General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2015

Jul 2015

May 31, 2023

BRICS Bank to Expand Membership as Saudi Arabia Looks to Join

The New Development Bank, the lender created by the BRICS group of nations, will widen its membership as it seeks to boost its capital and counter the influence of Western-dominated multilateral banks.
The lender, formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will look at increasing the diversity of its members in terms of geography, development stages and on the size of the countries.
Saudi Arabia is the latest to discuss joining the bank, a move that would give the lender more financial muscle. The bank was created in 2014 as a counterweight to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The bank's membership is open to any country within the United Nations. Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates became members in 2021, while Egypt joined in February 2022.

May 30, 2023

Rajnath Singh Attends Swearing-in Ceremony of President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh attended the swearing-in ceremony of President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja. In addition to senior officials of Ministry of Defence, the Raksha Mantri's delegation to Nigeria included top executives of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). These executives held a series of meetings with Nigerian military and Government representatives for identifying their requirements which can be fulfilled by the Indian Defence companies. B-to-B meetings were held with Nigerian companies for enhancing cooperation. Besides high-level political representation from countries across the African continent, including several Heads of State, India was among the select non-African nations that were represented in the 'swearing-in ceremony' at Ministerial level, reflecting the high priority and strength of our bilateral relations with Nigeria. Rajnath Singh also had a brief meeting with the Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative of Bangladesh Md Tazul Islam who was also in Abuja to attend the swearing-in ceremony. The meeting was a testimony of the bonhomie between India and Bangladesh and the two leaders expressed the commitment of their respective Governments towards further expanding and strengthening the bilateral ties.

CAG Girish Chandra Murmu Re-elected External Auditor of WHO

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu was re-elected as external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO) for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027. He has been holding the position for a four-year term from 2019 to 2023.
At the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Girish Chandra Murmu was re-elected in the first round of voting itself with 114 out of 156 votes.
This was the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year following his selection for the post of external auditor (2024-2027) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva in March 2023.
The CAG is also the external auditor of Food and Agriculture Organization (2020-2025), International Atomic Energy Agency (2022-2027), Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (2021-2023).

May 29, 2023

China Select Committee of US House Recommends Making India Part of NATO Plus

In a significant development ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, a powerful Congressional Committee recommended strengthening NATO Plus by including India.
NATO Plus, currently NATO Plus 5, is a security arrangement that brings together NATO and five aligned nations – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and South Korea – to boost global defence cooperation.
Bringing India on board would facilitate seamless intelligence sharing between these countries and India would access the latest military technology without much of a time lag.
The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Chairman Mike Gallagher and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, overwhelmingly adopted a policy proposal to enhance Taiwan's deterrence, including through strengthening NATO Plus to include India.
An initiative of the Republican leadership, the Select Committee is popularly called the China Committee.

Erdogan Wins Turkish Presidential Elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.
A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond the capital of Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.
With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The head of Turkey's electoral board confirmed the victory, saying that even after accounting for outstanding votes, the result was another term for Erdogan.
Erdogan, who has been at Turkey's helm for 20 years, came just short of victory in the first round of elections on May 14, 2023. It was the first time he failed to win an election outright, but he made up.

Saudi Arabia and Canada to Restore Full Diplomatic Ties

Canada and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and appoint new ambassadors, both countries said, bringing to a close a 2018 dispute that damaged relations and trade.
The decision followed discussions held between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Bangkok in November 2022.
As part of the restoration of ties, Canada will appoint Jean-Philippe Linteau as its new ambassador to Riyadh.

May 28, 2023

Joe Biden Names Gen C. Q. Brown Jr, as Next Joint Chiefs Chairman

President Joe Biden named Gen Charles "CQ" Brown Jr to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military officer in the US.
Gen Brown, currently the Air Force chief of staff, would replace Gen Mark Milley, whose term ends in September 2023.
If confirmed, he would be the only other black officer holding this top post in US history besides General Colin Powell, who served from 1989-93.
The chairman is the president's top military adviser.
Since Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is also black, it would be the first time ever that two African American men simultaneously held the most senior civil and military positions at the Pentagon.

May 27, 2023

Japan Seals deal for Defense Equipment, Technology Transfers with UAE

Japan and the United Arab Emirates agreed a deal on defense equipment and technology transfers, in a move that enables joint research, development and production.
While Tokyo has sealed about a dozen similar bilateral deals, including with the US, the UK and Australia, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering loosening the strict limits on Japanese arms exports more generally.
The UAE is the world's 11th largest arms importer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The agreement came as Japan works on a next-generation fighter aircraft with the UK and Italy, which is likely to be marketed beyond the three countries.

Germany Enters Recession as Energy Prices Soared after Ukraine War

Germany suffered its first recession since the start of pandemic, extinguishing hopes that Europe's top economy could escape such a fate after the war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
First-quarter output shrank 0.3% from the previous three months following a 0.5% drop between October and December, the statistics office said. Its initial estimate, last month, was for stagnation.
The result is a setback for Germany, which despite escaping the bleakest scenarios feared in the aftermath of Russia's invasion has nevertheless succumbed to a recession that Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to rule out in January.

Russia to Shut Swedish Consulate and Expel Diplomats

Russia said that it would shut Sweden's consulate in St Petersburg and its own mission in Sweden's second-biggest city Gothenburg, and expelled five Swedish diplomats in a tit-for-tat move after Stockholm expelled five Russians last month.
Stockholm last month it had expelled the diplomats over espionage concerns. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the expulsions an openly hostile step.
Relations between the two countries have worsened since Sweden last year (2022) announced its intention to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russia said that ties had reached an unprecedented low.

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