the Southern Indian Ocean.

India and Indonesia conduct joint naval exercise Samudra Shakti-23

The Indian and Indonesian navies began a six-day joint naval exercise on May 14, codenamed Samudra Shakti-23.

Russian Foreign Minister arrives in India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ministerial Meeting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Goa, India, to attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Russia and India agree to strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism.

On May 3-5, India and Russia reaffirmed their readiness to enhance constructive counter-terrorism cooperation through bilateral arrangements and within the framework of the United Nations (UN), the BRICS group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as they exchanged assessments of global and regional terrorist threats.

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