Turkish, Russian news agencies sign cooperation deal

Turkey's Anadolu Agency and Russia's official TASS news agency have signed a cooperation deal in the Russian capital Moscow on Friday.

The agreement was signed by Anadolu Agency Chairman and Director-General Senol Kazanci and TASS Director-General Sergey Mihaylov at a ceremony at Kremlin Palace in presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip and Russian President Vladimir Putin following their face to face meeting.

The agreement covers exchange of news stories and photos.

It also aims to enable flow of fast and accurate news between the two news agencies as well as sharing of their experiences.

As part of the deal, TASS will be able to benefit from Anadolu Agency's War Journalism Program.

Turkey's oldest news corporation Anadolu Agency broadcasts in eleven languages, including Turkish, English, French, Arabic, Persian, Kurdish (two dialects), Russian, Macedonian, Bosnian (three dialects) and Albanian, which enables it to reach millions of people around the world.

AA covers the world with its correspondents in 81 countries.

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia will form joint working committee on exchange of experts

A joint working committee between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia will be formed to review the skills required by both countries in an exchange of experts initiative, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem.

This followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the governments of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia in the field of human resources and manpower which was sealed Monday.

"Today's MoU is a bit different because normally I sign matters relating to labour for the recruitment of foreign workers to work in this country.

"But today is for the exchange of experts that we have in various skills to contribute to both countries," he told reporters after representing Malaysia in signing the MoU in Seri Perdana here.

The MoU was signed jointly with Saudi Arabia's Social Development and Workers Minister Dr Ali Nassir Al Ghafies and witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Dr Ali Nassir also represented Saudi Arabia in signing the MoU in the field of scientific and educational cooperation with Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh.

Idris said the MoU was pertaining to strategic cooperation between the two countries in the exchange of lecturers, student mobility and studies being implemented in the higher education institutions of both countries.

Besides the two MoUs, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia also signed several major agreements, including on cooperation in the economic field.
Also sealed today was the MoU between the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on cooperation in news exchange.

Enhance cooperation to protect common interests

BRICS countries should enhance solidarity, cooperation and safeguard common interests as they face growing uncertainties and instabilities in international situations, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who assumes the Presidency of the five-member bloc this year.
                 

Facing growing uncertainties and instability in international affairs, BRICS countries need to enhance solidarity and safeguard common interests, Mr. Xi said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Michel Temer, official media reported.

Briefing fellow BRICS leaders about China’s blueprint for promoting cooperation among the member states during China’s presidency of the bloc this year, Mr. Xi said Beijing will host the ninth BRICS leaders’ summit in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern China’s Fujian province in September this year.

The summit will focus on four aspects, deepening pragmatic cooperation for common development, enhancing global governance to jointly counter challenges, carrying out people-to-people exchanges to consolidate public support for cooperation and promoting mechanism-building to construct broader partnership, said Mr. Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

The Shanghai-based bank headed by Indian banker K V Kamath has started disbursing loans for various green infrastructure projects in the five countries.

Mr. Xi’s letter comes ahead of US President-elect Donal Trump taking over as President later this month amid apprehensions that he would pursue hardline U.S. centric policies which Beijing avers will affect the current order of globalisation benefitting the emerging economies.

China hopes cooperation among BRICS grouping will move forward to a new level during its 9th summit, Mr. Xi said.

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.