Official visit of Prime Minister of Qatar to India

At the invitation of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the State of Qatar undertook an official visit to India from 2-3 December, 2016.
               

HE the Prime Minister of Qatar was accompanied by senior Ministers, including Finance, Transport & Communication and Municipality & Environment, apart from the CEOs of Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Qatar Airways as also Deputy CEO of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and several key captains of Industry.

The visit is significant as it comes in the context of efforts to review progress made on key tracks of the bilateral relationship to build on the agreements reached during the visit of the Prime Minister of India, Sh Narendra Modi, to Qatar on 4-5 June 2016.

The two Prime Ministers had a delegation level meeting followed by a working lunch. During the talks, the two Prime Ministers reviewed the state of bilateral relations and exchanged views on ways and means to further expand and consolidate the close, multi-faceted relationship between the two countries, underpinned by age-old trade and people-to-people contacts.

The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the close ties of friendship and understanding between India and Qatar and reiterated their resolve to further strengthen cooperation in all fields.

They emphasised that all existing bilateral institutional mechanisms be convened regularly and steps be taken to push forward the bilateral agenda in an effective manner.

Three Agreements/MOUs were signed, including the Agreement for Exemption of Visa Requirement for Holders of Diplomatic, Special and Official Passport Holders, and MOUs on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber Crime; and between the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy of Qatar and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in addition to a Letter of Intent for e-visas for tourists and businessmen. Separately, an MoU between Qatar Ports Management Company ("Mwani Qatar”) and Indian Ports Global Private Limited was concluded.

Croatia and Ukraine Expanding Business Cooperation

Croatian-Ukrainian economic forum will help Croatian companies enter the market of 45 million consumers.

Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia and head of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivica Pirić will organize by the end of the year the Croatian-Ukrainian business forum in Kiev, which he expects will be opened by Croatian and Ukrainian prime ministers, reports Lider on November 1, 2016.

Forum will mainly be devoted to food processing and production, as well as to the opportunities to increase trade with this huge market. Pirić expects that about 25 to 30 leading Croatian companies from these sectors will participate in the forum. The forum will also be an opportunity for Croatian companies to present their products. Pirić notes that there are almost no Croatian products sold in Ukraine, with the exception of Podravka.

Until Croatia entered the European Union, every week several charters from Ukraine arrived to Croatian coast. The number of tourists from Ukraine could again increase, especially now since visa requirement should soon be abolished by the European Union.

Pirić claims there is great interest in investments from Ukraine, but many companies and businessmen unfortunately do not have very good experience with Croatia, due to many barriers, especially bureaucratic ones. “I am sure that the entry of our companies and products to the Ukrainian market can be a good springboard for opening the door for Croatian products in other countries which are close to Ukraine”, concludes Pirić.

Overcoming Price Suspicion in Negotiations

Use opportunities to prove your fairness during negotiation.

As individuals we frequently find ourselves in negotiation settings. Customers in many countries wouldn’t consider negotiating over price in a department store or a supermarket, yet they may at a farmer’s market, when buying a new or used car or a buying property. Such transactions are straightforward, in that finding strong legitimacy for such prices is fairly easy (price comparison is easily available online, for example), and subjective in that the transaction normally has an emotional component since it may involve personal desires and intangible preferences.

The stakes are much higher in business transactions, with more complexity, fewer customers and higher transaction values. Business negotiators are usually more sophisticated, know the market and may have strong purchasing power. On both sides, budget, key performance indicators and reputations play a big role in influencing decisions.

Reputation matters

There are two ways to diffuse this suspicion. The first is reputation. According to research, a seller’s good reputation has shown to generate goodwill and decrease PPU, softening the buyer’s response to the seller. A seller would do well, therefore, to build a good reputation ahead of the negotiation but if they’re meeting the buyer for the first time or if the company is a new entrant, the seller could use opportunities in the negotiation to build reputation. In a business setting, WTP is a bigger factor than in a consumer setting, but that doesn’t mean lowering the price is always a good idea. This could put a seller on the back foot, making them seem desperate or cavalier.

Canada's nuclear regulator signs memorandum of understanding with China

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) of the People’s Republic of China, to cooperate and exchange nuclear safety regulatory information about the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
               

CNSC President Michael Binder signed the MOU in Ottawa. The MOU entered into effect recently when it was signed in Beijing by Li Ganjie, the NNSA Administrator.

CNSC Executive Vice-President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer Ramzi Jammal witnessed the signing in China.

The MOU provides a framework for the CNSC, as Canada’s national nuclear regulator, and the NNSA, as China’s regulator of nuclear safety, to exchange technical information about topics such as the regulation of nuclear facilities and radioactive sources, and radiation protection. The MOU provides clear guidance about the organization of cooperative activities and responsibilities for the security of information exchanged.

The CNSC establishes and maintains regulatory cooperation arrangements with its international counterparts to share information and best practices, with a view of further enhancing nuclear safety and security in Canada and abroad.

Kerry, Lavrov talks to try to finalize details of cooperation on Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will try to hammer out final details of a cooperation agreement on fighting Islamic State in Syria during talks in Geneva on Friday.

The hope is that a deal will lead to a cessation of hostilities across Syria and relaunch talks on a political transition in the country.

While Kerry said this week that technical teams from both sides were close to the end of their discussions, U.S. officials indicated it was too early to say whether a deal was likely.

When Kerry launched the Syrian cooperation talks in July on a visit to Moscow, the proposal involved Washington and Moscow sharing intelligence to coordinate air strikes against Islamic State and grounding the Syrian air force to stop it from attacking moderate rebel groups.

Russia agreed to a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo to allow aid deliveries, although U.N. officials said they were waiting for security guarantees from parties on the ground.

The United Nations has pushed for a weekly pause in the fighting in Aleppo to deliver food, water and medicine to people caught in the fighting.

Separately, Syrian rebels and government forces agreed in a deal on Thursday to evacuate all residents and insurgents from the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, ending one of the longest standoffs in the five-year conflict.