PSIR 4 IAS

  Abraham Accord Abraham Accord = UAE and Israel signed a US-brokered agreement aiming to establish formal relations between the two countries UAE and Israel would establish formal diplomatic relations and in exchange, Israel would suspend its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.  With this, UAE will become the 1st Gulf country to establish diplomatic and economic relations with Israel and 3rd Arab nation to recognise Israel after Egypt (in 1979) and Jordan (1994) Gulf countries are the 7-Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf = Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE.  For decades, there has been a consensus among many Arab and Muslim-majority states that they will not end a state of hostility with Israel until it agrees to a deal granting statehood to the Palestinians. About Arab-Israel Conflict Hussein-McMahon (1915) correspondence contained British support of an independent Arab state for Arab assistance in opposing the Ottoman Empire. In

India-Vietnam 17th meeting of bilateral Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation Economic and defence engagement: To explore closer cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space, marine sciences and new technologies.India had earlier announced a LoC of US$500 million for procurement of defence equipment from India. Vietnam is negotiating with India for both BrahMos and Akash missiles.  Cooperation at Multilateral and Regional forums including at the UNSC where both are elected to be non-permanent members in 2021, based on their strong convergence of views on many global and regional issues.  Both agreed to step up cooperation and coordination at important regional forums under the ASEAN framework.  Vietnam has supported India's bid to become a permanent member of the UNSC and APEC. Both agreed to enhance their bilateral cooperation in line with India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the ASEAN's Outlook on Indo-Pacific

India-Maldives India announced a slew of new connectivity measures for the Maldives to help the island nation deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic  It include:  An “air bubble agreement ” for travel, a direct ferry service and a submarine cable for telecom connectivity . US $500 million assistance for the Greater Male Connectivity project (GMCP) to connect Male to three neighbouring islands - Villingili, Thilafushi and Gulhifahu islands. GMCP would be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives.  US $400 million LoC comes in addition to a previous LoC of $800 million that was announced in 2018. Strategic Importance of Maldives : Maldives lies in close proximity to the west coast of India and have the potential to allow a 3rd nation’s naval presence in the area Maldives is situated at the hub of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean. More than 97% of India’s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the re