Recent 6 months news in Agreements

Saudi Arabia has officially joined the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), becoming the 26th member nation to ratify the treaty-based global alliance. With this accession, the IBCA now comprises 26 member countries and 5 observer nations.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal visited Canada to facilitate an economic reset and accelerate free trade negotiations. He led the largest-ever Indian business delegation to the country to fast-track the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Both nations aim to finalize a balanced CEPA by the end of 2026. India and Canada have set a target to scale bilateral trade from $8.5 billion to $50 billion by 2030. During his visit, he held bilateral engagements in Ottawa, including a meeting with Canadian PM Mark Carney.

India has signed a bilateral accession protocol with Ethiopia in Geneva, Switzerland, to facilitate the latter’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

It is to be noted that India supports the accession of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing nations to the WTO to promote inclusive growth and South-South cooperation. The agreement was fast-tracked under the guidance of Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

The Ayush Export Promotion Council (AYUSHEXCIL) has signed an MoU with the Spices Board of India to strengthen the traditional wellness and natural products sector in India.

The partnership focuses on export promotion, quality assurance, innovation, branding, and international market development for Ayush, medicinal spice, nutraceutical, and Ayurvedic products.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) has signed an MoU with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to launch the “BHASHINI Seva/Sanchalan - A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program”.

The initiative aims to enhance multilingual digital capabilities across the industry and internal trade ecosystem in India by leveraging the BHASHINI platform, which serves as the National Language Digital Public Infrastructure of the country.

The Gujarat government has signed an MoU with Meta Platforms Inc to launch a WhatsApp chatbot under the ‘Sugam Digital’ initiative.

The 2-year collaboration aims to enhance e-governance in the state by implementing AI driven public services, accessibility projects, and digital skilling programmes. Through this chatbot, citizens can access around 20 public services from 5 departments in both Gujarati and English.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, visited India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. He held bilateral discussions with PM Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

During his visit to Mumbai, President Christodoulides participated in the traditional bell-ringing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) and attended the Cyprus-India Business Forum. Both countries signed 6 MoUs across various sectors and made 8 major announcements to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

India and the USA have signed a framework titled “Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths” to secure the supply, mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi. The US government is allocating over $30 billion through investments, loans, and public–private partnerships to strengthen critical mineral supply chains.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has signed a strategic partnership with the Japan-based Fourth Valley Concierge Corporation (FVCC) to enhance workforce mobility for Indian professionals seeking employment in Japan.

The partnership will utilize the NSDC Trust’s “Credibility Check” framework to establish a transparent verification system for these professionals.

PM Narendra Modi visited Italy at the invitation of Giorgia Meloni, the PM of Italy. During their bilateral meeting in Rome, the leaders reviewed the progress of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029.

The visit resulted in the adoption of a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) and a Defence Industrial Roadmap. Both nations also declared 2027 as the Year of Culture and Tourism and signed 10 MoUs across various sectors.

The Birla Institute of Technology Mesra (BIT Mesra) has signed an MoU with the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), which functions under the Department of Space (DoS) and the North Eastern Council (NEC).

The MoU is valid for 5 years and aims to strengthen cooperation in the fields of geospatial technologies, Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI), remote sensing, and higher education.

Vinod Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Ladakh, has approved a 5-year extension of the MoU with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the development of the first geothermal power project in India.

Under the agreement, the ONGC will construct a 1 MWe pilot geothermal power plant in the Puga Valley of eastern Ladakh, at an altitude of over 14,000 ft.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh visited Vietnam to operationalise the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (ECSP). During his visit, he held ministerial-level discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, General Phan Van Giang, and met with the President of Vietnam, To Lam.

He announced that India is committed to establishing an AI laboratory at the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang. Additionally, he visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on the 136th birth anniversary of the leader.

The Department of Posts has signed an agreement with Flipkart India to strengthen the e-commerce logistics ecosystem in India.

The partnership aims to enhance the efficiency of parcel delivery across urban, semi-urban, rural, and remote regions of the country.

PM Narendra Modi has visited Sweden at the invitation of the PM of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson. The visit transitioned the bilateral relations into a formal “Strategic Partnership” and adopted the “Joint Action Plan (2026-2030)”.

Building on a record $7.75 billion bilateral trade volume achieved in 2025, both nations agreed to double their trade over the next 5 years. During his address to the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) in Gothenburg, PM Modi highlighted that India has followed a “12-year trajectory of reforms, performance, and transformation”.

The “India-Sweden Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Start-up Platform” was initiated. The leaders also endorsed the “India-Sweden Technology and Artificial Intelligence Corridor (SITAC)”. Additionally, a virtual “India-Sweden Joint Science and Technology Centre (ISJSTC)” was launched to strengthen bilateral scientific cooperation.

In the field of space exploration, Sweden announced its participation in the Venus Orbiter Mission (“Shukrayaan”) of India, with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics supplying the advanced Venusian Neutrals Analyzer to fly aboard the spacecraft of the ISRO. Furthermore, both nations rolled out the “Tagore-Sweden” Lecture Series to deepen academic connections.

The Government of Odisha has signed an MoU with Intel Corporation and 3DGS Inc to establish an Advanced Packaging Glass Core Substrate Manufacturing Facility in the Bhubaneswar–Khurda region.

The project involves an estimated investment of $3.3 billion, making it one of the largest high-technology manufacturing investments in India.

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has signed an MoU with EdCIL (India) Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Education, to promote inclusive education under the former's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The collaboration focuses on installing ‘Smart Digital Classrooms’ in schools located near the operational areas of SAIL.

PM Narendra Modi has paid an official visit to Norway at the invitation of the Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store. During the visit, PM Modi participated in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit held in Oslo (the capital of Norway), held bilateral talks with his counterpart, and attended the India-Norway Business and Research Summit.

The key outcomes of the visit included the elevation of bilateral relations between India and Norway to a Green Strategic Partnership, the decision of Norway to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), the agreement of India to participate in Nor Shipping 2027, and the launch of the India-Norway Digital Development Partnership.

PM Modi was conferred with the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Grand Cross, one of the highest civilian awards of Norway, by King Harald V. This represents the 32nd global honour received by the PM. Both countries signed 12 agreements to strengthen cooperation across various sectors.

Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL) has signed an MoU with the Bhutan-based state-owned utility, Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd (DGPC), to establish a clean energy cooperation framework.

The partnership aims to develop 5,000 Megawatt (MW) of clean energy capacity in Bhutan.

The UK-based British International Investment (BII) has partnered with Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to launch “North Star”, a $300 million Renewable Energy (RE) platform to support the clean energy transition of India.

Under the partnership, BII and CIP, through the Growth Markets Fund II (GMF II), will each invest up to $150 million in the platform to support solar, wind, hybrid, and storage RE projects in India. The platform is projected to generate over 4 million Megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean energy annually while preventing 4 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.