COLOMBO, 1 April, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage met the representatives of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), requesting them to support agricultural development in the country.

The Minister said, at the discussions held at the Ministry today, the FAO representatives have agreed to provide US$ 107 million for the production of chilies and red onions in the country.

It was also agreed to equip the farmers of this country with modern agricultural technology and to provide the necessary training.

Agreement on increasing the country’s local milk production, training farmers daily, repairing Milco’s cold storages and providing modern equipment was made.

Representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization emphasized that steps would be taken to provide all possible assistance in the process of building a productive economy, and agreed to share knowledge and resources to formulate the national agricultural policy.

However, accordingly, the delegates agreed to provide a grant of US$ 500,000 for the future of agriculture in this country.

NEW DELHI, n31 March, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, Union Commerce and Industry Ministry announced India's Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 to be extended till 30 September.

The policy was applicable till 31 March last year.

"The existing Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 which is valid up to March 31, 2021 is extended up to September 30, 2021," the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

However, the present Policy came into force on 1 April, 2015 that was applicable for 5 years till March 31, 2020, that was extended for a year due to pandemic.

DUBAI, 31 March, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi travelled to Saudi Arabia for an official visit.

Kazemi said on Twitter, “The visit aims to consolidate relations, and to establish prospects for cooperation between the countries.”

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Iraq Abdulaziz Al-Shammari, said that the visit of Kazemi came at an important time.

However, said that political, security and economic issues will be discussed, and a number of agreements in several areas will be signed.

BRUSSELS, 31 March, 2021 (TON): Former Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Hussain Haqqani stated that Pakistan should apologize to Bangladesh for all the atrocities it committed in 1971.

While referring to military’s roles in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and initiating genocide against the Bengalis, Haqqani said, "To this day, no apology has been forthcoming and I think the people of Pakistan should urge the government of Pakistan to offer a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for all the atrocities that were committed in 1971."

In a virtual discussion organized by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Brussels on 29 March on "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: An Iconic Leader of People's Struggle for Freedom,” he said that an apology will be the most courteous thing for Pakistan for the role they played in 1971.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen joined the event as chief guest, while Bangladesh Ambassador in Brussels Mahbub Hassan Saleh moderated it.

The think tank asserted that the feudal Pakistan rulers had never considered Bengalis as equals and were not ready to hand over the power to the elected representatives of then East Pakistan after the electoral victory of Bangabandhu's party, Awami League, in the national election of 1970.

NIAMEY, 31 March, 2021 (TON): Early Wednesday, heavy gunfire was heard for half-an-hour in Presidential Palace’s area.

The witnesses reported the incident to an attempt of coup as the President-elect Mohamed Bazoum is to take oath two days later.

The details of the incident remained unclear.

A resident of Niamey's Plateau district told the media, "It was around 3.00 am, we heard shots from heavy and light weapons and it lasted 15 minutes before stopping, followed by shots from light weapons."

However, lately there have been growing insurgent attacks, and political tensions following Mohammed Bazoum's victory in the country's February presidential election runoff. Therefore, locals view the incident as another coup attempt against democratically elected leader.

RIYADH, 31 March, 2021 (TON): Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, Saudi Minister of Culture has praised the Cabinet’s plan to set up an Institute of Traditional Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Under the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, the proposed institute is among a range of quality-of-life programs being carried out.

The Ministry of Culture’s initiatives aimed at developing the Kingdom’s cultural sector through education and awareness schemes.

The minister has also thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their continuous support for the country’s cultural sector and national heritage.

Highlighting Saudi national identity, promoting traditional arts, and running specialist training, the institute will also look to raise public awareness and involvement in the preservation of cultural heritage, encourage international cultural exchange, and support creators through the provision of research grants related to traditional arts.

DUSHANBE, 31 March, 2021 (TON): On Tuesday, Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi met his Afghani President Ashraf Ghani and discussed matters of bilateral interest, including the Afghan peace process.

In the meeting that took place on the sidelines of the Ninth Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference in the Tajik capital, Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed Pakistan’s desire for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

Pakistan considered peace in Afghanistan vital for sustainable stability in the region, Qureshi said.

He expressed concern over the rising incidents of violence in Afghanistan and said that Pakistan’s position remained the same that the Afghan problem could not be solved through military option.

During the meeting, the importance of the regional connectivity was also highlighted.  

However, the durable peace process in Afghanistan would enhance opportunities for working together on infrastructure and energy connectivity between Central Asia and West Asia through Afghanistan.

KATHMANDU, 31 March, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the World Bank published a report stating economic growth is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022 in the South Asian region.

The World Bank, however, shares in its twice-a-year-regional update that, growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector are still reeling from job losses, falling incomes, worsening inequalities, and human capital deficits.

South Asia Vaccinate shows that the region is set to regain its historical growth rate by 2022. The recovering economic activity is indicated by the consumption of electricity and mobility data.

Nepal's GDP is projected to grow by 2.7 percent in the fiscal year 2021-22 and recover to 5.1 percent by 2023.

Hartwig Schafer World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region said, "We are encouraged to see clear signs of an economic rebound in South Asia, but the pandemic is not yet under control and the recovery remains fragile, calling for vigilance."

 "Going forward, South Asian countries need to ramp up their vaccination programs and invest their scarce resources wisely to set a foundation for a more inclusive and resilient future," it said.

However, analysts view that South Asia grapples with high stunting rates among children and accounts for more than half of the world's student dropouts due to COVID-19, needs to ramp up investments in human capital to help new generations grow up healthy and become productive workers.

UNNAO, 31 March, 2021 (TON): In the back drop of alleged attack on the additional district judge Prahlad Tandon, the Unnao Bar Association has suspended the membership of eight lawyers on the directives of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh that is probing the attack.

Tandon had lodged two FIRs against a group of lawyers, including members and office-bearers of the Unnao Bar association, for allegedly attacking him twice last week.

While the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has set up a two-member committee, comprising Prashant Singh Atal and Ajay Yadav to probe the incident, the Unnao Bar Association has issued a show cause notice to the lawyers involved in the incident.

Unnao Bar Association president Ram Shankar Yadav is named in both the cases lodged at the City Kotwali police station.

Apart from him, former Unnao Bar Council presidents, Satish Shukla and Girish Mishra, and former government counsel Vinod Pathak, are among those named in the FIRs.

MALE, 31 March, 2021 (TON): A yacht, Lagaan was assisted by a Maldivian Coastguard as it ran into trouble in the Search Rescue Maritime area of the Maldives.

The yacht was traveling from Seychelles to Phuket, Thailand, across the Indian Ocean when it ran into trouble near the Maldives. 

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Coastguard assisted the yacht after it ran into trouble near Ga. Vilingili.

Reports of the incident were received on 29 March, around 14:55.

MNDF said that the Southern Area squadron of the MNDF managed to rescue the yacht with the assistance of a cargo boat nearby and an Italian MRCC boat and was safely transported to Vilingili.