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Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Fruit and veg import checks scrapped ahead of UK-EU deal

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

    Press release

    Fruit and veg import checks scrapped ahead of UK-EU deal

    In advance of a new SPS agreement with EU, fruit and veg imports will require no fees or border checks – saving businesses time and money

    The government will scrap border checks on fruit and veg imported from the European Union in an early move to ease trade ahead of its new SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal with the EU.

    The agreement will establish a UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary zone, slashing costs, easing pressure on food prices and eliminating routine SPS border checks for food exports and imports.

    This means that checks on medium-risk fruit and vegetables (including tomatoes, grapes, plums, cherries, peaches, peppers, and more) imported from the EU will not be required – and will therefore not be brought into force this summer.

    In the short term, businesses can continue importing medium-risk fruit and vegetables from the EU without the products being subject to import checks or being charged associated fees.

    The SPS agreement will make food trade with the UK’s biggest market cheaper and easier. Cutting excessive red tape and fees for traders exporting to and importing from the EU will strengthen supply chains and reduce prices for businesses and consumers.

    Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said:

    This government’s EU deal will make food cheaper, slash bureaucracy and remove cumbersome border controls for businesses.

    A strengthened, forward-looking partnership with the European Union will deliver for working people as part of our Plan for Change.

    The easement of import checks on medium-risk fruit and vegetables from the EU was introduced as a temporary measure to provide businesses time to prepare for their implementation, and ensure a smooth flow of essential goods across the UK border.

    The easement of checks has now been extended from 1 July 2025 to 31 January 2027 as a contingency measure, following the government’s announcement that it will agree a new SPS deal with the EU.

    The details of the SPS agreement are now to be negotiated; traders must continue to comply with the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).

    Protecting UK biosecurity remains a key government priority, and risk-based surveillance will continue to manage the biosecurity risks of these products.

    Defra will continue to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Border Control Post operators to maintain UK biosecurity while minimising disruption to the flow of goods.

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    Published 2 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: How Economics Nearly Drove New England’s White-Tailed Deer to Extinction

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    With a desire to learn why people overuse natural resources, recent UConn Department of Anthropology graduate and affiliate research scientist Elic Weitzel ’24 Ph.D analyzes centuries-old deer bones to study unsustainable practices of the past to help lend insights into how we can avoid making the same mistakes and instead work toward a sustainable future.

    In research published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Weitzel builds upon his previous historical ecological studies on deer in precolonial New England to detail how the population changed post colonization. Estimated at around 30 million in what is now known as precolonial North America, the white-tailed deer population was overhunted and experienced a steep decline to between 300,000 and 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.

    “Essentially, we know a lot about white-tailed deer from historical records and accounts, but much of that hasn’t been synthesized fully with the archeological data yet,” says Weitzel, who is now a Peter Buck Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “With this paper, I started to bridge that gap, as a lot of my previous work focused on precolonial archeological sites, and in this paper, I’m looking at a 17th century site.”

    Animal bones excavated from the Morgan Site, a precolonial Wangunk tribal village located in what is now Rocky Hill, CT. Many of these bones are white-tailed deer. (Contributed photo)

    Weitzel analyzed white-tailed deer bones from two sites in the Connecticut River Valley. One site represented the precolonization time period, and the other represented the 17th century. He looked for evidence indicating the age of the animal and the animal’s body size, while also noting the abundance of bones of animals at different ages. More juveniles indicate higher hunting pressure, as hunters generally only take yearlings and fawns if they can’t get enough large adults.

    Weitzel found that white-tailed deer populations appeared to thrive prior to European colonization, when deer were large and abundant, with little to no evidence of hunting pressure from the Indigenous population. However, things soon changed.

    “Comparing the precolonial pattern to the mid-to-late 17th-century data set, the deer populations started to decline pretty early. A lot of the historical accounts focus on declines in the 19th century, but this paper, I think, finds some early evidence that it started very soon after Europeans showed up,” Weitzel says.

    A common explanation for animal population declines is overexploitation by a growing human population, which would have negatively impacted deer in the 18th and 19th centuries, but Weitzel says that doesn’t appear to be the case in the 17th century.

    “Native Americans were eating the meat, using the hides, using the antlers and the bones for tools and things, and they were certainly exchanging these deer and deer products to some extent,” says Weitzel. “But with the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, you’re now integrating New England into the early mercantile capitalist economic system with new pressures, and deer as a natural resource are now being valued in a new way that’s designed for going after profit more than the utilitarian needs of people.”

    Weitzel says this case study yields interesting and vital lessons for understanding sustainable natural resource use.

    “The precolonial pattern, where white tailed deer populations were doing well prior to the arrival of Europeans, speaks to some level of sustainability in these Indigenous economic systems,” Weitzel says.

    One notable contrast between the systems, for example, is the vastly different definitions of what it meant to “own” the land. For Europeans, this meant that purchase gave full rights to use the resources however the owner wanted, even if it meant destroying that land, which is a very different definition from Indigenous understandings of ownership, says Weitzel.

    Another important insight from Weitzel’s work counters a popular and contentious argument for sustainability, that human populations put pressure on resources, therefore the best solution is to reduce the human population. Weitzel found human precolonization population levels were higher than in the 17th century, meaning that the hunting pressure on the deer population was not correlated with higher human populations.

    “All else being equal, fewer people will consume fewer resources, so there is an inherent sustainability with that, but I think it’s more complex. There’s a different system of ownership and resource management in Indigenous societies that I think is probably contributing to whatever degree of sustainability we’re seeing,” Weitzel says.

    Post-colonization, Native American populations declined precipitously, says Weitzel, due to disease and colonial violence. European settler populations were initially low and grew more rapidly in the 18th century, so the population argument falls flat because there was an overall human population low in the 17th century, when deer populations began to decline.

    It’s not just the existence of people on a landscape that inherently causes damage, says Weitzel, pointing out that humans have been an integral part of all sorts of ecosystems for 300,000 years in the case of our species, and longer in the case of our hominin ancestors.

    Elic Weitzel excavating at the Hollister Site – a 17th century English frontier homestead located in what is now South Glastonbury, CT – with volunteers from the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology (FOSA). (Photo by Scott Brady)

    “Our species has had a wide variety of impacts on these ecosystems, and a lot of them have been beneficial and healthy,” Weitzel says. “It’s entirely possible for us, as just another animal, to integrate into these ecosystems in ways that are not inherently damaging.”

    Weitzel argues it was the shift to valuing nature in light of economics, not some inherently destructive tendency of human nature, that was at play in causing the deer population to crash. The misanthropic tendency to think humans are inherently bad for the planet leads to advocating for reducing human populations, Weitzel explains, and this narrative is often pushed by think tanks and prominent environmental advocates.

    “We must pay attention to the fact that even if you have fewer people, if the fewer people are still engaging in these extractive and exploitative economic practices, you’re still going to get ecological harm. Therefore, it’s not something inherent to our species or associated directly with large populations. In my mind, it really does come down to the economics,” says Weitzel. “I think that if we really want to pursue sustainability, we need to start seriously considering alternative economic structures that allow the broader public to influence these economic systems more democratically.”

    Weitzel says an additional detail that explains deer overexploitation comes down to another aspect of society – fashion.

    “What’s happening in the 17th century is interesting, because I feel a lot of it is driven by trends in clothing and fashion. There’s historical evidence that people are wearing much more elaborate outfits, oftentimes made of deerskin leather. It’s interesting how social signaling and this kind of communication that we engage in through the clothes might have inspired this increased exploitation of the deer populations that I saw in the 17th century” he says. “It’s a fascinating example of something that seems innocuous, like fashion and clothing, potentially causing quite severe problems.”

    It points to the troubling trend that has led to the decline or extinction of species across the globe, says Weitzel, “Once you start commodifying animals and commodifying nature, problems happen.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Whitecourt — Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit investigate homicide in Whitecourt

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On Dec. 7, 2024, at 3:21 p.m., Whitecourt RCMP received a report of a shooting near the Whitecourt Airport. As the report came in, RCMP were given the location of the suspect who was driving on Highway 43. Officers located and stopped the vehicle detaining a suspect and locating a firearm. Upon arrival at the airport, EMS and police located the victim deceased. The victim has been identified as 44-year-old Whitecourt resident David Beauchesne. Whitecourt RCMP contacted the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit who took carriage of the investigation.

