The United Nations and this signed a joint framework aimed at strengthening partnership in counter-terrorism efforts.

Pakistan Navy on April 23, 2019 successfully test-fired an indigenous cruise missile in the Arabian Sea, the navy said. The indigenously developed cruise missile has anti-ship missile and land attack capability. The missile reportedly hit its target accurately on land signifying the impressive capabilities of the indigenous missile system.

The UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) have announced that 85 percent of the Hope Probe project has been completed. Hope Probe is an ambitious dream project of UAE to send a mission to Mars.

Indian archaeologists recently unearthed a life-sized stucco sculpture from a Buddhist site at Phanigiri in Suryapet, Telangana. As per heritage department officials, it represents one of Bhodhisattva in Jathaka Chakra.This is the largest stucco sculpture found from India till date. The sculpture is about 1.73 metres in height and 35 cm in width.It is considered to have been built at at peak of Ikshavaku dynasty.The preliminary excavation at Phanigiri was started by archaeological department official Khaja Muhammad Ahmad in 1941.

Kazakhstan has set up Coordinating Council for attracting foreign investments including from India. A decision was taken to lay down the functions of Investment Ombudsman in order to venture for new approaches to improve the investment scenario in Kazakhstan. The meeting identified the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) as a Unified Center for the coordination of work on investment and promotion of the investment image of Kazakhstan.

The US has won a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against China's use of tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) for rice, wheat and corn. The case, lodged by the Obama administration in late 2016, marks the second U.S. victory in as many months in the country's ongoing trade spat with China. TRQs are two-level tariffs, with limited imports allowed at the lower 'in-quota' tariff and subsequent imports charged an 'out-of-quota' tariff, which is generally much higher. The US argued that the quotas limited market access for its grain exports. Australia, Brazil, India, and the European Union were among those reserving their rights in the dispute brought by the world's largest grain exporter.

India and the United States have agreed to strengthen economic co-operation and bilateral trade by ensuring greater collaboration amongst stakeholders, including government, businesses and entrepreneurs.

The UK parliament became the first national legislative body in the world to declare a climate change emergency. The motion was approved without a vote and registers the views of the House of Commons without compelling the government to act on any particular policy proposal. It also calls for the government to work towards carbon neutrality before 2050 and for ministers to draft proposals within the next 6 months to restore the country's environment and create a "zero waste economy".

For the second year in a row, Iraq has become India's top crude oil supplier in 2018-19 fiscal year and meet more than a fifth of the country's oil needs. According to official data sourced from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Iraq sold 46.61 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil to India during April 2018 and March 2019, which is 2% more than 45.74 mt it had supplied in 2017-18 fiscal. Saudi Arabia also maintained its position as the 2nd-largest crude supplier to India during the year followed by Iran and United Arab Emirates (UAE) which toppled Venezuela to become India's fourth largest crude supplier. Despite US sanctions on Iran, the country's crude oil supply to India increased 6.24% to 24 MT in 2018-19. India managed to import a sizeable amount of Iranian crude last year primarily due to waivers and winding down period provided by US.

Malaysia resumed a China-backed rail link project after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut the construction cost by one third to 10.6 billion US dollars. The Malaysian government will also take up a multibillion-dollar property and transportation project in Kuala Lumpur involving a Chinese state company, calling it a contribution to China's global "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.

INS Kolkata and Shakti are scheduled to participate in the International Fleet Review in Qingdao, China as part of 70th Anniversary celebrations of People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy). International Fleet Review (IFR) is a parade of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, and is organised by nations to promote goodwill, strengthen cooperation and showcase their organisational capabilities.