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NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - India and the United States have concluded a roadmap for defence industry cooperation for the next few years, the two countries said on Monday, a landmark move expected to bolster New Delhi's defence manufacturing ambitions.

Washington is working to deepen ties with India and sees stronger military-to-military and technology ties with the world's largest democracy as a key counterweight to China's dominance in the region.

05 June 2023; MEMO: Qatari Defence Minister, Khalid Al-Attiyah, yesterday discussed strengthening military relations with Saudi Arabia with the kingdom's Assistant Defence Minister, Talal Al-Otaibi.

The discussion came during a meeting that brought both officials together in Singapore.

The Saudi Defence Ministry said in a statement that the two officials had discussed "topics of common interest, as well as ways to enhance relations between both countries."

05 June 2023; MEMO: The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has signed an agreement which gives a company in the UAE exclusive export rights of locally extracted gold for 25 years as well as a preferential tax rate of 0.25 per cent. The deal was apparently finalised late last year in an effort to eliminate the Congolese informal, or artisanal, mining sector.

05 June 2023; MEMO: Members of the OPEC+ alliance yesterday agreed to implement a voluntary cut in oil production until the end of 2024 instead of the previous date scheduled for the end of 2023.

The members said in a statement that the voluntary cut is in addition to a mandatory cut of 1.4 million barrels per day, which will start early next year and continue for a full year.

01 June 2023; MEMO: Arab experts have said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's re-election will advance Turkish-Arab relations to greater horizons, Anadolu Agency reports.

Erdogan won last Sunday's runoff vote with 52.16 per cent.

Continuous development

"Prior to the Turkish elections, there was a path of normalisation between Turkiye and Arab countries," Ali Bakir, a Professor of International Relations at the Ibn Khaldun Centre at Qatar University, told Anadolu.

01 June 2023; MEMO: The Sultan of Oman Haitham Bin Tarik yesterday presided over the launch ceremony for a new city bearing his name, which is set to be the sultanate's first smart city.

During the event held at Al-Baraka Palace, themed "Treasure the Future", the sultan was briefed about the project of the planned Sultan Haitham City. A presentation also showcased a model of the city, which will be developed in the wilayat of Seeb, several kilometres northwest of Muscat.

01 June 2023; MEMO: Italy has lifted its embargo on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after years of restriction, amid the recent peace initiatives to resolve the conflict in Yemen.

01 June 2023; MEMO: Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected to visit Turkiye to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan soon, Turkish media reports.

According to the report, both leaders are expected to visit Erdogan to discuss the situation of the war and the fate of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

On Monday, Russia warned that the grain deal was in danger unless a UN agreement to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports is fulfilled.

CAPE TOWN, June 1 (Reuters) - BRICS foreign ministers on Thursday asserted their bloc's ambition to rival Western powers but their talks in South Africa were overshadowed by questions over whether Russia's president would be arrested if he attended a summit in August.

South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said her country was mulling options if Vladimir Putin, the subject of a war crimes arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), came to the planned BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

31 May 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has vowed to settle the continued difficulties experienced by Turkish citizens in acquiring visas to the European Union and its member states, calling it "political blackmail".