Showing posts with label BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON. Show all posts

DTN News - MYANMAR NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Myanmar - Support Suspending Sanctions

DTN News - MYANMAR NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Myanmar - Support Suspending Sanctions

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 13, 2012: British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that he would support suspending the European Union's economic sanctions on Myanmar, which are to be reviewed by the end of the month.

Cameron spoke after meetings with the country's reform-minded president, Thein Sein, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a longtime political prisoner who was recently elected to parliament in Myanmar, a former British colony.

However, Cameron specified that he did not want to see an arms embargo on Myanmar be lifted as part of any easing of sanctions. The embargo, along with economic and political sanctions, was imposed during the repressive rule of the country's previous military government.

"We know there is still much, much more needed to be done, as the president himself has acknowledged, that there are more changes that need to be made," Cameron said at a news conference after meeting with Suu Kyi. "The right thing for the world to do is to encourage the change and to believe in the possibility of peaceful progress towards democracy."

By talking of suspending rather than lifting sanctions, Cameron was making clear the move would be a provisional one that could easily be withdrawn, if judged necessary.

DTN News - INDONESIA NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Indonesia

DTN News - INDONESIA NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Indonesia

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: Prime Minister David Cameron (C) arrives at Halim airport on April 11, 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Mr Cameron is on a five day visit to the Far East.

Cameron is in Indonesia as part of his tour to Japan and Southeast Asia, accompanied by a delegation of 40 business representatives from defence, energy, construction and other industries.

DTN News - JAPAN NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Japan Meeting With Japanese Emperor Akihito

DTN News - JAPAN NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron In Japan Meeting With Japanese Emperor Akihito

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 11, 2012: In this photo provided by Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Japanese Emperor Akihito, second left, shakes hands with British Prime Minister David Cameron during their meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Cameron is on a two-day visit to Tokyo.

David Cameron is on a four day visit to East and South East Asia, travelling with a forty strong delegation of business representatives, seeking to boost trade opportunities with the United Kingdom.

DTN News - WHITE HOUSE NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron And Samantha Cameron At White House Attending State Dinner Hosted By US President Barack Obama And First lady Michele Obama

DTN News - WHITE HOUSE NEWS: British Prime Minister David Cameron And Samantha Cameron At White House Attending State Dinner Hosted By US President Barack Obama And First lady Michele Obama

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 16, 2012: US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stand alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha Cameron, as they arrive for a State Dinner as part of an official visit on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, March 14, 2012.

 Earlier in the day, Prime Minter Cameron participated in a joint press conference with President Obama, topics included Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ripple Effect From India's Biggest Defense Deal

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ripple Effect From India's Biggest Defense Deal

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 6, 2012: First it was the United States that got annoyed, and now it is Britain's turn to ask some tough questions about its India policy. Ever since the French Rafale fighter was declared the lowest bidder in the multibillion dollar contract to provide a new generation fighter for the Indian Air Force, a debate has been raging in the United Kingdom as to what went wrong with Prime Minister David Cameron's charm offensive in wooing India.

His visit to India in 2010 was widely viewed as a highly successful. He made all the right noises in India about Pakistan and terrorism, and there was a sense that U.K.-India ties had finally turned a corner. The Cameron government has also decided to give India £1.4 billion between now and 2015, amounting to almost 1 percent of Britain's own £159 billion debt.

But when it came to the much sought-after Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract, France was the winner and the Eurofighter, produced by a consortium of four nations, including Britain's BAE systems, lost. Apparently, saying the right things and giving aid doesn't get you any influence in New Delhi!

From the very beginning, this saga has been rather interesting. Last year in April, India rejected bids by Lockheed Martin and Boeing (along with Russian and Swedish bids) for the $10 billion-plus contract for the 126 combat aircraft, despite extensive lobbying by the U.S. military-industrial complex, supported by President Barack Obama himself.

Nothing works better in New Delhi than a putdown to the U.S. — and that was quite a snub indeed! Instead, New Delhi short-listed Dassault Aviation's Rafale and the Eurofighter Consortium's Typhoon. There were extensive field trials, and technical considerations ostensibly drove the final decision. But the dismay in Washington was widespread and, to some extent, understandable given the investment that the U.S. has made in cultivating India in recent years.

The focus then shifted to the French vs. British, Rafale vs. Eurofighter rivalry in which the French came out on top. Dassault Aviation, Rafale's French manufacturer, will be entering into commercial negotiations with India over the next few months before final deals are signed. As this is a company that has been struggling to get foreign buyers, it would be keen on signing the contract more or less on Indian terms.