    As a result of the investigation, RCMP have charged a 43-year-old individual, a resident of Whitecourt with, second-degree murder.

    The individual has been taken before a justice of the peace and remanded into custody with his next court date set for Dec. 10, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Whitecourt.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Joachim Nagel: European monetary policy in times of high uncertainty

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Check against delivery 

    1 Certain uncertainty

    Ladies and gentlemen, 

    Thank you very much for your invitation and kind welcome. I am delighted to be with you here in Mannheim today.

    With this series of events, the ZEW has been providing a forum for political, economic and academic exchange for more than three decades now. You have set out your expectations very clearly: Pressing economic policy issues and recent developments are the focus. 

    At present, pressing issues and developments are indeed coming thick and fast. Take, for example, the numerous pivots in trade policy by the US Administration. Sometimes the issues are already outdated before you have even had a chance to address them. In any case, one thing is clear: we have a lot to discuss today. 

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    When the ZEW proposed a topic to me just over two months ago, I had no doubt in my mind: there was no chance that the chosen topic would already be outdated. And why not? As Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, once said: “Uncertainty is not just an important feature of the monetary policy landscape; it is the defining characteristic of that landscape.”

    Greenspan said this in 2003. The term “the Great Moderation” had just been coined to describe a period of exceptional macroeconomic stability.[2] Uncertainty seemed to be relatively low at that time. Nevertheless, Greenspan stressed the factor of uncertainty. And he is not alone in this. I would imagine that none of you have ever heard a central banker say that uncertainty is currently negligible. 

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Dimitar Radev: Responding to policy volatility – the outlook for public investors

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    The defining feature of our current environment is volatility. It dominates economic briefings, investment strategies and global outlooks.

    This volatility is not just market noise. It signals deeper, systemic shifts. We are no longer navigating temporary dislocations. We are operating in a fundamentally more uncertain world. Policy itself has become a source of volatility.

    This transformation has profound implications for how we think, plan and invest. To navigate this environment, we must rely on a strong conceptual framework – one grounded in economic reality and institutional adaptability.

    Five key assumptions

    My conceptual framework is based on five key assumptions.

    First, policy volatility is structural, not episodic. Geopolitical tensions are intensifying. Trade flows are becoming politicised. Financial sanctions are more frequent and increasingly targeted. These are not temporary disruptions – they are reshaping the global financial system.

    Second, in such an environment, strategic resilience must take precedence over tactical prediction. Diversification remains important, but it is no longer sufficient. We must embed optionality into our governance frameworks – ensuring that our policies and processes allow rapid adaptation to shifting conditions.

    Third, policy coordination is more essential than ever – both within institutions and externally. Reserve management cannot be isolated from monetary policy or financial stability. Our investment decisions must support, rather than complicate, broader policy objectives – especially during periods of stress. Externally, coordination with fiscal authorities and international institutions is critical. In a fragmented world, shared insight becomes a powerful source of stability.

    Fourth, we must re-examine the notion of strategic autonomy – not only at the European level but also nationally. In a climate of geopolitical uncertainty, it is not only what assets we hold, but whether we can access them when needed. This requires a renewed focus on exposures and counterparty risk, along with a serious evaluation of alternative reserve assets – including gold and exchange-traded funds – and a strategic effort to expand and strengthen regional currency arrangements, such as the euro area.

    Fifth, despite short-term noise, we must remain focused on the long term. Demographic aging, the climate transition and technological disruption are not distant threats – they are present investment realities. We must integrate these forces into public wealth management to preserve value and foster sustainable economic growth.

    Implications for Bulgaria and the CEE region

    The implications for Bulgaria may mirror broader trends across central and eastern Europe. While Bulgaria’s direct exposure to current trade tensions is limited, indirect effects could be significant. We are deeply integrated into European supply chains and heavily reliant on external demand from major euro area economies. A slowdown in these – driven by weakening global trade – poses real risks to our exports and investment flows.

    At the same time, the restructuring of global supply chains introduces uncertainty about future trade routes and production hubs. The full impact is difficult to quantify. But the risks are clearly tilted to the downside, with potential consequences for medium-term growth.

    One channel already in motion is commodities. Expectations of softer global demand – driven by trade tensions – have pushed oil prices down. For energy-intensive economies like Bulgaria, this has delivered a short-term disinflationary effect.

    However, the broader inflationary and investment implications of trade fragmentation remain uncertain and may evolve rapidly.

    Foreign exchange reserve management

    The optimal composition of foreign exchange reserves warrants renewed scrutiny. We now operate in an environment marked by heightened geopolitical tensions, weaker global growth, volatile capital flows and increased market instability

    Historically, confidence in the US economy and financial system has supported the dominance of the dollar. As of the end of 2024, there has been no major shift in global reserve currency allocations – the dollar remains dominant, underpinned by its liquidity, depth and perceived safety. Yet this may be beginning to change.

    Simultaneously, gold has re-emerged as a strategic reserve asset. Several central banks have significantly increased their gold holdings in recent years – not only as a hedge against financial risk, but also as protection against geopolitical shocks.

    These trends sharpen the focus on the euro’s role as a reserve currency – an increasingly relevant question.

    The euro and Bulgaria’s strategic path

    For Bulgaria, these developments make our long-standing ambition to join the euro area more relevant – and more urgent – than ever. This conclusion is clearly supported by the prevailing conceptual framework outlined here.

    Euro adoption will have five sets of repercussions. It will anchor Bulgaria’s monetary policy within the European Central Bank framework, and provide credibility, stability and predictability. Furthermore, it will reduce currency risk and protect the economy from speculative pressure; enhance investor confidence and deepen financial integration; and offer access to euro area mechanisms, such as the European Stability Mechanism.

    In a world where policy volatility is structural, euro area membership will strengthen Bulgaria’s strategic resilience – through institutional alignment and enhanced crisis response tools.

    Bulgaria’s reserve management strategy

    At present, the composition of Bulgaria’s foreign exchange reserves is shaped by our legal mandate and the operational logic of the currency board. About 90% of our reserves are held in euros, with the remaining 10% in gold.

    Credit and currency risks are tightly constrained. Eligible assets must carry a minimum AA– rating. This conservative, short-duration approach has served us well during periods of market stress.

    Looking ahead, euro area accession will mark a new phase in reserve management. The new law on the Bulgarian National Bank introduces greater flexibility. With the euro becoming our domestic currency, we will begin to diversify our foreign exchange reserves into other currencies.

    We are already laying the groundwork – developing new operational infrastructure, expanding our network of counterparties and building deeper market expertise.

    We will also adjust our risk framework, relaxing the credit threshold of the securities we hold from AA- to A- and extending the investment horizon from short-term to strategic, long-term. These reforms will broaden our investment universe – potentially including instruments such as ETFs. Naturally, any such instruments will be subject to rigorous assessment to ensure alignment with our core objectives: capital preservation and liquidity assurance.

    Central banks must adapt

    As global fragmentation becomes a defining feature of the international landscape, central banks must adapt. We must continue to uphold the core principles of reserve management – liquidity, safety and return – while increasingly addressing geopolitical and systemic risks.

    Strategic positioning will be just as important as financial fundamentals. For the Bulgarian National Bank, this means maintaining resilience under today’s currency board – while preparing for a more dynamic, risk-aware reserve management strategy in the very near future.

    The reforms ahead will require careful execution. But they also offer a timely opportunity to strengthen our capabilities, increase our adaptability and position ourselves for a more volatile, multipolar world.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: John C Williams: On the optimal supply of reserves

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    As prepared for delivery 

    Let me start by personally welcoming you to the New York Fed. We have enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, or SIPA, and it’s great to be here to discuss timely and important issues.

    The topic of my talk today is the optimal supply of central bank reserves. Prior to the global financial crisis, this issue was more or less settled. Then, in response to that crisis and the ensuing economic downturn-and again following the COVID-19 pandemic-many central banks expanded their balance sheets through various quantitative easing programs funded for the most part by large-scale increases in central bank reserves. These increases resulted in fundamental changes in ways central banks have approached the provision of reserves while maintaining control of short-term interest rates set by the monetary policymaking body. As a result of these experiences in managing large balance sheets, many central banks have reviewed, and in some cases modified, their strategies for supplying reserves and controlling interest rates. Although their approaches have differed in specifics, they share common elements that reflect the fundamental factors that shape the supply and demand for reserves.

