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Indian Express
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
What the European right can learn from India
Earlier this week, I was in Budapest to address the annual conference of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a prestigious US-based group. It is influential in US politics and has close links with President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders. In Europe, CPAC also has an important role in creating a unified voice for conservative parties and leaders. This year's conference attracted major right-wing leaders from various countries in Europe and Latin America. Viktor Orban, the host country's Prime Minister, was there along with the Prime Minister of Georgia, several former prime ministers — including from the UK and the Czech Republic — several serving ministers, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), MPs and commentators. President Trump delivered a brief video message. As one of the speakers, an Arab-origin Congressman from Arizona, US, commented, the CPAC has become the Mecca of European conservatism. Through two days and dozens of speakers, the agenda of the conference revolved round the challenges faced by the European right from the opportunistic rainbow alliances that comprise traditionally centrist parties and liberal and left parties, whose sole aim is to prevent the rise of conservative politics on the continent. The last decade witnessed the unprecedented rise of right-wing parties in several European nations, including Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Hungary has been under the rule of Orban's right-wing Fidesz party for the past 15 years. In 2024, many political observers had predicted a right-wing-dominated European Parliament. However, the election results on June 6, 2024, did not provide that opportunity to the right-wing parties. They registered significant gains, but failed to emerge as the dominant force. They emerged as a strong voice and formed a pressure group called Patriots for Europe (PfE), which today boasts a membership of close to 100 MEPs. The rise of the right seems to have rattled the liberals who control the EU. Leaders like Orban have been subjected to severe criticism and his government was denied legitimate financial support from the EU on the flimsy grounds of citizens' rights and democratic downslide. When Orban took a firm stand against immigration, tightening borders and asylum laws, the EU leadership took the unusual measure of slapping a penalty of 1 million euros per day on his government. If the enthusiasm at the Budapest conference is any indication, such undemocratic and coercive measures by the EU, dominated by liberal groups, seemed to have had the opposite effect. A renewed vigour and determination to take on challenges like illegal immigration, radical Islam, globalism and woke forces was palpable through the conference, which had the 'Age of Patriots' as its main theme. Speaker after speaker reiterated their determination to fight back against what many described as 'liberal fascism'. Incidentally, I was the only non-Western speaker at the conference — this highlights the fact that while Western liberals have reached out systematically to all corners of the world, Western conservatives have limited their activism to Europe and the Americas. I told the conference that while our politics may not be the same, we, too, share some of the conservative values like God, religion, family, sovereignty and patriotism. Like the Western conservatives, the Indian right, too, sees illegal immigration as a threat to national sovereignty and woke liberalism as a danger to tradition and family values. Unfortunately, in India, the initial decades after Independence witnessed the dominance of Western liberal political ideas like socialism and globalism. A Nehruvian consensus was created, championing these ideas through not only state institutions but also the media and academia. Religiosity, cultural values, and national identity faced serious threats. Over several decades, a relentless battle was waged at the grassroots level to unshackle the country from left-liberal influence and build a strong cultural nationalist politics. It culminated in the election of the Narendra Modi government in 2014. In the last decade, the cultural nationalist project in India achieved significant successes. The Ram Temple in Ayodhya symbolises the defeat of pseudo-secular politics in the country, while the demise of Article 370 signified the death of liberal appeasement of separatism and radicalism. While Modi's market-friendly policies have catapulted India in just 10 years from the 11th biggest economy to the cusp of being the fourth biggest economy in the world, his zero tolerance for terror has resulted in the decimation of radical Islamist forces. The government has also clamped down on illegal immigrants. Indian media and academia, too, have turned nationalist and patriotic — substantially but not in full measure — pushing left-liberals to the fringe. In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Kashmir, Modi successfully mobilised the support of some liberals, who had been apologists for radical Islamists, in the war on terror. Understanding the nuances of India's experience in the revival of cultural nationalist politics can help the Western conservative movement in its struggle against the left liberal onslaught. The Indian right may not fully subscribe to the agenda of their counterparts in the West. European conservatives use God and religion in the singular, while Indian nationalists use them in the plural. Indian nationalists believe in values like pluralism, statism and environmental activism, which may sound very much like the liberal agenda to the right in the West. Yet, there is enough ground for engagement and dialogue. If the Western conservatives secure support from a big country like India, their power is bound to multiply manifold. Having India on their side is akin to having two Europes, four USAs or 140 Hungarys with them. The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP
Jordan News
08-03-2025
- Business
- Jordan News
222 Million Dinars in Exports from Amman Chamber of Commerce in Two Months - Jordan News
The value of certificates of origin issued by the Amman Chamber of Commerce for the export of goods to Arab and foreign countries increased by 21.2% during the past two months compared to the same period in 2024. اضافة اعلان According to the data, the number of certificates of origin issued by the Amman Chamber of Commerce during the past two months also increased by 32.2%, reaching 4,487 certificates, compared to 3,394 certificates for the same period last year. Unusually, Syria topped the list of the top five countries to which goods and products were exported through the certificates of origin issued by the chamber, with 1,072 certificates and a value of about 12 million dinars. Iraq had the highest value in terms of exports. Following Syria in the number of certificates issued was Iraq, with 477 certificates and a value of 96 million dinars, making it one of the largest importers from Jordan according to the certificates of origin issued by the Amman Chamber of Commerce. The data also revealed that the number of certificates issued to Switzerland was 6, with a value of about 26 million dinars, to Egypt 125 certificates, with a value of 15 million dinars, and to the UAE 380 certificates, with a value of around 14 million dinars. These countries are among the largest in terms of export value. As for the type of products, the value of exports of foreign-origin products (goods of foreign origin) reached about 104 million dinars. Industrial products were valued at 52 million dinars, agricultural products at 19 million dinars, and Arab-origin products at about 16 million dinars, with the remaining value attributed to other products. A certificate of origin is a document used in international trade to certify that the goods in a particular shipment have been produced, manufactured, or processed in a specific country. Customs authorities use the certificate of origin to determine the eligibility of the goods for specific duties and to verify the country of origin of the goods. It is worth noting that the Amman Chamber of Commerce issues certificates of origin for agricultural and animal products, raw Jordanian natural resources, foreign goods that are re-exported, and foreign goods purchased from the local market under certain conditions. Certificates of origin are also issued for Jordanian industrial products upon the exporter's request, based on the original factory invoice certified by an industrial chamber, along with an original certificate of origin, certified according to the law, issued by an industrial chamber, proving that the goods are of Jordanian origin. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article (29) of the Jordanian Chamber of Commerce System No. (45) of 2009 and the Instructions for Issuing Certificates of Origin for 2013.
