Foreign Minister Mahaseth addresses UNGA event on LDCs

KATHMANDU, 20 June 2021, (TON): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raghubir Mahaseth has said that graduation of Nepal from the 'Least Developed Country' category would be an important milestone for the country.

DPM Mahaseth, in a pre-recorded video conference addressed the Joint Thematic Event of the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council on Least Developed Countries, where he expressed Nepal's commitment to make the graduation process smooth and sustainable by mobilising finances from public and private sectors, and internal and external sources.

The event was jointly organised by the President of General Assembly and the President of ECOSOC at UN Headquarters, New York in participation of few ministers and high-level participants.Mahaseth has also called for support from UN system and development partners in order to achieve the sustainable graduation as well as to defeat the pandemic.

He has expressed hope to minimise investment gaps and gaps of resources that LDCs face, to which he hopes that development partners will live up to their financing commitments and motivate in Investment, including FDI, to improve productive capacity, infrastructure, energy, connectivity, and business.

TEHRAN, 20 June 2021, (TON): Israel has said “the international community should have grave concerns about the election of Iran's new president-elect, Ebrahim Raisi.

A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Lior Haiat, said “Mr Raisi is Iran's most extremist president yet.”

He also warned the new leader will increase Iran's nuclear activities.

Ebrahim Raisi was declared the winner of Iran's presidential election, in a race that was widely seen as being designed to favour him.

Mr Raisi, who will be inaugurated in August, is Iran's top judge and holds ultra-conservative views. He is under US sanctions and has been linked to past executions of political prisoners.

In a statement following his victory, he promised to strengthen public trust in the government, and be a leader for the entire nation.

The state media quoted him as saying "I will form a hard-working, revolutionary and anti-corruption government".

ISLAMABAD, 20 June 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Imran Khan has said no to the United States on its request of military bases for future operations in Afghanistan.

The statement from the PM came during an interview with Jonathan Swan of HBO Axios, which will be aired Monday 3:00am PST.

PM Imran reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the use of military bases and categorically stated that Islamabad will not allow it.

The prime minister was asked by the American journalist for his comments on giving access to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to Pakistan military bases as was permitted during the government of Pervez Musharraf.

Swan asked the premier “will you allow the American government to have the CIA here in Pakistan to conduct cross border counter-terrorism missions against Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban?”.

“Absolutely not,” PM Imran Khan responded.

“There’s no way we're going to allow any bases or any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan. Absolutely not.”

NEW DELHI, 20 June 2021, (TON): Four months after India and Pakistan decided to adhere to the ceasefire pact along the Line of Control (LoC), National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is likely to be in the same room as his Pakistan counterpart Moeed Yusuf in Dushanbe next week.

They will be participating in a meeting of NSAs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Tajikistan capital. Doval will be joining the meeting in-person on June 23-24, unlike the NSA-level virtual meeting of the SCO countries last September.

The meeting is likely to be attended by Afghanistan’s NSA Hamdullah Mohib, Russian NSA Nikolai Patrushev and their counterparts from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Given the fluid situation in Afghanistan and the fragile peace between India and Pakistan holding for the last four months, Doval’s participation and his bilateral meetings on the sidelines will be key, sources said, adding that no meeting has been planned “so far” with his Pakistan counterpart.

DHAKA, 20 June 2021, (TON): Bangladesh has abstained from voting on the United Nations resolution on the situation in Myanmar following a coup, expressing deep disappointment because it has failed to address the plight of the Rohingya.

The foreign ministry clarified the government’s position on the resolution in a statement, a day after the country’s permanent representative to the UN said any resolution on Myanmar will remain incomplete if it doesn’t recognise the root causes of the Rohingya crisis and make concrete recommendations to address them.

Rabab Fatima said at the UN General Assembly “Failure of the international community to address those root causes, even after the ethnic cleansing in 2017, has led to a culture of impunity in Myanmar, and we can see that playing out now for other minorities as well.”

Bangladesh hosts more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims who fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar following decades of persecution and a brutal military crackdown described by the UN as “ethnic cleansing”.

Foreign ministry said in the statement “the resolution did not include any recommendations or actions on the repatriation of the Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar. Neither does it recognise or stress the need for creating an environment in Rakhine conducive to the safe, sustainable and dignified return of the refugees.”

The resolution also lacks determination to address root causes of the Rohingya crisis through collective means.

KABUL, 20 June 2021, (TON): Kazakh Defence Ministry’s press service reported that Kazakh Defence Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev met with Hamdullah Mohib, the National Security Adviser of Afghanistan.

During the meeting a bilateral agreement on military cooperation between the Government of Kazakhstan and Government of Afghanistan was signed.

The document is based on agreements achieved during the visit of Mohammad Haneef Atmar, the National Security Adviser of Afghanistan, paid in July 2017.

As earlier reported, Aide to the President-Security Council Secretary Asset Issekehsev held talks with National Security Adviser of Afghanistan Hamdullah Mohib.

The sides shared views on regional and global security, current risks in Central Asia, directions for further strengthening of cooperation within international organizations.

NEW DELHI, 20 June 2021, (TON):  14 leaders from Jammu and Kashmir who had been playing at the hands of Indian occupying forces, including four former chief ministers including Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti have been invited for a meeting that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on 24 June.

TEHRAN, 20 June 2021, (TON): Ebrahim Raisi, the incumbent Chief Justice of Iran, has won the Iran's presidential election by a landslide, according to preliminary results released on Saturday by the Iranian Interior Ministry.

Deputy Interior Minister Jamal Orf said 28.6 million Iranians participated in Friday's election, and with around 90 per cent of the votes counted so far, Ebrahim Raisi has garnered over 17.8 million votes.

In the second place was Mohsen Rezaei,  secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council former officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a with 3.3 million was former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Nasser Hemmati garnered 2.4 million votes.

The government and people of Pakistan have congratulated Mr Ebrahim Raisi for wining Presidential elections. 

JERUSALEM, 19 June 2021, (TON): Police and medics said “Israeli police arrested 10 Palestinians during clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, with nine people injured as protesters hurled rocks and officers fired rubber bullets.”

About 1,000 people gathered in the compound after weekly prayers crying "God is great" and some hoisting Palestinian flags.

Reporters said “some demonstrators threw stones at police, who raided the site.”

Police said in a statement "Several dozen youths began disturbing the order and throwing stones toward police, 10 suspects were arrested.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that nine people were hurt, including three hospitalised in the confrontation, with injuries due to beatings, rubber bullets and sound bombs.

The confrontation came after Palestinians protested against Jewish nationalists who had marched through Israel-annexed east Jerusalem, chanting insults to Islam and shouting death to Arabs.

Police confrontations with Muslim worshippers in early May escalated into the bloodiest fighting in years, with conflict erupting between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza.

PYONGYANG, 19 June 2021, (TON): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his government to be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the Biden administration but more for confrontation, state media reported.

It comes days after the United States and others urged the North to abandon its nuclear programme and return to talks.

Kim’s statement indicates he’ll likely push to strength his nuclear arsenal and increase pressure on Washington to give up what North Korea considers a hostile U.S. policy, though he’ll also prepare for talks to resume, some experts say.

During an ongoing ruling party meeting, Kim analysed in detail the policy tendencies of the U.S. under President Joe Biden and clarified unspecified steps to be taken in relations with Washington.

Kim stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development and to reliably guarantee the peaceful environment and the security of our state.