    Central banks have multiple goals in supplying reserves to the banking system that frequently involve trade-offs. First and foremost, they target a level of the policy interest rate and aim to minimize the variability of the policy rate around that target. In addition, they have goals related to supporting the functioning of financial markets and financial stability. For example, central banks may see advantages or disadvantages to interbank lending in money markets, as well as costs and benefits related to central bank lending into markets.

    In this talk, I will consider this question using a relatively simple analytical framework for the supply and demand of reserves that can be applied to various jurisdictions with differences in institutional arrangements and policy objectives. I see this exercise as being in the spirit of William Poole’s seminal analysis of the optimal instrument for monetary policy. My goal is to provide a useful background for the rich discussion ahead of us at this conference and elsewhere.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Diogo Guillen: Speech – Thematic Workshop on Securities Statistics and DGI-3 Recommendation 4 on Climate Finance

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Good morning, everyone.

    It is with great pleasure that I welcome all participants to the Thematic Workshop on Securities Statistics and DGI-3 Recommendation 4 on Climate Finance.

    For all of you who are visiting us, I wish you have an excellent stay in Brasília. I would like also to thank Johannes, from the ECB, and Bruno, from the BIS, for co-organizing this workshop with the support from the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics.

    For the Banco Central do Brasil it is a privilege to host this important event, and we welcome the opportunity to bring this subject closer to us, furthering the engagement of our teams.

    I am confident that, just as happened last year when we also had the privilege of hosting the Global DGI Conference, in the context of the Brazilian Presidency of the G20, this engagement will not only be important for the activities we are currently developing but it will also bear fruit for years to come.

    Another special reason to welcome the holding of this workshop in Brazil is that it coincides with the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will be held in Belém in November.

    In this workshop, we will focus on the production of climate finance statistics. We are all aware of the importance of undertaking efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and to promote socially and environmentally sustainable investments.

    The development of instruments and markets designed to channel resources into investments capable of generating positive impacts on the environment and society is an initiative with very good potential for success. Attracting investors’ interest to this cause may be a task for marketing professionals around the world. But an inescapable responsibility lies with us, as data producers.

    We have the ability and the duty to produce the necessary information to generate knowledge and provide visibility to this market, as well as support for analysis and policy decision-making.

    The data produced will provide insight into the current state of climate finance markets, allowing us to assess their growth pace and its relative significance. They will help to determine whether this market has already reached a significant scale-or, if not, when it might become truly impactful based on its current pace of growth.

    In this context, although it is not the responsibility of this Working Group or the DGI in general, it is worth emphasizing the importance of certification processes to ensure that the resources raised in climate finance markets are indeed directed toward the environmental and social purposes for which they were intended. It is essential to reduce the risk of greenwashing; otherwise, the proposed objectives will not be achieved, and statistics will give wrong or biased information for its users.

    I would like to make a brief comment on climate finance in Brazil and the statistics we need to produce. Monica will bring to you more details shortly in a presentation on this topic, but I just want to mention that Brazil has a flourishing market for green and sustainable bonds, with a significant number of companies having successfully issued such instruments. We have also had two sovereign issuances by the National Treasury, which were very well received, amounting to USD 4 billion (with a demand of above USD10 billion)

    Regarding the production of statistics, we still face some challenges, such as the convergence of taxonomies used across different data sources. In some of these sources, the taxonomy is well-established and well-aligned with international standards. It is our job to make sure that the taxonomies for the other ones will not stray from these standards. However, we understand that the availability of data that can be progressively expanded or refined is an important step in this process.

    It is also important to highlight that we have benefited directly from the results achieved in DGI Phase 2, when we began to produce and disseminate comprehensive statistics on debt securities issued and held by companies, households, and the government in Brazil.

    I conclude by emphasizing the importance of the work all of us are doing in this group and, of course, of the data we are going to make available. When it comes to raising funds for investment, it is clearly not possible to attract interest in a market segment that lacks data.

    It is our responsibility to produce and disseminate data that will enable the monitoring of the development of the climate finance market. It is our expectation that, by producing these statistics, we will be making a significant and indispensable contribution to the development of these markets and, consequently, to the building of a better world.

    I wish we all have an excellent workshop.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Robert Holzmann: Monetary policy and structural tectonic shifts

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests!

    Welcome to this year’s OeNB Annual Economics Conference in cooperation with SUERF.

    I would like to start by warmly welcoming everyone – whether you are joining us in person here at the OeNB or online. My sincere thanks go to our esteemed speakers, panelists and researchers for sharing their time and expertise. I would also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all those behind the scenes, whose hard work and dedication are making this event possible and enjoyable for us all.

    At last year’s conference, we explored the theme “The central bank of the future: opportunities and challenges.” And our discussions then laid important groundwork for the issues we are facing today. Over the past year, we have witnessed a series of substantial challenges, each with the potential to reshape the global economic landscape and, in turn, the very framework in which monetary policy must operate.

    It is in this context that we are approaching this year’s theme: “Monetary policy and structural tectonic shifts.” Much like how we feel and see tectonic shifts through earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, our world has recently experienced economic and geopolitical tremors – disruptions that have shaken long-held assumptions and institutions. In my opening remarks, I will briefly highlight three key developments that reflect these shifts, offering insights into their implications and addressing the critical questions they pose for the future of monetary policy.

    Some reflections on the past twelve months

    Let me start by looking back. Since our last conference, the inflation landscape has shifted significantly. Following a period of sharp price increases, we took decisive monetary policy action that helped to stabilize the situation. Encouragingly, these efforts were fruitful, and in June 2024, we began a process of gradually reducing key interest rates. With seven consecutive rate adjustments, we brought the deposit facility rate down to its current level of 2.25%.

    However, the inflation surge and subsequent developments have also revealed new layers of complexity in maintaining price stability. Today, central banks must navigate an environment that is more intricate than ever before. Traditional tools often behave in unpredictable ways when used in times of global disruptions. During the recent inflationary period, the factors at the forefront of our concerns included disrupted supply chains, volatile energy markets and the ongoing unwinding of unconventional monetary policy instruments.

    As we look ahead, I believe we must approach the current challenges in two distinct blocks. First, what emerging trends would have shaped the economic and financial landscape if the current tectonic shifts originating in the United States had not occurred? In this context, I will touch on artificial intelligence, financial innovation and new insights into the natural rate of interest or r-star. Second, now, a couple of months into the second term of the Trump presidency, we find ourselves facing new challenges in truly uncharted territory. Frequently shifting economic signals from the United States continue to inject an added layer of unpredictability, further complicating the already complex task of policymaking.

    Three big challenges shaping the future of money and policy

    Let me briefly point out three big challenges we were already dealing with before Donald Trump got reelected. First, I would like to draw your attention to an innovation in the cryptocurrency sphere that has gained growing relevance and with a potential systemic impact: stablecoins. Unlike highly volatile crypto assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, stablecoins are pegged to reference assets like the US dollar, offering greater price stability and edging closer to meeting the traditional functions of money. Dollar-pegged stablecoins such as Tether and USDC have grown substantially in both market capitalization and global reach. Yet, as highlighted by Fed Board Governor Christoph Waller, this rapid growth brings with it serious regulatory and monetary policy implications.1

    Second, also in the realm of technology, recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we live – and, by extension, the structure of the global economy. I suspect that most of today’s audience has already interacted with AI in some form, whether for highly productive purposes or perhaps for more casual experimentation. Yet, the broader implications of AI extend far beyond personal use. From reshaping entire industries to transforming the very nature of work, AI introduces both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. One critical issue is that traditional economic indicators may fall short in capturing the true impact of AI-driven innovation, especially in knowledge-based sectors (see Baily, Brynjolfsson and Korinek, 2023).

    Third, and this is where many of the points I have raised are coming together, the natural rate of interest, or r-star, has returned to center stage, with recent estimates suggesting a modest upward shift. In a recent paper, we examined the key factors influencing r-star. While overall productivity remains a fundamental driver, demographic trends also play a crucial role. Here, the outlook remains largely unchanged: our societies continue to age, and uncertainty persists about the long-term economic impact of migration. Therefore, pension reforms, such as raising the retirement age, could generate meaningful, and potentially lasting, upward effects on r-star (Breitenfellner et al., 2024).

