PM Modi meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in Russia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and the two leaders pledged to deepen the robust bilateral ties in a number of areas, including in economic and defence sectors.

Modi, who arrived in Russia on a two-day visit, is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit to the Russian Far East Region.

The meeting between PM Modi and Abe comes after they met at the G-20 Summit in Osaka in Japan and on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz in France.

“Continuous engagement for concrete bilateral ties. Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi meet in Vladivostok,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet.

“A global partnership reinforced by robust bilateral ties. PM Narendra Modi met with PM Shinzo Abe on the margins of 5th EEF in Vladivostok. Discussed deepening multi-faceted ties in economic, defense and security, start-up and 5G areas and exchanged views on regional situation,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

Following his meeting with Abe, Modi will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir bin Mohamad and President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

Modi arrived in Russia on Wednesday to participate in the 20th India-Russia annual summit and the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). On his arrival, Modi received a guard of honour at Vladivostok International Airport.

The forum focuses on development of business and investment opportunities in the Russian Far East Region, and presents enormous potential for developing close and mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Russia in the region.

Rupee rises 27 paise against USD in early trade

The rupee appreciated by 27 paise to 71.85 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday as gains in domestic equity market enthused investors.

At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 71.87, then gained further ground and touched a high of 71.85, registering a rise of 27 paise over its previous close.

Rupee had settled at 72.12 against the US dollar on Wednesday.

The domestic unit however could not hold on to the gains and was trading at 71.93 against the dollar at 0955 hrs.

Forex traders said higher opening in domestic equities supported the rupee.

Domestic bourses opened on a positive note on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 119.07 points higher at 36,843.81 and Nifty up 40.95 points at 10,885.60.

Market participants, however, said sustained foreign fund outflows and rising crude prices weighed on local currency.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, pulling out 1,738.49 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.07 per cent to trade at USD 60.74 per barrel.

Moreover, strengthening of the American currency vis-a-vis other currencies overseas also dragged the rupee down.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 98.48.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.58 per cent in morning trade.

(Source – Hindustan Times)

shivam