Putin Visits India, Mann Visits Japan & South Korea, US & NZ Trucker Issues Grow

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India on 4–5 Dec. The visit came during strained Indo-US ties and India facing high US tariffs. The visit resulted in some minor but no major agreements between the two countries; they announced a Labour Mobility Agreement that will facilitate Indian skilled workers to work in Russia, where a 3M manpower shortage for jobs is expected by the end of the decade. Panjab’s Indian National Congress party’s Member of Legislative Assembly Pargat Singh urged the Indian Prime Minister to 'raise the issue of Panjab's youth who were misled into the Russia-Ukraine war. Five young men are reportedly dead and several are still missing—with their families waiting in distress.' The families of the missing youth recently submitted memorandums at the offices of Indian President, Prime Minister, Ministry of External Affairs, National Human Rights Commission, and the Home Ministry, requesting to ensure the safe return of youngsters. A resident of Goraya, Jalandhar, Jagdeep Kumar has been trying to trace his brother Mandeep Kumar who went missing in March 2023. However, the Indian government made no statement on the missing youth and it is not clear if the issue even came up in talks with Russia. Meanwhile, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann visited Japan and South Korea seeking investment in the state. In other news, in the US, the Department of Transportation (DOT) revoked the licenses of 3K truck driving schools and other training providers as part of the Trump administration's widening crackdown on the trucking industry. Another 4K schools and trainers have been placed on notice for potential noncompliance. The names of those schools and trainers were not immediately released. Together they represent more than 40% of US's 16K authorized training providers, according to the DOT which accuses them of falsifying or manipulating training data, neglecting to meet required curriculum standards and instructor qualifications, and failing to maintain or share accurate records. Concurrently, in the last few weeks, the New Zealand Transport Agency has cancelled nearly 460 commercial driving licenses, most of them of Sikh drivers, from India (earlier coverage).