    Let me now briefly touch on the enormous global investment needed to fight climate change and how this connects to r-star. According to the International Energy Agency, annual investment in clean energy must reach USD 4.5 trillion by 2030 so that we stay on track for the 1.5-degree target.2 Closing this gap through targeted public and private investment is not just a moral imperative butcan also raise the global natural rate of interest. Productive, climate-aligned capital deepens investment demand and improves growth prospects, especially in regions with untapped potential. In this way, the green transition can contribute not only to achieving climate goals but also to ensuring macroeconomic sustainability.

    Finally, central banks are very aware of the changing world and thus regularly engage in thorough reviews of their strategies. The Federal Reserve’s current review, for instance, focuses on two main areas: an analysis of its policy approach, and its tools for communicating policy. Notably, the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2% long-run inflation target is not part of this review. The Bank of Canada has reviewed its extraordinary policy actions during the COVID-19 crisis (ranging from emergency rate cuts to quantitative easing and forward guidance) and found that they had been crucial in stabilizing financial markets, supporting economic recovery.3 Also, the Eurosystem is currently engaged in an intermediate strategy review, incorporating the lessons of recent years to refine and enhance our policy decisions. This ongoing process underscores our commitment to continuously improving decision-making in a rapidly evolving environment. While some of these reviews are still ongoing, I expect that many of the topics we are discussing today will be part of them.

    A new US administration and the dramatic shifts it has unleashed

    In my view, these were the pressing issues of our time even before US President Trump was reelected. And now, in his new term, we have already seen an unprecedented series of tectonic shifts, not only economically, but also in terms of global organization and institutional dynamics. To make sense of where we stand today, let me offer some structure, outlining four key challenges that have emerged since President Trump took office.

    First, current US foreign and trade policies have triggered a series of events that continue to reverberate across Europe and the global economy. Frequent shifts in trade policy have fueled economic uncertainty, undermining stability and resulting in tangible losses for all parties involved. Yet, there is currently no clear consensus in the academic literature on how monetary policy should best respond to such persistent and politically driven uncertainty.

    Second, the Trump administration has decided to withdraw from important supranational initiatives and bodies, like the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization. Even membership in the International Monetary Fund is currently under question. The US leaving the IMF would drastically reduce the international role of the USA and the US dollar even more. When a major global economy becomes an unreliable partner, it puts significant additional strain on already fragile global markets, making economic forecasts more complex and policy decisions even more challenging in an already uncertain environment.

    Third, given this heightened uncertainty, the international role of the euro can be expected to grow. Amid erratic tariff decisions and threats to the Federal Reserve, global investors have shifted away from US assets toward gold, which leads to a depreciation of the US dollar. While this shift presents an opportunity for the euro to emerge as a more reliable and stable reserve currency, it also raises new questions for monetary policy. The well-known Triffin dilemma reminds us that countries issuing global reserve currencies are faced with the structural tension that builds when they must run trade deficits to provide global liquidity, even at the expense of long-term economic stability at home. For central banks, this creates a complex balancing act.

    Fourth, a United States that appears less committed to Western security significantly weakens the military capabilities of NATO and leaves Europe more vulnerable to external threats. In response to these shifting dynamics, European countries have initiated a review of their common defense strategy and announced substantial increases in defense spending. As these fiscal impulses begin to unfold across the economy, the Eurosystem must remain highly vigilant, closely monitoring any inflationary pressures and responding with determination if needed.

    How can we rethink monetary policy in a period of tectonic shifts?

    Central banks must constantly adapt to a changing environment. That is why the Eurosystem has committed to regularly reviewing its strategy. Indeed, as I have mentioned before, we are currently undertaking an intermediate strategy review. This process draws on the lessons of recent years to refine and strengthen our approach to policymaking. It reflects our firm commitment to continuously improving how we assess, decide and act in a rapidly evolving environment.

    In today’s sessions, we will hear from keynote speakers Daniel Gros of Bocconi University and Huw Pill of the Bank of England, alongside a panel of distinguished experts. Their insights will help bring together academic perspectives and policy practice, enriching our collective understanding. Tomorrow, we will delve deeper into recent academic research and consider its implications for the future of monetary policy.

    With that, I wish all of us a stimulating, thought-provoking and productive conference. I am confident that our discussions will not only deepen our understanding of the challenges ahead but also spark fresh ideas. Let us approach today’s tectonic shifts not merely as threats, but as opportunities to shape a more resilient and forward-looking monetary policy.

    Thank you!

    Bibliography

    Baily, M., E. Brynjolfsson and A. Korinek. 2023. Machines of mind: The case for an AI-powered productivity boom. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/machines-of-mind-the-case-for-an-ai-powered-productivity-boom/ (accessed on May 13, 2025).

    Bloom, N. 2009. The impact of uncertainty shocks. In: Econometrica, 77 (3). 623–685.

    Bloom, N., M. Floetotto, N. Jaimovich, I. Saporta-Eksten and S. J. Terry. 2018. Really uncertain business cycles. In: Econometrica. 86 (3). 1031–1065.

    Breitenfellner, A., R. Holzmann, W. Pointner, A. Raggl, R. Sellner, M. Silgoner, A. Stelzer and A. Stiglbauer. 2024. How can a decline in R* be reversed? Productivity,  retirement age, and the green transition. OeNB Occasional Paper No. 9.

    Holston, K., T. Laubach and J. C. Williams. 2023. Measuring the Natural Rate of Interest after COVID-19 (No. 1063). Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ADB President Signals Bigger Singapore Presence in Talks with Prime Minister

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    ADB President Masato Kanda met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Singapore today, where he set out plans to double the size of ADB’s Singapore office. He also reaffirmed the bank’s $10 billion pledge to help finance the ASEAN Power Grid and underscored the importance of deeper regional cooperation as Singapore prepares to assume the ASEAN chair in 2027.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 3, 2025

  • India manufacturing PMI stands at 57.6 in May: HSBC

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    India’s manufacturing sector maintained strong momentum in May, with the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posting a reading of 57.6, according to data released Monday. While slightly below April’s 58.2, the index remained comfortably above the neutral 50 mark, indicating sustained growth.
     
    The PMI data, compiled by S&P Global, signalled another robust month for the sector.
     
    “India’s May manufacturing PMI signalled another month of robust growth in the sector,” said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC. “The acceleration in employment growth to a new peak is certainly a positive development. Input cost inflation is picking up, but manufacturers seem to be mitigating pressure on margins by raising output prices.”
     
    The expansion was driven by strong domestic and overseas demand, along with effective marketing efforts that pushed export orders to one of their highest levels in the past three years. Firms reported increasing interest from key global markets, including Asia, Europe, West Asia, and the United States.
     
    A key highlight of May’s performance was record-high job creation since the PMI survey’s inception. Manufacturers focused on strengthening their permanent workforce, enabling smoother operations and better workload management.
     
    This trend offers a boost to India’s young workforce and underlines continued investment in the sector’s long-term prospects.
     
    Input costs rose moderately, with increases in items such as aluminium, cement, iron, leather, rubber, and sand, along with higher freight and labour charges. In response, manufacturers raised selling prices at a strong pace to safeguard profit margins.
     
    Despite inflationary pressures, business confidence remained high, supported by rising customer enquiries, successful advertising campaigns, and a favourable domestic environment. Manufacturers expressed optimism about growth prospects in the coming year.
     
    Adding to the positive outlook, India’s industrial production grew by 2.7 per cent in April 2025, according to the Ministry of Statistics. The manufacturing sector alone expanded by 3.4 per cent, with 16 out of 23 industry groups reporting positive output.
     
    –IANS
    June 3, 2025

  • Markets bounce back after early slump, end slightly lower

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Indian stock markets recovered sharply from early losses on Monday, displaying resilience despite global headwinds. Both benchmark indices ended the session marginally lower.
     
    The Sensex closed at 81,374, down by 77 points or 0.09 per cent, after rebounding 719 points from the day’s low of 80,654. Similarly, the Nifty settled at 24,717, slipping 34 points or 0.14 per cent, recovering from an intraday low of 24,526.
     
    Investor sentiment was initially dampened by the announcement from US President Donald Trump regarding a steep hike in tariffs on steel imports, increasing from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, effective June 4.
     
    Adding to the cautious mood were rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, volatile foreign investment flows, and uncertainty ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision later this week.
     
    Despite a weak opening, select heavyweight buying limited the downside. Notable gainers included Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato (Eternal), PowerGrid, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, and Nestle India, which rose between 0.4 per cent and 2 per cent.
     
