WASHINGTON, 30 March 2022, (TON): Agreements on the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries cannot be a substitute for the settlement of the Middle East conflict.

This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, speaking on Tuesday at a press conference in Rabat, where he is on a visit.

He said “I have just visited Jerusalem and Ramallah. And one of the things that I expressed in Jerusalem with Israeli colleagues and in Ramallah with President Abbas, of course, the continued support of the United States for the solution [of the Middle East conflict] in based on the principle of two-state coexistence.”

He said that this is an outcome that will meet the as-pirations of the Palestinian people and their right to a state of their own, as well as, of course, the security of Israel and its viability as a Jewish democratic state. Normalization agreements and the work that Morocco and other countries are doing with Israel do not replace this two-state outcome [to achieve a settlement of the conflict based on the principle of coexistence], but they can, I think, strengthen it.”

PARIS, 30 March 2022, (TON): France is ready to support the implementation of the action plan of the International Atomic Energy Agency for technical assistance to Ukraine to ensure the safety of Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

This was announced on Tuesday by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The foreign ministry of the republic said “France welcomes today’s visit of the Director General of the IAEA to Ukraine and his talks with the Ukrainian authorities, which pave the way for the implementation of the Agency’s technical assistance plan to this country, France is ready to provide full support.”

The Foreign Ministry stressed that “from the very beginning we supported the efforts of the IAEA to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, in particular through contacts with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities.”

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement “extremely concerned about the risks posed by Russian aggression for the safety of civilian nuclear facilities” on the territory of Ukraine. France “will continue to actively participate in ensuring the success of the IAEA Director General’s initiative.”

CAIRO, 30 March 2022, (TON): During a phone call from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt’s readiness to make any possible efforts to maintain peace and stability around the world.

According to a presidential statement “a review of ways of coordinating efforts between Egypt and Britain regarding various international files, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”

During the call, El-Sisi praised “the remarkable development and qualitative leap in bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields.”

He stressed “Egypt’s aspiration to maximize fruitful cooperation during the coming period, enhance political coordination and exchange views in light of the common challenges facing the two countries at the international and regional levels.”

He affirmed his country’s aspiration to “further engage Britain through the mechanisms of its various development institutions in the priorities of Egyptian development plans in various fields, as well as work to double the volume of British investments in Egypt and push the wheel of economic cooperation between the two sides, especially in light of the improvement in the investment and business climate in Egypt.”

KABUL, 30 March 2022, (TON): The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China will host the third meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors on March 30 and 31 in Tunxi, Anhui, under the name of “Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan Plus Afghanistan."

Wang Wenbin, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said “foreign ministers or representatives from Russian, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to attend the meeting, which will be chaired by Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister.”

He said “there will be a Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue which Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate, has been invited to attend.”

Wang Wenbin said “we hope to further understand the Afghan people’s difficulties and needs, convey neighboring countries’ concerns on the Afghan issue, and work on the Afghan side to build an open and inclusive political structure, follow moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies and earnestly combat terrorism.”

Wenbin added ”his country expects the international community to give greater support to Afghanistan.”

KABUL,30 March 2022, (TON): A United Nations Development Program official said in order to address the humanitarian and economic challenges in Afghanistan, it is necessary to invest in reviving Afghanistan’s economy.

Achim Steiner, Director General of UNDP, who recently came to Afghanistan, in a meeting in Kabul said “it is necessary to maintain the international community’s interest in Afghanistan in order to provide humanitarian assistance to the country.”

he said “the answer to these challenges is also to invest in the recovery of Afghanistan’s economy. That means recognizing that the people of this country need urgent support to also be able to earn their own livelihoods, to have income to be able to buy food, to send children to school, to pay medical bills.”

Steiner said “several factors have contributed to the economic freefall of the country which includes not only the political turmoil, but also Covid-19 and a drought (that) has created an economic reality in Afghanistan today that is essentially turning more and more people into poor people.”

Steiner said investment in Afghanistan’s economy is necessary to stabilize the economic freefall, otherwise, based on UNDP’s earlier reporting, about 90 percent of Afghanistan’s population will live below the poverty line by the end of the year.

DHAKA, 30 March 2022, (TON): Newly appointed US Ambassador Peter Haas announced that the United States (US) will provide additional US $152 million as new humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh host communities.

The announcement follows as the envoy visited Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps from March 27-29 since the US Secretary of State's determination that members of the Myanmar military committed genocide.

Ambassador Haas said "this brings the total we've provided since August 2017 to $1.7 billion.”

He said of this new funding, $125 million is for programs inside Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees and affected Bangladeshi communities.

During his visit, Haas interacted with local government officials and observed how US programs continue to assist Rohingya refugees and host communities by providing various aids.

NEW DELHI,30 March 2022, (TON): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Nepali and Bhutanese counterparts on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting in Colombo and discussed cooperation in connectivity, energy and hydropower projects.

Mr Jaishankar tweeted "good to meet FM Narayan Khadka of Nepal on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Ministerial. Discussed our cooperation in connectivity, energy, fertilizers, health and power. Agreed to focus on taking forward the Ramayan circuit.”

Mr Jaishankar participated in the 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Colombo and said “the BIMSTEC member states must collectively combat terrorism and violent extremism as he emphasised India's commitment to intensify, expand areas of cooperation, especially connectivity, energy and maritime.”

He also met the Bhutanese Foreign Minister and reviewed various projects and initiatives.

He tweeted "pleasure as always to see FM Bhutan.”

Discussed our long-standing cooperation in the hydropower sector. Reviewed various other projects and initiatives. Spoke about the Bhutanese talent I saw recently in our training institutions. Look forward to continuing our engagement.

NEW DELHI,30 March 2022, (TON): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma signed an agreement regarding their border disputes that have been pending for 50 years.

The two leaders signed the pact at the Union Home Ministry in Delhi, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and officials from both the states and the Ministry.

Mr Shah called it a historic day and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for focussing on the peace process in the northeast, and also its culture and development.

The pact will resolve the protracted dispute in six of the 12 places along the 884.9 km border between the two states.

The Home Minister said with the signing of the agreement, 70 per cent of the border dispute between the two states has been resolved.

There are 36 villages in the six places, covering an area of 36.79 sq km, with regard to which the agreement has been reached.

DHAKA, 30 March 2022, (TON): As many as 1,196 more Rohingya refugees are being relocated to Bhasan Char from the camps at Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya.

A total of 20 buses carrying the displaced Myanmar nationals started for Chittagong, confirmed Cox’s Bazar Armed Police Battalion-14 chief Naimul Haque.

They are scheduled to reach Bhasan Char on a Navy ship.

Nearly 24,000 Rohingyas have so far been relocated to Bhasan Char, an island near Hatia, dedicated to host some 100,000 people.

The government started relocating the Rohingyas to the island in 2020 despite reservations from the international community and the Rohingyas themselves.

Later, members of the UN agencies visited the facilities and expressed satisfaction.

DHAKA,30 March 2022, (TON): World Bank approved $358 million of financing to help Bangladesh improve road safety and reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes in selected high-risk highways and district roads.

The Road Safety Project will help Bangladesh achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on road safety by 2030.

In two national highways-N4 and N6, the project will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, signing and marking, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, emergency care.

These measures will help reduce road traffic deaths by more than 30 percent on these two highways, said a press release.

Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan said "road accidents are the leading cause of permanent disability, and the fourth leading cause for children's death. They disproportionately affect poor families. For Bangladesh, improving road safety is a critical economic and development priority.”