Sushma begins bilateral interactions at UN, meets Nepal Foreign Minister
United Nations, Sep 24 : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj began her hectic round of bilateral interactions on the sidelines of the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday meeting the Foreign Ministers of Nepal, Morocco and Lichtenstein.
Although it was not a formal meeting, she greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she came to the UN, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj and members of the Indian mission began the day by paying respects to the Indian flag at the UN before her scheduled participation in the High-Level Event on Counter-Narcotics convened by US President Donald Trump.
Sushma Swaraj and Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, the Foreign Minister of "close neighbour" Nepal, "took stock of our bilateral relationship" at their meeting, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
She also held a bilateral meeting with Federica Mogherini, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
They "discussed issues related to trade and investment and exchanged views on the regional and global issues", Kumar said in a tweet.
He noted that India and the EU were bound by a "strategic partnership based on common values of democracy, freedom and rule of law.
"Celebrating 25th anniversary of our diplomatic relations" Sushma Swaraj and Lichtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick "exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations in trade and investment, particularly through participation at Indian trade fairs and tourism," Kumar tweeted.
On relations with Morocco, he noted that they stretched back to the time of Ibn Battuta, the 14th century explorer, and tweeted that Sushma Swaraj and "Morocco Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita discussed strengthening cooperation in areas of commerce, pharma, cyber security, defence and culture".
Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to speak in the afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit honouring the birth centenary of the South African freedom fighter and president.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, her hectic schedule is expected to include a total of 30 one-on-one meetings with about 30 leaders and participation in several multilateral meetings, according to Dinesh K. Patnaik, the Joint Secretary, United Nations Political.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