    In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices outperformed, rising 0.62 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.
     
    Sector-wise, Nifty IT and Nifty Metal indices were the biggest laggards, falling 0.7 per cent on concerns over US tariff hikes. In contrast, Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank indices led the gains, each advancing over 2 per cent.
     
    “The domestic market continued its consolidation phase for the third consecutive week, influenced by renewed concerns over a potential tariff war and escalating geopolitical tensions,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
     
    “While global uncertainties have made investors more risk-averse, the Indian market has shown resilience, supported by strong institutional inflows and sectoral strength in FMCG, real estate, and financials,” he added.
     
    Nair noted that investors are currently adopting a cautious short-term strategy, favouring domestically-driven and interest-sensitive sectors.
     
    –IANS
    June 3, 2025

  • UPI transactions see 23% rise at Rs 25.14 lakh crore in May

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded a strong rebound in May, processing 18.68 billion transactions, up from 17.89 billion in April, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
     
    This marks a 33 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth compared to 14.03 billion transactions in May 2023.
     
    In terms of value, UPI transactions surged to ₹25.14 lakh crore in May 2025 — a 5 per cent rise over April’s ₹23.95 lakh crore and a 23 per cent increase from ₹20.45 lakh crore in the same month last year.
     
    The average daily transaction volume stood at 602 million, while the average daily transaction value reached ₹81,106 crore.
     
    UPI continues to cement its dominance in India’s digital payments ecosystem, with its share in total transaction volume rising to 83.7 per cent in FY25, up from 79.7 per cent in FY24.
     
    According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI processed 185.8 billion transactions in 2024–25, marking a 41 per cent YoY growth. In value terms, UPI payments climbed to ₹261 lakh crore, compared to ₹200 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year.
     
    “The success of UPI has positioned India as a global leader, accounting for 48.5 per cent of global real-time payments by volume,” the RBI noted in its annual report.
     
    Overall, digital payments in India — encompassing UPI, card networks, prepaid instruments, and other systems — grew 35 per cent to 221.9 billion transactions in FY25. The value of these payments rose by 17.97 per cent to ₹2,862 lakh crore.
     
    Looking ahead, the RBI reiterated its commitment to expanding UPI’s global footprint, aiming to enable UPI services in 20 countries by 2028–29. UPI apps are already accepted via QR codes in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, allowing Indian travellers to make merchant payments abroad using domestic UPI platforms.
     
    —IANS
    June 3, 2025

  • Russia and Ukraine to hold more peace talks after Kyiv hits nuclear-capable bombers

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022 with no sign they are any closer to an agreement, one day after Kyiv struck some of Moscow’s nuclear-capable bombers.

    The two sides are expected to discuss their respective ideas for what a full ceasefire and a longer term path to peace should look like, amid stark disagreements and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to walk away from talks.

    Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Moscow’s delegation, said that Russia had received Ukraine’s draft memorandum for a peace accord ahead of the talks. There was no word on whether Kyiv had received Russia’s draft. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will head the Ukrainian delegation.

    Their last round of talks in Istanbul on May 16 yielded the biggest prisoner swap of the war with each side freeing 1,000 prisoners, but no sign of peace – or even a ceasefire as both sides merely stated their opening negotiating positions.

    Kyiv regards Russia’s approach to date as an attempt to force it to capitulate – something it says it will never do – and Moscow, which advanced on the battlefield in May at its fastest rate in six months, says Ukraine should submit to peace on Russian terms or face losing more territory.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in Lithuania on Monday, said ceasefire and humanitarian issues, such as returning more prisoners, from Russia would be a priority for Kyiv at the Istanbul talks.

    Kyiv has said Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin should hold direct talks when the time is right.

    Amid low expectations of a breakthrough, a Ukrainian source told Reuters ahead of Monday’s talks that Kyiv was ready to take real steps towards peace if Moscow showed flexibility and what they described as a readiness to “move forward, not just repeat the same previous ultimatums”.

    Ukrainian officials met with officials from Germany, Italy and Britain ahead of the talks to coordinate their positions.

    GRIM MOOD

    The mood in Russia before the talks was grim with influential war bloggers calling on Moscow to deliver a fearsome retaliatory blow against Kyiv after Ukraine on Sunday launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war, targeting Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers in Siberia and elsewhere.

    Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 472 drones at Ukraine, the highest nightly total of the war.

    Trump envoy Keith Kellogg has indicated that the U.S. will be involved in the talks and that representatives from Britain, France and Germany will be present too, though it was not clear at what level the United States would be represented.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was due to chair the talks, which are expected to get underway at 1000 GMT.

    The idea of direct talks was first proposed by Putin after Ukraine and European powers demanded that he agree to a ceasefire which the Kremlin dismissed.

    Last June Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia.

    According to a proposed roadmap that will be presented by Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Kyiv wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow’s forces, and wants reparations.

    The document stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory.
    Russia currently controls just under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100 square km, about the same size as the U.S. state of Ohio.

    Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022.

    Trump has called Putin “crazy” and berated Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the U.S. president has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Putin delays then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia.

    (Reuters)

    June 3, 2025

  • Mizoram schools shut for third day due to rain

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    All the government and private schools in Mizoram remained closed on Monday due to heavy rains that triggered landslides, rockfalls, and waterlogging in different parts of the mountainous state, officials said.

    A senior official of the School Education Department said that Deputy Commissioners of all 11 districts issued separate notifications closing the schools on Monday as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the students.

    After the beginning of the current spell of heavy rain, earlier, schools were closed across the state for two days on May 29 and May 30.

    However, there was no rain in the state capital, Aizawl, till Monday afternoon.

    Aizawl District Deputy Commissioner Lalhriatpuia, in a notification, said that due to torrential rainfall in the past few days, which resulted in mudflows, landslides, rockfalls and other calamities at various locations within the district, the district authority deems it appropriate to suspend attendance of school-going students for their safety and well-being. This decision has been arrived at after perusing the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) district-wise warning for June 2 (Monday) and appropriate consultation with relevant stakeholders of the Aizawl District Disaster Management Authority (ADDMA).

    Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Sunday held a review meeting with the ministers concerned and senior officials.

    According to a preliminary report of the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation (DMR) Department, 60 houses have collapsed and 69 families have been evacuated from their houses due to the risk of collapse.

    A total of 211 landslides have been reported in different parts of the state till Sunday evening, highways blocked at 83 locations, and four retaining walls have collapsed, the report said. Additionally, rising water levels in riverside habitation areas were reported.

    All the Deputy Commissioners also submitted detailed status reports from their respective districts.

    During Sunday’s meeting, the Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to all those working tirelessly across the state, including first responders, support teams, and personnel involved in evacuation and relief operations. He lauded the resilience of the Mizo people and urged continued support for affected individuals and families.

    A key priority highlighted in the meeting was ensuring that access to district headquarters and the airport remains uninterrupted by keeping essential roads operational.

    Lalduhoma also directed that adequate funds be allocated to all District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) and that relief funds for victims be released at the earliest. It was resolved that disaster-affected areas must be continuously monitored under the supervision of the Department of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation (DM&R). Comprehensive and timely reports are to be submitted to the central government to ensure proper coordination and response.

    The meeting was attended by Home Minister K. Sapdanga, PWD Minister Vanlalhlana, DM&R Minister Prof. Lalnilawma, Public Health Engineering Minister F. Rodingliana, and several senior government officials.

    (IANS)

    June 3, 2025

  • Indian delegation reaffirms anti-terror stance during Liberia visit

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An all-party Indian parliamentary delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde is on a three-day visit to Liberia as part of India’s global outreach to reinforce its message of zero tolerance towards terrorism.

    According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Monrovia, the delegation met with members of the Indian community in Liberia on Sunday, emphasizing India’s firm commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms.

    “The delegation members conveyed the collective will of India to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the support received from the international community in this endeavor. They also appreciated the diaspora’s role in strengthening India’s friendship with Liberia,” the statement said.

    The delegation was welcomed upon arrival in Monrovia on Saturday by Ambassador of India to Liberia Manoj Bihari Verma, Representative and Chairman of the Executive Committee Sekou S. Kanneh, Prince A. Toles of the Liberian House of Representatives, and members of the Indian community.

