25 NOVEMBER 2015

Ø  Turkish fighter jets on patrol near the Syrian border on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey said had violated its airspace, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ordered the Foreign Ministry to consult with NATO and the United Nations over this episode, his office said in a statement, without elaborating. NATO announced that it would hold an emergency meeting in Brussels later on Tuesday to discuss the episode. In his first remarks on the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that an F-16 Turkish fighter jet had shot down the Sukhoi Su-24 with an air-to-air missile. But he insisted that the Russian jet had been in Syrian airspace at the time and had never threatened Turkey’s territory. Mr. Putin, speaking slowly and clearly angry before a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Sochi, Russia, said the episode would have “serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations”, but did not elaborate. He called the shooting down of the Russian jet a “stab in the back” by those who “abet” terrorism, and he accused Turkey of aiding the Islamic State by helping it sell its oil.

Ø  India and Singapore signed a joint declaration envisaging a “Strategic Partnership,” which, besides broadening engagement in existing areas of cooperation, aims to catalyse new ones ranging from political, defence and security cooperation to economic, cultural and people-to-people contacts. Besides the partnership declaration — a framework to contribute to greater regional stability and growth — the two countries signed as many as 10 bilateral agreements. Later, addressing the India-Singapore Economic Convention, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his visit had been very productive and positive. The agreements included defence cooperation which provided for establishment of a regular Defence Ministers’ dialogue, joint exercises between the armed forces and cooperation between defence industries to identify areas of co-production and co-development.  Memoranda of understanding were signed for curtailing drug trafficking and improving cybersecurity, enabling Singapore and India to collaborate on technology and research. Mr. Wadhwa said India had sought Singapore’s expertise in skills development, development of tourism, particularly the Buddhist circuit and smart cities. In this connection, India was looking at the northeast for setting up a skill development institute by Singapore. He said financial issues had also come up during the discussions. Issue of rupee bonds and fund raising for infrastructure development, especially for the development of Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, were discussed. It was agreed upon to open up at least 100 railway stations for redevelopment. Mr. Wadhwa said there was also a possibility for allowing foreign investments to acquire a limited percentage of equity shares of Navaratna companies. The Prime Minister was stated to have invited his Singapore counterpart to visit Gujarat. Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi was accorded a ceremonial reception when he called on Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Apart from having a breakfast meeting with prominent citizens of Singapore, Mr. Modi witnessed the release of two stamps by the Singapore postal department. He presented “an old and very rare” map of Singapore to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Ø  India has decided to start selling Rupee Bonds “in some countries” to provide long-term finance for infrastructure development in the country. This will be in addition to the setting up of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and introduction of the tax-free Infrastructure Bonds. Disclosing this at the India-Singapore Economic Convention in Singapore on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Singapore could be among the countries where the Rupee Bonds would be offered.