Saturday, November 17

The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will kick off on Saturday in the unlikely venue of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.  Donald Trump is skipping the meeting, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place. The contrast with China could hardly be more stark. President Xi Jinping arrived two days before the summit for a state visit, and will open a road and school -- both funded by Beijing. Setting the scene for a potential clash in Port Moresby, a senior US official speaking ahead of the summit accused Beijing in engaging in “dangerous debt diplomacy throughout the region.”  The high-profile trade war between the world’s two largest economies -- as well as tit-for-tat tariff measures -- will also serve as a backdrop to what could be a tense gathering.

The Delhi government will host a concert by Carnatic music vocalist TM Krishna. Krishna's concert in the city was scrapped by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to perform in Delhi.  After Krishna’s November 17 concert to be held at Nehru Park was cancelled by AAI, the AAP government stepped in to organise another performance by Krishna, who often finds himself in the cross-hairs of controversy over his outspoken views.

 

Sunday, November 18

President Ram Nath Kovind will start on a four-day official visit to Vietnam. The President will address the National Assembly of Vietnam. Chinese President Xi Jinping is the only foreign leader to have addressed the National Assembly till now.  Earlier in August this year, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had visited Vietnam and several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries during her visit.