    As part of their visit, the delegation paid floral tributes at the grave of former Liberian President William V.S. Tubman, widely revered as the ‘Father of Modern Liberia.’ They also visited the National Museum, which stands as a symbol of Liberia’s resilience and cultural heritage.

    June 3, 2025

  • Supriya Sule-led delegation concludes Ethiopia visit, conveys India’s stand against terrorism

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An all-party Indian Parliamentary delegation led by NCP MP Supriya Sule concluded its official visit to Ethiopia on Sunday, as part of India’s diplomatic outreach to reinforce its zero-tolerance policy on cross-border terrorism.

    During the visit, the delegation engaged with Ethiopian dignitaries, media, academia, civil society representatives, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora, briefing them on the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and the subsequent military response under Operation Sindoor.

    The delegation described Operation Sindoor as a calibrated, targeted, and proportionate response, demonstrating India’s resolve to counter terrorism decisively without escalating regional tensions.

    Highlighting India’s long-standing challenges with cross-border terrorism, the MPs stressed the urgency of identifying and holding accountable not just the perpetrators of terror but also their supporters, enablers, and those who offer moral or material backing. They noted that India has begun dismantling the terrorist infrastructure that has operated across its borders for decades.

    The Ethiopian side, in turn, reaffirmed its own zero-tolerance stance on terrorism and expressed strong solidarity with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. The delegation thanked the Ethiopian leadership for its unequivocal support.

    During interactions with the media and civil society, the delegation provided detailed briefings on India’s position and their engagements in Ethiopia, while also responding to questions on regional and global developments.

    Addressing members of the Indian community in Ethiopia, the delegation praised them for upholding the values of tolerance, unity, and pluralism, and for resisting efforts aimed at destabilizing India’s social fabric.

    Many Ethiopian nationals who had studied in India and now hold key positions in public life also expressed their support for India’s counter-terrorism measures.

    June 3, 2025

  • PM Modi appreciates Paraguay President Peña’s condemnation of Pahalgam terror attack

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging bilateral talks with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday, marking a key moment in India–Paraguay relations. The discussions focused on expanding cooperation across sectors including trade, defence, infrastructure, healthcare, and critical technologies.
     
    Prime Minister Modi began by expressing deep appreciation to Paraguay for its strong condemnation of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and the solidarity shown with India.
     
    “President Peña’s visit comes shortly after the heinous attack in Pahalgam. I thank him and the people of Paraguay for their heartfelt condolences and support,” PM Modi said during the talks.
     
    P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a press briefing that both leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms, reinforcing a shared commitment to global peace and security.
     
    President Peña, making his first visit to India, is on a State Visit from June 2 to 4. It marks only the second visit by a Paraguayan President to India—the previous one having taken place in 2012. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes ministers, parliamentarians, provincial governors, and senior officials.
     
    During the talks, the two sides explored avenues to strengthen ties in key areas such as digital technology, pharmaceuticals, energy, mining, agriculture, defence, railways, and space cooperation. They also discussed enhancing trade under the existing Preferential Trade Agreement between India and MERCOSUR, the South American trade bloc of which Paraguay is a member.
     
    “India and Paraguay are both important voices of the Global South. We share similar aspirations and challenges. There is immense potential for growth through collaboration in emerging sectors,” said PM Modi.
     
    He further highlighted opportunities to deepen cooperation in tackling cybercrime, organized crime, and drug trafficking.
     
    Upon arrival in New Delhi, President Peña was given a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Air Force Station in Palam. He later met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who said the visit would open new pathways for India’s engagement with Paraguay and the broader Latin American region.
     
    “Appreciate President Peña’s positive sentiments and guidance. Confident his discussions with PM Modi will deepen our cooperation across multiple domains,” Jaishankar posted on X.
     
    The Paraguayan leader also paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu, who will host a state banquet in his honour.
     
    Paraguay has emerged as a strategic trade partner for India in Latin America. Indian pharmaceutical and automobile companies have established a presence in Paraguay, while Paraguayan firms are increasingly exploring joint ventures in India.
     
    As part of his itinerary, President Peña will travel to Mumbai on Tuesday, where he will meet political leaders, industry representatives, startups, and technology experts, signalling a growing focus on economic and innovation-driven cooperation.
     
    — IANS
    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CHP investigates sporadic case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    CHP investigates sporadic case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection 
    The case involves a 59-year-old man with good past health who attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Tseung Kwan O Hospital on April 28 due to an acute neurological condition, and was transferred to the neurosurgery ward of Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) for hospitalisation on the same day. He developed bloody diarrhoea on May 9, and this symptom has been resolving since May 12 after treatment. He remains hospitalised for his acute neurological condition and is now in stable condition. His household contact is asymptomatic.
     
    His stool sample tested positive for STEC.
     
         A preliminary investigation by the CHP revealed that the patient had consumed food in the community during the early stage of the incubation period, including patronising restaurants and consuming takeaway food at home. The CHP obtained detailed information from his household member about the food he consumed at home and the cooking process. No high-risk factors were identified. However, the patient could not provide any information on the restaurants he had patronised due to his current health condition. Since the patient was hospitalised during part of the incubation period, CHP staff, for the sake of prudence, visited KWH to investigate and identify the source of the infection.
     
    The other patients who had been hospitalised in the same ward as the patient in question and the medical staff working in the ward were asymptomatic. Arrangements have been made to test stool samples from other patients hospitalised in the same ward and from the healthcare workers responsible for feeding the patient.
     
    The CHP also took environmental samples and samples of the nutritional products consumed by the patient concerned during his stay at KWH. The results showed that all the stool samples from the healthcare workers and patients, and all environmental and nutritional product samples from the ward, were negative for STEC. The CHP has also stepped up surveillance of staff and patients in the ward, and no other cases have been detected. Therefore, the CHP believes that the patient was more likely to have been infected in the community, though the source has not yet been confirmed.
     
    The CHP has recorded one to six cases of STEC infection annually in the past five years (2020 to 2024). The CHP has recorded two cases of STEC infection (including the case announced above) in the first five months of this year. There is no rising trend or abnormal cluster. In general, STEC infections are usually associated with the consumption of contaminated food or water, such as raw or undercooked meat products, contaminated fruits and vegetables, and unpasteurised dairy products. Direct person-to-person transmission through the faecal-oral route can also occur. The public are advised to observe good personal and food hygiene.
    　
    Members of the public may refer to the CHP’s webpageIssued at HKT 19:33

    NNNN

    CategoriesMIL-OSI

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    June 3, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments Synthesis and Analysis Report 2025

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    This Report is the third edition of the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) Synthesis and Analysis Report, showcasing stakeholders’ contributions to implementing the Sendai Framework, as submitted and published on the SFVC online platform. This report builds on continued efforts since the launch of the platform in 2018 and the publication of the first report in 2019 and the second report 2022. 

    It boasts an astonishing 161 published voluntary commitments (VCs), 729 participating organizations and 758 concrete deliverables. In addition, it presents a detailed analysis of the VCs including their geographical scope and distribution, contribution to the Sendai Framework priorities for action, targets and indicators, contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, hazards covered, among others.

    The Voluntary Commitments initiative reflects the motive of the Sendai Framework that, on the one hand, States have the primary responsibility for DRR, but, on the other hand, this responsibility is shared with all stakeholders. 

     

    Download

    SFVC Report 2025 2.6 MB, PDF, English

    Document links last validated on: 31 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Share your voice Live from the Global Platform

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    As the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction unfolds, we invite you to share your experience in real time.

    Speakers – Share the key messages you’re presenting. Participants – Post what’s inspiring you, who you’re connecting with, and what you’re learning. Everyone – Highlight the actions and ideas you’ll take forward.

    Use our customizable carousel, social cards, and video templates to post throughout the event. Whether you’re on stage, in a session, or networking in the halls – your voice matters.

    📲 Tag your posts with #GPDRR2025 and #ActForResilienceToday Let’s amplify the conversation as it happens. Your insight today can spark action tomorrow.

    My GP2025 Commitments: Social Card Templates

    What I Learned at GP2025: Social Card Templates

    My GP2025 Video Message: Video post templates

    Speakers and Ignite stage

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Youth leads progress in DRR

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Young talent responds to the challenges of the future. On April 30th, youth representatives gathered for the second Regional Consultation organized by the Youth Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), in collaboration with the Major Group for Children and Young People, to exchange experiences and deepen their commitment to climate action and disaster risk reduction.

