International and Bilateral Issues

From April, foreign students from non-European Union countries will be required to have a firm job offer of a minimum £20,000 a year from a government-approved employer if they wish to stay on in Britain after completing their studies, the government announced
Under the current rules, students can work in Britain for two years after finishing their course but the government claims that the system is being abused with people using student visas to enter the country and then dropping out of their studies to look for employment.
“A more selective system” would come into effect so that “only the most talented international graduates can apply to stay in the U.K. for work purposes”.
To boost the economy, student entrepreneurs with at least “£50,000 to invest in their business” will also be allowed to stay on and work after their studies.
Businesses and universities have warned that too many restrictions would drive away international talent and ultimately hurt the economy. Non-EU students contribute nearly £8 billion to British economy every year, an estimated £6 billion in fee alone.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting European Union leaders on Tuesday that China was ready to play a bigger role in supporting debt-hit Europe, but stopped short of revealing either the scale of likely investment or how Beijing would back the proposed bailout funds.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso sought Chinese help in meetings on Tuesday, while Europe considers the creation of a €500 billion European Stability Mechanism bailout fund.
Europe is China's biggest trading partner and a key destination for China's export sector, which sustains millions of jobs. A study released this week showed that China had doubled its investment in European firms over the past year, even as investment in the United States fell.
China, however, faced a tightrope walk in calibrating its response to the euro-zone crisis. “If China does too less it is blamed, and if China does too much it is blamed, so finding the middle way will be a difficult thing to do,”
Any Chinese economic assistance “would be a purely economic decision”
He played down fears of China “buying up Europe” as overblown, pointing out that the size of the European economy was bigger than that of the U.S. China was unlikely to directly press the EU on either the arms embargo or granting market economy status, he said, which was likely to anyway be granted in 2016.

India indicated that it was ready to put in place a liberal multiple visa regime in place if Pakistan reciprocated on the issue.
India and Pakistan are holding talks not only to opening up another border trading point at the Wagah Border but also at Mona Bao in Rajasthan.
Undeterred by the Pakistan's decision to defer the issue of pruning the negative list for trade with India, Mr. Sharma said he would be discussing the issue of grant of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India as well the issue of pruning the negative list to give a fillip to trade.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has given its approval to the drafts of the three memoranda of understanding (MoU) to be signed with India at the bilateral meeting in Islamabad
The three MoUs are Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters Agreement, Bilateral Cooperation Agreement on Mutual Recognition between Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority and Bureau of Indian Standards, and Agreement on Redressal of Trade Grievances between Pakistan and India.

In a major step forward to break the deadlock over construction of the multipurpose 6000-MW Pancheshwar dam on the Sarada river (Mahakali in Nepal) on the border, New Delhi and Kathmandu will discuss the logistics of setting up a Pancheshwar Development Authority at the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources
The project is central to the bilateral treaty on Integrated Development of the Mahakali signed in 1996.
The Pancheshwar project, envisaged on the Uttarakhand-Nepal border, will bring irrigation and flood control benefits to Uttarakhand and Bihar and power to the northern grid.
The proposal is for India and Nepal to share the cost and benefits equally. However, Kathmandu wants New Delhi to take on a larger financial share.
Both will also discuss the outstanding issue of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Saptakosi High Dam in Nepal meant to bring about a permanent solution to floods in the Kosi and to stabilise the benefits from the Kosi barrage.
For India, maintenance and strengthening of the embankment of the flood-prone Gandak and Kosi rivers are also important and the issue would be discussed at the meeting.