On April 4, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following bilateral agreements:
Cabinet apprised of MoU between India and United Arab Emirates on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector
Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime of the United Arab Emirates on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector.
- This MoU was signed on February 10, 2018.
- It envisages cooperation in the areas of regulation, safety and technical investigation of accidents, station redevelopment and any other area jointly identified by the parties to the MoU.
- Activities undertaken under the scope of this MoU will enable Indian Railways and UAE’s Federal Transport Authority to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector.
Quick Facts about UAE:
♦ Capital – Abu Dhabi
♦ Currency – UAE dirham
♦ Current President – Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Cabinet apprised of MoU between India and Canada to foster cross-border partnerships focused on research excellence and industry-academic collaboration
This MoU was signed on February 21, 2018 in New Delhi.
- Seeking collaboration through talent mobility is the central theme of this MoU.
- As per the terms of this MoU, 110 Master’s and PhD student researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from India and equal number of student researchers from Canada will participate in 12 to 24 weeks’ research with each other’s university research laboratories.
- This cross-border academic exchange will lead to new knowledge creation, joint scientific publications, Industrial exposure and Intellectual Property Generation.
Quick Facts about Canada:
♦ Capital – Ottawa
♦ Currency – Canadian Dollar
♦ Current Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau
Cabinet approves a Cooperation Arrangement between India and Afghanistan for cooperation in the field of food safety and related areas
This Cooperation Arrangement will be between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock (MAIL).
- The arrangement envisages information sharing, training and capacity building measures and mutual learning of best practices to improve food safety ecosystem.
- The areas of cooperation also include technical exchange on import procedures, quality control operations, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling.
Quick Facts about Afghanistan:
♦ Capital – Kabul
♦ Currency – Afghani
♦ Current President – Ashraf Ghani
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Iran on the establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures
Union Cabinet has given its ex post facto approval to MoU between India and Iran on the establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures.
- This MoU was signed on February 17, 2018 during President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India.
- It envisages cooperation between India and Iran in area of trade remedies such as exchange of information, cooperation in investigations related to anti-dumping and countervailing duty, capacity building activities etc.
Quick Facts about Iran:
♦ Capital – Tehran
♦ Currency – Rial
♦ Current President – Hassan Rouhani