    The urgency to reinforce community resilience was one of the main conclusions of the preliminary results of the 2025 Youth and DRR Survey, which points out the priorities of the new generations in the region. At the same time, the mid-term review of the Sendai Framework highlighted the need to strengthen the implementation of initiatives at the local level. This underscores the opportunity to expand stakeholder and community participation, and to enhance collaboration between governments, young people, and civil society. 

    ‘Disaster risk reduction is not only the responsibility of young people, but a shared commitment of society as a whole,’ said Saskia Carusi, Deputy Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) – Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean. Her statement summarizes the spirit of the day and connects directly to one of the pillars of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, which especially promotes the participation of young people as key actors in building communities with the capacity to respond to and recover from disasters. ‘Youth should not only be heard but actively included in decision-making processes; their leadership is indispensable for safer and more resilient communities,’ added Carusi, underlining the need to move towards more inclusive governance in the face of risk. 

    The Sendai Framework clearly points the way: ‘Children and young people are agents of change and should be given the space and modalities to contribute to disaster risk reduction, in accordance with legislation, national practice and curricula.’ Creating spaces for youth participation in defining strategies is not only a matter of generational justice, but also a key factor for more inclusive and sustainable risk reduction. 

    This event is the result of the work driven by the Network since the Regional Youth Declaration, presented in 2023 during the VIII Regional Platform for DRR in the Americas and the Caribbean, and reflects the joint effort of more than 600 members from across the region. 

    As a next step, these inputs will be integrated into the Civil Society Declaration to be presented at the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. This document will amplify youth voices to the international community, as well as set the roadmap for the Youth Network for DRR in the implementation of its action plan 2024-2026.  

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Beatty Statement on the Antisemitic Attack in Boulder, Colorado

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (3rd District of Ohio)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) issued the following statement in response to the recent antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado:

    “I share in the sorrow and distress this attack has caused for the victims and for every member of the Jewish community who continues to live under the shadow of rising antisemitism. This was not just an assault on those gathered in Boulder—it was an assault on faith and on our shared humanity.

    Antisemitism has no place in America or anywhere in the world. Not now. Not ever. We must confront it boldly and without hesitation.

    Our Jewish brothers and sisters should be able to gather in peace—on sacred holidays like Shavuot, and every day.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on the 5 Year Anniversary of George Floyd’s Murder

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN)

    MINNEAPOLIS – Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement on the five year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

    “Five years.
    For five years we have carried the weight of George Floyd’s murder.
    For five years we have called for a system that values Black life and ensures public safety.

    “I am proud of the progress we’ve made, from organizing in our streets to the changes in local policy. I am grateful for the courage of our community in Minneapolis, and for the continued efforts of advocates fighting for justice every day. Because of these advocates, the world was forced to confront the violence embedded in our policing systems.

    “But five years after George Floyd was murdered, there is still so much more work to do. Communities in Minneapolis and across this country continue to be over-policed and under-resourced. Too many families live with the fear that an encounter with law enforcement could turn deadly. And now, we face the horrifying possibility that Derek Chauvin could be pardoned. His pardon would be an insult to George’s memory and to the millions who took to the streets demanding change. Justice undone is still justice denied.

    “This anniversary is a reminder that we need lasting police reform. We need the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and we need investments in our communities, not more militarized policing. George Floyd should be alive today and we will keep fighting in his name until we build a system that guarantees dignity and safety for all.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Omar’s Statement on Voting NO on GOP Budget Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN)

    WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement after voting “no” on the GOP budget bill.

    “The GOP budget bill is a win for billionaires at the expense of working people. This immoral bill is historic: it is the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in U.S. history and includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP we have ever seen.

    “My Republican colleagues will tell you that they are just going after waste, fraud, and abuse. But let’s be clear: the only way to slash safety net spending is by making it harder for people to survive. Right now, families across my district are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. This budget will kick thousands of Minnesotans off their healthcare and nutrition assistance. Over 164,000 Minnesotans in my district are on Medicaid–now their healthcare coverage will be at risk. 90,000 Minnesotans in my district are on SNAP and their food benefits will be in jeopardy. That means more untreated illnesses, more hungry children, and more preventable deaths. These aren’t just line items in a budget; these are people’s lives.

    “This bill also includes plenty of other harmful giveaways. It contains new mining leases on our public lands, including the Boundary Waters Wilderness. It repeals and restricts nearly all of the clean energy tax credits afforded by the Inflation Reduction Act. It more than doubles the funding to ICE as it disappears innocent people. It also adds more money to line the pockets of military contractors. All of these harmful provisions run counter to the values of the Fifth District.

    “All of these devastating cuts pave the way to shower billionaires with tax cuts. Not only are these tax cuts egregious, they are permanent for the wealthy and temporary for working people. At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, it is unconscionable this bill will widen the gap by hurting the poorest 10% of Americans while benefiting the top 10%. This budget is a slap in the face to working people.

    “There is no doubt this budget is a greenlight for authoritarianism and for inequality to run rampant. History will remember those who chose to stand with the working people of this nation and who chose to serve the powerful. And for those reasons, I voted NO on the GOP budget bill.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Statement on DOJ Move to Dismiss Minneapolis Police Consent Decree

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN)

    WASHINGTON – Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) issued the following statement on the Department of Justice’s decision to dismiss the Consent Decree.

    “Five years after George Floyd’s murder in our city, the Department of Justice is now walking away from the very reforms his death demanded. This decision by the Trump Administration is truly a disgrace and a betrayal of the people who took to the streets demanding change and to the families who have lost a loved one to police violence.

    “The consent decree was about honoring George Floyd’s life with real systemic change and addressing the unconstitutional policing that has harmed Black and Brown communities for decades at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. For the Trump Administration to dismiss this decree during the anniversary week of George Floyd’s murder is cynical. It sends a chilling message that police violence can be swept under the rug and that federal oversight is expendable when political winds shift.

    “Despite this disappointing decision, I’m encouraged that Minneapolis city leaders have publicly stated their intent to implement the crucial reforms in the Consent Decree. Their commitment to reform is critical for the sake of police accountability but it does not absolve the federal government of its responsibility. Real change requires partnership and transparency at every level of government and the DOJ turning its back on this process undermines that trust we are working to rebuild.

    “I stand with our community, with the Floyd family, and with everyone fighting for a world where an innocent man’s life cannot be taken without consequence.” 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Democratic Members call on Appropriators to protect ILAB funding, American workers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN)

    WASHINGTON – Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Ranking Member Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.), Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), co-chair of the Child Labor Prevention Task Force and Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), co-chair of the Labor Caucus, led 68 of their colleagues in calling on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies to protect Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) funding in fiscal year 2026 funding bill.

    ILAB promotes a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards and combating international child labor, forced labor and human trafficking.

    “ILAB plays a critical role in helping U.S. workers compete in a global economy,” the members wrote. “No other U.S. government agency has the expertise and mandate to effectively carry out this mission. We urge you to provide no less than the FY25 enacted level for ILAB so the Bureau can continue its mission to improve the working conditions and rights of workers around the world.”

     In addition to Sánchez, Omar, Scholten and Horsford, the letter was signed by Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) and Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Nev.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Donald Beyer (D-Va.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), André Carson (D-Ill.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Suzi LeVine DelBene (D-Wash.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), Chuy García (D-Ill), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), LaMonica McIver (D-N.C.), Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Eleanor Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Bradley Schneider (D-Ill.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).

     Full text of the letter is available is available HERE and follows:

     

    May 22, 2025

     

    The Honorable Robert Aderholt

    Chair

    Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,

    Education, and Related Agencies

    House Committee on Appropriations

    H-310, The Capitol

    Washington, DC 20515

     

    The Honorable Rosa DeLauro

    Ranking Member

    Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,

    Education, and Related Agencies

    House Committee on Appropriations

    1036 Longworth House Office Building

    Washington, DC 20515

     

    Dear Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member DeLauro,

    As the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies develops its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bill, we write to ask for your support in funding the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). We request no less than the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level for ILAB to ensure that it can continue to carry out its congressionally mandated mission. We also urge you to encourage ILAB to continue allocating balanced funding for programs that address labor rights and promote freedom of association, as well as exploitative child labor and forced labor internationally.

    As you know, ILAB’s mission is to promote a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards, and combating international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. ILAB works to ensure that fully enforceable labor standards are at the core of our trade agreements and programs, and that trade partners’ laws and practices align with those commitments. The need to continue increasing these capacities across international supply chains and in workplaces around the world remains evident.

