World

September 22,2021Islamabad (ISPR)Trilateral Exercise Three Brothers - 2021 culminated at Baku, Azerbaijan. Special forces of Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan participated in the exercise.The two weeks long exercise was focused on the capability to counter regional terrorism threats in a hybrid scenario, fostering combined force interoperability, joint force integration and enhance capabilities in amphibious operations.The chief guest of final exercise was Azerbaijan Minister of Defence Zakir Hasanov. Also in attendance were Services Chief of Azerbaijan, Commander of Special Forces Azerbaijan, GeneralHikmat Mirzayev along with observers from Kazakhstan and Major General Mumtaz Hussain From Pakistan. The august gathering witnessed final phase...

September 22, 2021 at 5:43 pm | Economic Affairs

September 22,2021New York (Press Release)Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva of Portugal in New York on the margins of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Views were exchanged on bilateral, regional and international developments as well as on cooperation between the two countries at the UN. The Foreign Minister underscored Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen its engagement with Portugal, especially in economic and trade spheres. The Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction at the Parliamentary Friendship Groups that have been established in the respective Parliaments and called for the need to fully activate them for enhanced cooperation and people-to-...

September 22, 2021 at 10:01 am | Economic Affairs

September 22,2021Vienna (Press Release)Pakistan and Nigeria held a bilateral meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the 65th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), currently taking place in Vienna. Pakistan’s delegation was led by Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Muhammad Naeem. The Nigerian side was led by Ambassador Suleiman Dauda Umar, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative in Vienna. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher, also participated in the meeting. Pakistan and Nigeria have ongoing collaboration within the framework of an MoU on nuclear regulatory functions and many Nigerian experts have undergon...

September 22, 2021 at 9:59 am | Economic Affairs

September 22,2021Vienna (Press Release)Pakistan and Belarus held a bilateral meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the 65th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), currently taking place in Vienna. Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Mr. Muhammad Naeem led the Pakistani delegation. The Belarus side was led by Belarusian Minister for Energy Mr. Victor Karankevich. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher, also participated in the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to explore possibilites of collaboration between the two countries in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the areas of health, agriculture and in...

September 22, 2021 at 9:43 am | Economic Affairs

September 21, 2021New York ( Press Release)U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called on Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York today. They discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan and the continued need for an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan. The Foreign Minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for a broad based and stable government in Afghanistan, which can be a credible development and security partner for the international community. He expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and hoped that international community would support the Afghan people in order to prevent further instability in the region. The For...

September 22, 2021 at 9:40 am | Economic Affairs

AgenciesPARIS, 22 Sep : OECD warned of an “uneven” global economic recovery as it lowered its 2021 growth forecasts for the world and the United States while raising the outlook for Europe.The world economy has bounced back this year on the back of stimulus measures, the rollout of effective Covid vaccines and the resumption of many economic activities, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.But the Paris-based organisation voiced concerns about lower vaccination rates in poorer countries.“The recovery remains very uneven, with strikingly different outcomes across countries,” the OECD said in its interim economic outlook.Global gross domestic product has surpassed its pre-pandemic level following las...

September 22, 2021 at 9:37 am | Economic Affairs

September 21, 2021New York ( Press Release) Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, met with His Excellency President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Mr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on Monday, 20 September 2021, on the sidelines of the meetings of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The two sides discussed aspects of enhancing cooperation between the OIC and the Republic of Guyana, an OIC Member State, and activating its role within the framework of joint Islamic action. The meeting discussed ways to support Guyana in many fields within the context of Islamic solidarity.

September 21, 2021 at 11:07 pm | Economic Affairs

Agencies 21 Sep 2021Copper prices were trading near a one-month low Tuesday following a debt crisis at China developer Evergrande Group spurred a sell-off across markets and stoked worries over global demand.Global stock markets grappled with contagion fears, sparked by troubles at ChinaThree-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.3% to $9,063 a tonne by 0337 GMT, but was hovering near its lowest level since Aug. 20 hit in the previous session of $8,975 a tonne. The contract lost 4.8% so far this month.Evergrande as growing risks the property giant could default on its massive debt pile prompted investors to flee riskier assets.Chinese markets are closed for a holiday and will reopen on Wednesday.FundamentalsThe global world ...

September 21, 2021 at 2:39 pm | Economic Affairs

Agencies Dollar stood tall, yuan under pressure for growing Evergrande risksAgencies21 Sep— The safe-haven dollar and yen stood tall against offshore yuan that wallowed near an almost one-month low Tuesday while investors sought shelter from a potential China Evergrande default.New Zealand dollar also sank after the central bank's assistant governor poured cold water on bets for a 50 basis point rate hike next month.Yuan stood at 6.4805 per dollar after weakening as far as 6.4879 Monday for the first time since Aug. 23. Mainland markets are shut for holidays until Wednesday."It feels like the market was waiting on something from the Chinese authorities over the weekend to calm the markets and ringfence the contagion worries from a loomin...

