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New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Atal Bihari Vajpayee introduced policy corrections that reflected the end of the Cold War and the new global balance, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday and noted that the former prime minister sought a modus vivendi with China that was based as much on mutual respect as on mutual interest.

Jaishankar also said the winds of change are most apparent in the Indo-Pacific and it is there that the diplomatic creativity which Vajpayee inspires should be most strongly applied.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: Four asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats have managed to have their conviction for immigration offences revoked, with the UK's Court of Appeal acknowledging a lack of proof that they intended to illegally enter the country.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's National Debt Management Centre (NDMC) said it has completed its 125 billion riyal ($33.3 billion) borrowing plan for 2021.

Saudi Finance Minister and Chairman of the NDMC, Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, announced that 60.5 per cent of the debt raised in 2021 was from local sources while the remaining 39.5 per cent was made up of international borrowing.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Egyptian army will receive 16 IRIS-T SL medium-range air defence missile systems from the German Diehl Defence company as part of several arms deals approved by former Chancellor Angela Merkel before she left office.

On 16 December, Deutsche Welle reported that former Economy Minister Peter Altmaier had sent a letter about the deals on to Bundestag President Barbel Bas on 7 December, a day before new Chancellor Olaf Scholz was sworn in.

23 Dec 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is actively pursuing the manufacture of ballistic missiles with help from China, CNN reported today.

US intelligence agencies said satellite images prove the Saudis branched out to building rather than buying weapons from China.

The worry is that the initiative could cause Iran, the arch-rival of Saudi Arabia, to refuse pressure to stop pursuing its nuclear and missile programmes – an initiative backed by the US, EU, Israel and other countries in the Middle East.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: European negotiators in talks to salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers presented no "new practical initiatives" and were not constructive in the last round that paused on Dec. 17, the Iranian foreign minister said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The negotiations will resume on Dec. 27, Russia and the European Union's foreign service said earlier on Thursday, a day after the US national security adviser warned the troubled talks with Iran could be exhausted within weeks.

23 Dec 2021; MEMO: Iran's foreign minister on Thursday announced Tehran's readiness to take part in the next round of tension-easing talks with Saudi Arabia brokered by Iraq, Anadolu Agency reported.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Tehran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran presented "a set of practical proposals" to Riyadh, which were viewed "positively" by the Saudi authorities, paving the way for the next round of talks in Baghdad.

24 Dec 2021; MEMO: A member of Finland's parliament has introduced a proposed legislation which seeks to ban the import of goods originating from territories under Israeli occupation.

23 Dec 2021; MEMO: Morocco's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the kingdom is considering resuming bilateral cooperation and normal diplomatic representation with Germany after positive statements and constructive stances recently expressed by the new German government, Reuters reports.

It added on Twitter that "Morocco hopes that these statements will be backed up by actions to reflect a new state of mind and mark a new beginning in the relationship based on clarity and mutual respect".

21 Dec 2021; MEMO: Three Israeli weapons manufacturers have been indicted for selling arms to China without a permit in what is the latest example of the rogue behaviour of Israeli companies in the defence and security industry. The three were found to have exported cruise missiles to Beijing.