She asserted that that Pakistan has sent some very serious signals in viewing India in different light and on moving with India in various sectors, for instance trade relations. Khar said, her country is "reaking away from many positions it has held. 

Making a strong pitch for the resumed dialogue process to continue, she said, moving forward will mean Pakistan and India being able to sit around the dialogue table . The Minister said whatever has happened before is past and the two countries should not miss an opportunities to build cooperation in future.

 head of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's crucial talks with his counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, eight technical sub-groups of the India-Pakistan Joint Commission met in Islamabad today to discuss prospects for cooperation in less contentious areas like agriculture and health. The experts are expected to provide inputs for a meeting of the Plenary of the Joint Commission that will be co-chaired by the two Foreign Ministers on September 8.

Prospects for cooperation in areas like agriculture, health, education, science and technology, IT and telecommunications, environment, tourism and information remained high on the agenda of the meeting .The external affairs minister S M Krishna is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow for talks with Khar to review the last round of the bilateral dialogue process and to frame the roadmap for the next round of discussions.

The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will meet tomorrow to prepare for the September 8 talks between the two ministers. Officials said in Islamabad that Pakistan is keen on signing an agreement for a new liberalised visa regime during Krishna's visit.

The draft agreement was finalised earlier this year but could not be signed during talks between the Home and Interior Secretaries in May due to opposition from Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Krishna is expected to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and leaders of key political parties, including main opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

India's top leadership, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Krishna, have said that terrorism directed against the country from Pakistani soil continues to be a concern despite progress made in areas like trade and commerce.

he government has approved an Indian Foreign Service, IFS Expansion Plan to address the need of human resources with India’s expanding and diversifying global role. In a written reply Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur informed the Rajya Sabha that IFS Expansion Plan would also add a substantial number of dedicated posts for induction of various domain expertises through lateral किनारे का   entry. She said that this Plan will address human resources problem in a more structured and comprehensive manner in the years to come.

 A bag carrying diplomatic mail from India has been found on Mont Blanc in the French Alps, close to where an Air India plane crashed 46 years ago. The jute bag was recovered by a mountain rescue worker and his neighbour after some tourists spotted it on a glacier last week. The bag recovered from the glacier has markings saying "Diplomatic mail" and "Ministry of External Affairs".

The Indian embassy in Paris told a news agency that it would begin efforts to retrieve the bag. The Air India plane flying from Mumbai to New York crashed in January 1966. All 117 people on board died.

 Minister of State for External Affairs Praneet Kaur has said that External Affairs Ministry has not received any applications for Indian citizenship or asylum from Pak Hindus who are on pilgrimage to India.

She said in Patiala, the matter comes under the subject of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Minister said the issue of granting asylum is considered on a case-to-case basis in case Ministry of External Affairs receives any such request from Pak Hindus. 

She said that Ministry would consider any such cases sympathetically after studying all legal aspects of the matter. Saying that every country should safeguarded the security and rights of minorities, she said that Pakistan Government has been apprised of India’s worries. 

On the recent killing of Sikhs in a US gurdwara Praneet kaur said that diplomats of both India and the US are in touch with each other and all necessary steps are being taken to ensure the security of Sikhs in America.

External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna has said that he is looking forward to his impending visit to Pakistan to carry forward on going dialogue process aimed at seeking friendly and cooperative relationship with the neighbouring country.

Addressing a Function at Shere Kashmir Convention Centre in Srinagar today after inaugurating Passport Seva Kendra and laying of foundation stone of new Passport Bhawan he said that relations between the two countries have gradually improved during last one year and fruitful exchanges at different levell have continued. 

Mr Krishna said that during the visit of Pak Foreign Minister Hena Rubani Khar she had publicly said that there was a realisation in Pakistan to have change in its attitude with regard to relations with India. The Foreign Minister said that India and Pakistan have gained nothing in past by engaging in acrimony while as they have to gain every thing if they understand each other and cooperate for betterment of their people.

Earlier speaking on the occasion the State Chief Minster Omer Abdulla and Union Minster Dr Farooq Abdulla while thanking External Affairs Minister for opening Passport Seva Kendras in Jammu and Srinagar. stressed the need for strengthening cross loc trade in the state and changing present barter system into financial exchanges. 

Mr Omer Abdulla while wishing success to Foreign Minister in his forth coming Pakistani visit said that relationship between India and Pakistan has a direct bearing on the situation in the state and people in Jammu and Kashmir are longing for permanent peace and friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

ndian Ambassador to Syria VP Haran is in touch with the other Indians left in Syria and advised them to leave the country in the wake of increasing violence. Indians belonging to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Syria are not in areas of danger.

The increasing violence and worsening situation has prompted around 900 Indians in Syria to leave the country. India has issued three travel advisories this year in February, May and July for Indians to avoid planning a travel to Syria.