September 21, 2021 at 1:07 pm | Economic Affairs

AFP 21 Sep 2021 UNITED NATIONS: President Joe Biden will tell the world Tuesday that the United States wants to avoid a Cold War with China, while pivoting from continuous post-9/11 conflicts to an era of US-led diplomacy.Biden's first speech as US president to the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York faces a tough reception.He has spent his presidency branding countries like China and Russia as the opposing side in a generational, global struggle between autocrats and democracies.Close ally France is also furious at what it calls backstabbing by Washington in a defense pact that will see Australia acquire US nuclear submarine technology, while ditching previous plans for FrenchThrow in the hangover from the traumatic Afghani...

September 21, 2021 at 1:04 pm | Economic Affairs

Agencies —21 Sep.Spot gold sliped 0.1% to $1,762.08 per ounce by 0340 GMT Tuesday, as cautious investors braced for the US Federal Reserve's guidance for tapering and interest rate hikes, while risk-off sentiment stoked by China Evergrande's debt woes limited declines in the safe-haven metal.Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,762.08 per ounce by 0340 GMT. Prices recovered from a more than one-month low of $1,741.86 on Monday as concerns over the fallout from property developer Evergrande's solvency issues spooked stock markets worldwide and drove investors to safe-haven assets.US gold futures were flat at $1,763.70.Bullion is considered as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement likely to result from the widespread stimulus. A hawkis...

September 21, 2021 at 1:00 pm | Economic Affairs

Agencies. 20 Sep.Most stock markets in Gulf region kneeled down on Monday early trade, replicating weakness in Asian shares and oil prices, with Dubai leading declines.Oil dropped more than $1 a barrel to below $75 on Monday as rising risk aversion weighed on stock markets and boosted the US dollar, while more US Gulf oil output came back online in the wake of two hurricanes.Asian shares skidded ahead of a week packed with global central bank meetings, with Evergrande's troubles adding to growing concerns about the health of China's economy after Beijing's recent crackdown on tech firms had haunted the region.Oil prices extended losses from the previous session after energy companies in the US Gulf of Mexico resumed production after back-t...

September 20, 2021 at 5:14 pm | Economic Affairs

Agencies — 20 SepBEIJING/SINGAPORE: Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, kept its ranking as China's top crude supplier for a ninth straight month in August as major producers relaxed production cuts.Saudi oil arrivals surged 53% from a year earlier to 8.06 million tonnes, or 1.96 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.That compares with 1.58 million bpd in July and 1.24 million bpd in August last year.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, decided in July to ease production cuts and increase supply by a further 2 million bpd, adding 0.4 million bpd a month from August until December. In July, OPEC output increased by...

September 20, 2021 at 2:14 pm | Economic Affairs

SINGAPORE: Spot gold may test a support at $1,743 per ounce, a break below which could cause a fall into the $1,724-$1,736 range.The fall from the Sept. 3 high of $1,833.80 adopted a five-wave mode.The metal is riding on a powerful wave (3), which is likely to extend to $1,724.The bounce from the Sept. 8 low of $1,781.30 has been almost reversed. The reversal signals a continuation of the wave (3).Earlier, Gold prices hit a more than five-week low on Monday, as the dollar firmed with markets closely watching a US Federal Reserve meeting for clues on when the central bank will start tapering its pandemic-era stimulus.Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,748.13 per ounce by 0500 GMT, having earlier touched its lowest level since Aug. 12 at $1,741.86.US...

September 20, 2021 at 12:49 pm | Economic Affairs

Thinned trade by holidays in Japan, China and South Korea, the euro fell 0.1% to $1.1710, its lowest since late AugustReuters 20 SepSINGAPORE: The dollar rallied to a month-high in Asia on Monday as looming catastrophe at indebted developer China Evergrande added extra nerves to a cautious mood, with investors bracing for the Federal Reserve to take another step towards tapering this week.In trade thinned by holidays in Japan, China and South Korea, the euro fell 0.1% to $1.1710, its lowest since late August.The Australian dollar fell 0.5% to a three-week low of $0.7227 while sterling and the kiwi also hit multi-week troughs on the rising greenback. The dollar index rose 0.1% to 93.356, its highest since Aug. 23."The US dollar is having a ...

September 20, 2021 at 12:46 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses on Monday, hovering near an 18-day low touched in the previous session, as prices were pressured by a sell-off in rival edible oils due to a rapid progress in the U.S harvest season.The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 77 ringgit, or 1.81%, to 4,184 ringgit ($999.04) a tonne during early trade.Earlier in the session, the contract tumbled up to 5.37%.Fundamentals The market is awaiting the Sept. 1-20 export data by cargo surveyors due later in the day.Favorable weather over the weekend boosted US harvest, while exports remain capped by terminals on the US Gulf Coast that continue to struggle with power outages...

September 20, 2021 at 12:38 pm | Economic Affairs