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2014 found that limited resources have prevented DOL from more proactively monitoring trade partner compliance under 14 U.S. free trade agreements with 20 countries and monitoring of trade preference programs with about 120 countries (GAO 15-160). As a result, GAO found that DOL “systematically monitor[s] and enforce[s] compliance with FTA labor provisions for only a few priority countries.” Moreover, GAO also found that ILAB lacks sufficient capacity to carry out the timely investigation of formal submissions regarding violations of trade agreements. The requested funding aims to continue to remedy the weaknesses identified by GAO and to address the historical imbalance in the allocation of ILAB programming activity.

    We also want to stress our support for ILAB’s work enforcing the USMCA. Through the novel Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM), ILAB has taken labor enforcement actions and worked to ensure compliance of our USMCA partners, especially Mexico, with the commitments of the agreement. Further, ILAB’s labor attaché program is crucial in monitoring working conditions on the ground and ensuring trading partners uphold internationally recognized labor rights and comply with labor-related trade obligations. We hope ILAB will continue to spend at least $30 million annually of USMCA appropriated funds on worker organizing and union capacity building in Mexico. 

    USMCA’s implementing legislation included $180 million for ILAB over four years to support unprecedented reform of the labor justice system in Mexico, worker-focused capacity building, and other implementation efforts in addition to $30 million over eight years for ILAB to monitor compliance with USMCA labor obligations. Given this four-year annual appropriation expired in December 2023 and the increased workload for ILAB expected with the upcoming 2026 USMCA review, we stress the importance of robust funding for ILAB.

    We also reject attempts to cut ILAB’s program funding and reaffirm the critical role that ILAB plays in ensuring our trade relationships strengthen and uphold worker rights around the world. Gutting ILAB does not put America first. It undermines American workers, distorts markets in favor of unscrupulous businesses and regimes, strips our trade and customs officials of critical enforcement tools, and accelerates a global race to the bottom on workers’ rights. ILAB is one of the only U.S. government entities with the infrastructure, expertise, and on-the-ground partnerships necessary to effectively counter forced labor

    ILAB must continue to fulfill the various aspects of mission—enforcing our trade commitments, strengthening labor standards, and combating international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. Accordingly, we request inclusion of the following language in the committee report that will accompany the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill:

    Of amounts appropriated to the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), the Secretary is directed that the amount allocated in grants to promote labor rights and freedom of association, and to build the capacity of independent trade unions and countries to enforce labor rights and to promote a more level playing field for U.S. workers shall be at least equal to the amount allocated in grant funding for combatting child labor. ILAB is directed to continue its work on three key reports including DOL’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor; the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor; and the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor.

    ILAB plays a critical role in helping U.S. workers compete in a global economy. No other U.S. government agency has the expertise and mandate to effectively carry out this mission. We urge you to provide no less than the FY25 enacted level for ILAB so the Bureau can continue its mission to improve the working conditions and rights of workers around the world.

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Sincerely,

     ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Erick Tsang unveils GBA aircraft

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang today officiated at an unveiling ceremony of a new “Greater Bay Area aircraft” at Hong Kong International Airport.

    The Greater Bay Airlines aircraft has a promotional livery that reads “Leveraging Hong Kong’s Strengths, Developing a First-class Greater Bay Area”, and will operate flights between Hong Kong and both Mainland and overseas cities while promoting the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and Hong Kong.

    This is the first time the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office has used an aircraft as a mobile display platform to promote the GBA globally. The office has used other means of transportation such as buses, trams and ferries in its promotional work.

    Mr Tsang expressed his hope that the aircraft will serve as an “ambassador in the sky” to promote the GBA and raise awareness of GBA developments and of Hong Kong’s role in connecting the Mainland with the world.

    He encouraged all sectors to capitalise on Hong Kong’s distinctive strengths to seize on the enormous opportunities brought about by the GBA and contribute to its development. 

    He also emphasised that the GBA’s development is the best entry point for Hong Kong to actively integrate into the nation’s development overall.

    “Hong Kong possesses the unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, and a business environment that is highly market-oriented and internationalised, underpinned by the rule of law, free flow of capital, a comprehensive financial regulatory system, a simple and low tax regime, and a pool of global professional talent.

    “All these have enabled Hong Kong to become a super connector, connecting the Mainland with the world, and leveraging its dual roles in going global and attracting foreign investment for the GBA.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Government has updated the Concept of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation of Russia

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Document

    Order of May 16, 2025 No. 1218-r

    Expanding and deepening cooperation with friendly and neutral states, prioritizing the implementation of Russia’s national interests, ensuring the country’s international leadership in various areas of the global agenda of scientific and technological development – these and other goals are set in the Concept of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation of Russia. The order approving it was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

    The document states that Russia is betting on the formation of favorable and most attractive conditions for effective and fruitful scientific work of domestic and foreign scientists in the interests of Russian science. Among such interests are ensuring technological sovereignty, creating conditions for the sustainable development of the Russian economy on a new technological basis, observing the principles of equality and mutual benefit.

    Creating a comfortable environment for international cooperation is impossible without developing a modern research and technological infrastructure. At the same time, the priority direction of such work will be unique scientific installations of the “megascience” class. The creation of conditions for their successful operation will be carried out by joint efforts of scientific organizations, the state and business.

    Today, the implementation of major scientific projects is impossible without cooperation between scientific organizations from different countries. Therefore, the concept assumes expansion of the geography of interaction with scientists from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Work in this direction will be multifaceted and includes, among other things, the organization of scientific and educational competitions, the activation of scientific exchange and the increase in academic mobility of scientists.

    Russia also plans to actively develop international scientific and technical cooperation within the framework of interaction with key international organizations, including UN structures (UNESCO, UNIDO, IAEA, WHO, etc.), as well as BRICS, the Group of Twenty, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other global governance institutions.

    The development of these ties should ultimately lead to the formation of a single scientific and technological space. Solving such a task on a CIS scale is also one of the goals of the concept. To do this, it is necessary to implement a coordinated policy on priority areas of development of science and technology and the unification of scientific potentials of the Commonwealth countries.

    Commenting on the adopted document at a meeting with deputy prime ministers on June 2, Mikhail Mishustin noted that it is very important to maintain dialogue between countries and the scientific community, business and public institutions.

    “This is of great importance for the harmonization and dissemination of best practices in the field of international scientific and technical cooperation,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

    The concept of international scientific and technical cooperation was prepared taking into account the provisions of the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of Russia.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosneft Improves Methods of Researching Gas and Gas Condensate Wells

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Specialists from the Rosneft Scientific Institute in Ufa have supplemented the corporate software package RN-VEGA with the ability to comprehensively analyze dynamic data for gas and gas condensate wells without the need to stop their operation.

    The improved functionality of the digital product allows for detailed modeling and analysis of well performance in low-permeability gas formations, taking into account the impact of bottomhole and formation pressures. Based on the results obtained, specialists promptly analyze the causes of changes in well flow rates and select effective geological and technical measures.

    The developed method of complex analysis of dynamic data was tested on wells of the Urengoy gas condensate field of Rosneft. The potential economic effect from the implementation of the new functionality at the enterprise is estimated at 44 million rubles per year due to the reduction in the duration and volume of traditional types of gas-dynamic studies with well shutdown.

    The replication of the upgraded version of RN-VEGA will improve the efficiency of measures to intensify gas and condensate production at the Company’s fields.

    Rosneft is the first oil company in Russia that successfully creates software that covers all key processes of oil and gas production. The Company’s specialists have already developed 24 unique software products.

    Detailed information about RN-VEGA and other Rosneft software is available on the website HTTPS: //rn. Digital/

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft June 2, 2025

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: To Alexander Paretsky, General Director – Artistic Director of the Donetsk State Academic Philharmonic

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Mikhail Mishustin congratulated the head of the DGAF on his 40th birthday.

    The telegram states, in particular:

    “Under your leadership, the Donetsk State Academic Philharmonic carefully preserves and enhances national musical traditions and, despite the difficult situation, conducts active concert activities. The group’s performances, which have become an integral part of the cultural life of the Republic, are always a success, delighting the audience with the skill and diversity of the repertoire.

    I wish you the realization of all your plans, interesting creative projects, good health and prosperity.”

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 2, 2025
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