India and Russia have agreed to accelerate their efforts to achieve the 20 billion US Dollars trade target by 2015. The bilateral trade between the countries stood at 9 billion U S Dollars in 2011. Addressing a joint press conference with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the trade figures for the first quarter of this year are encouraging but more efforts are need to be done. He said, during the Inter Governmental Commission meet, the focus was on economic aspects of relationship between the two contries.

Mr Krishna said, besides discussion on strategic sectors, both the sides also reviewed progress on some initiatives undertaken after Annual Summit in 2011 at Moscow. These include the joint drive to harness the benefits of modernisation and industrial cooperation by pooling in the vast human and scientific resources of the two countries. The External Affairs Minister said the first meeting of Joint Working Group set up in this connection will take place shortly.

Mr Dmitry offered Russian expertise in the field of energy, particularly atomic energy. He said India is experiencing tremendous industrial growth and energy is required for it. He said Moscow can provide safe and secure Nuclear Power Station. Mr Dmitry said, both the countries is now venturing in to the joint production instead of bilateral trade.

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister said that both the sides can cooperate in the field of knowledge, air and space technologies. Both countries can produce combat air crafts, multitask interceptors and helicoptors. The Russian leader asserted for more business to business contacts. He also advocated for easy VISA regime to enhance trade between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister was given a presentation about the missile's capabilities and recent achievements along with live demonstration of the mobile launcher. The two sides had formed the joint venture to produce the supersonic cruise missiles in 1998 and since then, all three wings of the Indian armed forces have ordered Brahmos.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will leave for Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan today on a two-day visit. During the visit to Tajikistan, he will hold talks with Tajik leadership and attend a meeting of Indian Heads of Mission of 11 countries in the strategic Eurasian region.
This is the Sixth Regional Meeting of Heads of Mission that the External Affairs Minister will be addressing.
Dushanbe

e Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers' meeting, which was scheduled in July, has been postponed since the dates were clashing with the Indian Presidential poll. According to official sources, Pakistan wanted to hold the meeting on July 19 which was not convenient to the Indian side in view of the Presidential poll on that date. The sources said, the new dates are being worked out at the convenience of both sides and the meeting is likely to happen in August.

The government has decided to partially lift ban on emigration to Libya. A ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs release says, the decision follows consultations with External Affairs ministry and Indian Mission in Libya. The emigration to Libya was banned from 21st February last year following internal disturbances prevailing in that country. In view of a growing demand for manpower in Libya in various sectors, doctors and para-medical staff will now be permitted to emigrate to Libya as the Libyan Health Ministry has approached Indian mission in Tripoli. Complete lifting of ban will be reviewed after considering the situation immediately after July 15th elections in that country.

India today said it was exploring the possibility of collaborating the Bill Gates Foundation to work in Africa where New Delhi has already committed five million US dollars for developmental projects. 

Talking to reports after meeting Microsoft founder Bill Gates in New Delhi today, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, he and Gates discussed efforts India is making in Africa and recalled the meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had with heads of governments in Ethopia where India pledged a 5 million US Dollars aid to African countries.

Mr. Krishna said he is going to the United States in June for Strategic Dialogue between the two countries where he will take this idea forward when he interacts with US Secretary
of Health. He said, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will also be there.

ndia today asked its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Syria after incidents of two Indians getting killed in a bomb explosion on the Syria-Iraq border came to light. The Ministry of External Affairs today said in a statement that a tragic incident reportedly involving death of two Indians on the Syria-Iraq border has come to the attention of the government.


Reports had it that a seven-year-old girl from Nagpur and a man from Pune were among those killed in an explosion on the Syria-Iraq border on Sunday evening.

The victims were among a group of Indian pilgrims travelling to the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq.

India says, mechanical US apologies over Shahrukh Khan episode will not help.cc Minister S M Krishna said in Moscow that the United States should have a serious look at its procedures to ensure there is no repetition.

Recalling an earlier incident in 2009 when Shahrukh was detained at an airport in US, he said the Indian Consulate General in New York had to intervene then to get him out. New Delhi thought the episode was behind it. But again, the same thing has been repeated, when he Shahrukh Khan went to US the day before Friday. He said he is rather surprised that this should repeat in the United States. Krishna said mere apologies by US are not going to improve matters.

As reported, Shahrukh Khan , on his way to address students at Yale University, was detained by immigration officials for nearly two hours after arriving in a private plane at White Plains Airport, about 53 kilometres from Manhattan.

He was given immigration clearance after intervention by the Consulate General of India and the US Customs. Later, US Border Protection authorities expressed profound apology.

Assam government has decided to move the Centre for seeking its permission for construction of an alternative road from West Bengal’s Alipurduwar to Tenga in West Kameng district . Responding to a zero hour discussion, PWD Minister Chowna Mein told the House that state government will definitely take it up with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs for getting clearance for construction of the said road.

He said that the proposed road would not only help Arunachal to transport machineries required for the power projects but would also be a boon towards opening border trade routes with Bhutan.