1.   

Cuba, India pledge to expand economic cooperation

Cuban First Vice President of the Council of State Miguel Diaz-Canel and visiting Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari pledged to expand economic, trade and cooperation ties between the two countries, media reports said. The two senior officials discussed international matters here Wednesday, such as their consensus on issues at international forums, and Cuba's role as current president of Community of the Latin American and Caribbean States, Xinhua cited from a press release.

2.   

India-Asean services agreement to be signed in December

The much-awaited pact on trade in services and investment between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is likely to be a reality finally by the end of next month, which will open up greater job opportunities for India’s professionals in information technology, healthcare, designing and research. India and the 10-member Asean trading bloc already have a goods agreement in place that came into force from August 2011, providing tariff-free access to a range of product lines such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering products, processed food and auto parts among others.

3.   

Goa to get Israeli expertise in farming sector

Israel, known worldwide for its expertise in agriculture, will help Goa in rejuvenating the sector and its allied segments. Officials from Israel today held parleys with Goa Government on exchange of knowledge in agriculture field so that allied segments like horticulture and floriculture could be encouraged in the coastal state. Consul General of Israel in Mumbai Jonathan Miller met Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and held discussions on providing technical-know how to the State on rejuvenating the horticulture and floriculture sectors in Goa on lines with Israel, officials said today.

4.   

World agri congress so far attracts 33 foreign, 247 Indian delegates

Only 33 foreign delegates have registered their names so far for taking part in the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) Congress to be held in the city for the first time from Monday, according to state minister for agriculture and co-patron of the event, Kanna Lakshmi Narayana. The number appears to be small considering that the WAF website states that the annual event had been attracting participation from 110 countries since 1998. The theme of the 2013 Congress is, ‘Re-shaping agriculture for sustainable future: Focus on small farmholders’.