1.   

PM Manmohan Singh leaves on four-day visit to Brunei, Indonesia

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday left on a four-day visit to Brunei and Indonesia during which he will attend ASEAN summit and hold talks on crucial bilateral and regional issues, including ways to enhance economic cooperation. Ahead of his departure, Singh said his visits "will further intensify our engagement with East, which has been at the forefront of our foreign policy, and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia Pacific".

2.   

Chidambaram to begin US visit, to woo investors

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will be on a week's visit to the US beginning Wednesday to woo foreign investors and attend the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to a finance ministry statement in New Delhi, Chidambaram will attend annual plenary meetings of the IMF and the World Bank on Oct 11 and 12. Besides, Chidambaram will also participate in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ meeting, G-24 ministerial meeting and G-20 finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ meeting during his stay in Washington Oct 9-12.

3.   

India to firm up strategic partnership with Australia

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet the new Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott during his trip to Brunei this week during which a nuclear deal and negotiations on a free trade agreement are expected to figure. The two countries are also looking to firm up a blueprint for future engagement. Manmohan Singh will hold bilateral meetings, including with the Australian leader, on the sidelines of the India-ASEAN and the East Asia Summit Oct 9-10.

4.   

We are for trade-facilitation pact: India to WTO

A deal on further easing of global trade through tariff cuts and liberalisation of services trade may be off the WTO agenda because of the global economic crisis and the resultant protectionist tendencies in the West and elsewhere, but the new director-general of the multilateral trade body has got a shot in the arm as New Delhi on Monday said it was "in favour" of a trade facilitation agreement (TFA).