U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo co-hosted the Supply Chain Ministerial Forum virtually on July 19-20. A partnership was formed of 18 economies: the U.S. EU, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Congo, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Spain and the U.K....
Germany Approves Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN for Travel
German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, Walter J Lindner, announced that the government of Germany recognized WHO-listed Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine, COVAXIN, for travel to the country starting June 1. In November last year the World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing for Covaxin, adding to a growing portfolio...
Biden Launches the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
On May 23 during President Biden's first Asia tour, he revealed Washington’s long-awaited Asia-Pacific economic strategy: the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). "The future of the 21st century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific — in our region," the President said. Along with a dozen...
Rakuten to Double India Engineer Head Count
Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company Rakuten, based in Tokyo, plans to double its workforce in India to 2,000 within two years at its Bangalore-based unit, Rakuten India Enterprise. Despite the company's online shopping platform not being available in India, the algorithms that power the $37 billion business in...
Developing Supply Chain Alternatives to China
Australia and Japan have allied with India to nurture alternatives to China in the global supply chain. China is not mentioned in the news release, but is the main reason that this initiative exists. Dan Tehan, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment, Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister for Commerce and...
Americans Generally Warm Toward India
As Americans eye the Asia-Pacific region, they see a mix of friends and some foes, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in February. Asked to rate their feelings toward four countries in the region on a "feeling thermometer," where a 0 indicates the coldest and most negative...