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‘Himalayan Quad’: is China about to start its own security bloc with Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan? China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a video conference with his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal in July 2020. Photo: Xinhua
One of the most notable measures taken by Washington and its allies in response to China s rise and the threat it poses to the liberal international order has been the development of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad .
China sees the grouping, which brings together Japan, India, Australia and the US, as part of the latter s policy of encirclement - leading analysts to ask if Beijing might eventually seek to set up a rival bloc, focused not only on security, but other global challenges such as counterterrorism and climate change.
Avik Ghosh: A Life Devoted to Developing Communication Technologies for Social Change thewire.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thewire.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
April 18, 2021
DOHA (AFP) – Qatar is in talks with coronavirus vaccine makers to ensure all fans attending the 2022 World Cup in the country have been vaccinated, the Foreign Minister said on Friday.
The nation is facing a resurgence of virus cases and deaths despite progress in its mass vaccination programme, forcing authorities to impose a nationwide lockdown.
“We have been negotiating and talking to the vaccination providers on how we can make sure that everyone attending the World Cup is vaccinated,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.
“Right now there are programs under development to provide vaccination to the attendees of the World Cup,” he added during the Raisina Dialogue, a virtual event hosted by the Observer Research Foundation.
Qatar is ready to demonstrate for the world that we can host such an event and we can have it hopefully, in person and this is our plan actually from the beginning. Since that time, we have been discussing and negotiating with the vaccination providers on how we can make sure that everyone attending the World Cup is vaccinated, he said during the conference.
The Deputy Prime Minister went on to state that the plan was to vaccinate every person attending the 2022 World Cup. Right now, there are programmes under development to provide vaccines for all the attendees of the World Cup. We will be able to, hopefully, host a Covid-free event, he added.
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On the second-last day of the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier summit on geopolitics, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott welcomed India’s “increasingly active role” in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.
“We welcome your leadership PM Modi, we welcome India’s leadership and engagement, whether it’s on the outstanding vaccines that are necessary and the ‘Maitree’ campaign that you have engaged in, which has seen over 64 million Indian-made vaccines shipped to more than 80 countries,” Mr Morrison said.
Highlights:
Raisina Dialogue is India s flagship programme on geopolitics and geo-economics
Mr Morrison raised concerns about territorial claims, foreign interference in Indo-Pacific