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Description: US President Donald Trump and Philippine’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in the White House where they concluded a bilateral trade agreement between their countries. The Philippines agreed towards a symbolic decrease from 20% of levies on exports to the US to 19%, which was considered extremely favorable for the US, while putting the Philippines in an unfavorable position regarding bilateral trade with the US. The Philippines are considered one of the staunchest US allies in the Indo – Pacific as they share more than 70 years of strategic partnership with the US mostly concentrated on defense cooperation. Ferdinand downplayed his country’s unfavorable trade
Description: Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, reportedly plans on investing up to $8 billion in the development of 17 crude oil refineries on the US market as part of the bilateral trade agreement concluded last week. The contract would be signed with the US engineering firm KBR Inc. as Indonesia looks to deliver on its trade deal provisions with the US where the country so far pledged to invest in the dominant US industries such as oil, aerospace and technology. With the new development, the bilateral trade potential between the US and Indonesia could reach $34 billion with the state – owned energy company Pertamina also considering large scale investments in U
Description: Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the country’s Army have begun expanding the civil war frontlines towards the oil – rich region of Kordofan. The region is located in the central parts of Sudan and has become the centerpiece in the renewed offensive launched by the Sudanese Army due to it’s vast oil deposits and pipelines crucial to the country’s energy supply. Fighting in Kordofan began last week in the western villages of Al Fula and Abu Zabad where more than 300 people were killed in the week – long clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army. Recent expansions of the frontlines indicates that the Army would attempt to assume control of the region push
Description: Four pro – Russian parties have announced the political unification into a joint bloc in order to pursue the reestablishment of relations between Moldova and Russia. The bloc of parties would be comprised of the Party of Socialists, the Heart of Moldova and Future of Moldova political parties as well as the Moldovan Communist party. The leader of the Party of Socialists, Igor Dondon, announced the political alliance stating the incumbent ruler Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity must be derailed from their pro – EU initiative which allegedly threatened the country’s national interests. Moldova’s Central Election Commission (CEC) previously blocked
Description: US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, announced a planned trade meeting between Chinese and US trade representatives to take place in Stockholm next week. Bessent said the meeting would be used to ease trade tensions and potentially agree towards continuation of the tariff deadline which would effectively enlarge the negotiating period. The Treasury Secretary also stated that the US wanted to distance China from its export and manufacturing driven economy and reach a potential consensus on making it more consumer – based in order to surmount the alleged bilateral trade deficit. The announcement arrives as the US concluded trade deals with Vietnam, Indonesia, the
Description: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghei, stated that Iran held talks with China and Russia on its disputed nuclear program and scheduled a meeting with foreign representatives from the E3 Group of countries. Baghei highlighted that China and Russia remained adamant in resolving the dispute with Iran’s nuclear program through dialogue and diplomacy and their support in the matter was unequivocal. The negotiations with France, the UK and Germany were scheduled to be held on Friday, 25 Jul in Istanbul amid threats from the European group of countries to reimpose the so – called snapback sanctions mechanism which is a provision of the 2015 JCPOA (Joint c
Description: Israeli ground forces, following an evacuation warning issued on 20 Jul, have entered the city of Deir al – Balah in the central region of the Gaza Strip. Tanks and soldiers conducted raids on buildings and other infrastructure where according to the official statement from the IDF, the country’s military was dismantling terrorist infrastructure and had previous knowledge that some of the hostages were held in those locations. Humanitarian organizations in Gaza reported the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation which is caused by the Israeli blockade on the entering of aid into the enclave. UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has s
Description: The ceasefire between the Druze and the Bedouin militants remained in place with divisions, disputes and tensions remaining high. Syria’s government forces encircled the perimeter of the city of Al Suweyda as they controlled the evacuation by the Bedouin fighters and the influx of humanitarian aid. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated that a large-scale humanitarian crisis was unfolding in the city as many residents were left with no food or water supplies, limited communication capacities and destroyed infrastructure. SOHR also reported updated casualty numbers from the week – long sectarian clashes and stated that up to 1,120 people have been
Description: China’s Premier Li Qiang announced the start of the project Motuo Hydropower Station, where China would construct the world’s largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in the autonomous region of Tibet. The project, costing $170 billion, has been hailed as the sustainable energy initiative of the century, by the Chinese Premier, however, serious concerns have been raised by India and Bangladesh which would be severely affected by the damming of the river which flows southward into their territory. India and Bangladesh have separately protested the development of the project, stating irrigation concerns, impact on the biodiverse environment and even the
Description: South Korea’s Unification Ministry has announced it was reconsidering options of reconciliating ties with North Korea as per the President’s foreign policy agenda. Lee Jae – Myung, as part of his presidential campaign pledged to improve bilateral relations with North Korea which so far has been comprised of suspending the anti – North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts and leaflet campaigns criticizing the North’s leadership. Tourism has also emerged as a potential venue for cooperation, as South Korea was reportedly considering developing traveling tours to the North, which has recently announced the opening of a beach resort still restricted to foreigners. The count