General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Nov 18, 2022

India-Russia-Iran Holds Trilateral Meet on Afghanistan on Sidelines of Moscow Format

India participated in the fourth Meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, which was held in Moscow. Special envoys and senior officials from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, the participants discussed issues related to Afghanistan, including the current humanitarian situation and the ongoing efforts of various stakeholders to provide assistance, intra-Afghan talks, formation of an inclusive and representative government, efforts to counter threats of terrorism and ensuring regional security.
It was introduced in 2017 on the basis of the six-party mechanism for consultations among special representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and India.
The Moscow format meeting's main objective is to facilitate the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan and secure peace in that country as soon as possible.

The Pandemic Fund Officially Launched at G20 Meeting

The G20 Presidency of Indonesia hosted the official launch of the Pandemic Fund on the margins of the G20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in the presence of Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.
The Pandemic Fund, now with new name and logo, will provide the latest progress the Governing Board has made since its establishment in September 2022, to get operational – an important step toward strengthening global health architecture.
This is the first time the international community has come together around a funding mechanism dedicated to investing in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response in developing countries – a testament to multilateralism, said Dr. Chatib Basri, co-Chair of the Pandemic Fund Governing Board.
Developed with Indonesia's and Italy's leadership during their respective G20 presidencies, the Pandemic Fund has US$1.4 billion in seed funding already committed by 24 donors.

Nov 17, 2022

India Hosts LeadIT Summit with Sweden at COP27 in Egypt

India and Sweden hosted the LeadIT Summit, on the sidelines of COP27 at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. The Leadership for Industry Transition- LeadIT initiative focuses on low carbon transition of the hard to abate industrial sector.
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav emphasised that co-development is the only option to meet the targets that the world has taken for itself and without it, low carbon transition could be delayed by decades. He said, the low carbon transition of the industrial sector will not only contribute towards the reduction in required greenhouse gas emissions.
LeadIT was launched by the Prime Ministers of Sweden and India with support from the World Economic Forum (WEF) during the UN Secretary-General's Climate Action Summit in 2019, in New York.
It is a voluntary initiative for promoting low-carbon transition through active participation of private sector companies. Especially in the sectors like Iron & Steel, Aluminium, Cement and Concrete, petrochemicals, fertilisers, bricks, heavy-duty transport.

Nov 16, 2022

Global Population to Crosses 8 Billion-mark

The world marked a major milestone as the global population reached 8 billion, according to the UN estimates released in July this year. The annual World Population Prospect also noted that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen to less than one per cent in 2020.
India has been the largest contributor in taking the global population from 7 billion to 8 billion in the last 12 years. United Nations Population Fund said that Asia and Africa drove much of that growth and is expected to drive the next billion, while Europe's contribution will be negative due to declining population.
"India, the largest contributor to the 8 billion, will surpass China, which was the second largest contributor and whose contribution to the next billion will be negative, as the world's most populous nation by 2023," the UN sexual and reproductive health agency said.

Donald Trump Files White House Candidacy Papers

Former US President Donald Trump filed his candidacy papers to launch his 2024 presidential campaign with the US election authority. Donald Trump is the first major contender from the Republican and the Democrat party to formally announce his candidacy.
"In order to make America great again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," Trump said to a cheering phone-waving crowd of donors and long time supporters.
The announcement was made by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The development came a week after midterm elections in which Republicans failed to win as many seats in Congress as they had hoped. The 76-year-old's aides filed paperwork with the US Federal Election Commission for a 2024 White House bid.

Pakistan and Bangladesh First to Receive G7 'Global Shield' Climate Funding

Pakistan, Ghana and Bangladesh will be among the first recipients of funding from a G7 'Global Shield' initiative to provide funding to countries suffering climate disasters, the programme announced at the COP27 summit in Egypt.
The Global Shield, coordinated by G7 president Germany, aims to provide rapid access for climate-vulnerable countries to insurance and disaster protection funding after floods or drought. It is being developed in collaboration with the 'V20' group of 58 climate vulnerable economies.
Germany listed Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines and Senegal as some of the initial recipients of Global Shield packages.
Those packages would be developed in the coming months, Germany said.

After FATF, UK Removes Pakistan from High Risk List

In recognition of the effective measures taken by Pakistan against money laundering and terror financing, the UK officially removed the nation from its list of "High Risk Third Countries".
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced the good news.
This list of 21 countries, released by the UK government, replicated the list of countries named by the FATF as high-risk or under increased monitoring. Pakistan shared the list at number 15 with conflict-ridden countries such as Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Nov 15, 2022

PM Modi to Embark on Three-day Visit to Indonesia

PM Modi has embarked the visit to Indonesia from November 14, to attend the 17^th G20 Summit in Bali.
The summit's theme was "Recover Together, Recover Stronger". Three working sessions will be held as part of the G20 Summit Agenda.
These are food and energy security, health, and digital transformation. At the closing session, the Indonesian President will symbolically hand over the G20 Presidency to PM Modi.
India will formally assume G20 Presidency from December 2022.

India to Organise 3rd Ministerial 'No Money for Terror' Conference in New Delhi

Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India will organise the 3^rd Ministerial Conference on 'No Money for Terror' in New Delhi on 18^th and 19^th November.
The purpose of this conference is to take forward the discussions on combating terrorist financing held by the international community in the previous two conferences in Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019).
Representatives from 75 countries and international bodies will attend the two-day conference for deliberations.
In October 2022, India hosted two international events – The annual General Assembly of Interpol (Delhi) and a special session of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (Mumbai and Delhi).

Shlok Mukherjee Wins India's 2022 Doodle for Google

Google announced Shlok Mukherjee as the winner of the 2022 Doodle for Google competition.
Sholk Mukherjee is from Kolkata and was declared the winner for India for his inspiring Doodle titled 'India on the Centre State'. His doddle also featured on Google.co.in on 14^th November, 2022.
Shlok Mukherjee showcased India's scientific achievements and advancements through his doodle.
The Doodle for Google contest has been held in India since 2009.
In this competition, students from classes 1 to 10 can participate.
The entries of the students are evaluated by Google executives and a jury panel consisting of industry leaders and creative thinkers.

Natasa Pirc Musar Becomes First Female President of Slovenia

Natasa Pirc Musar, a lawyer hired by former US first lady Melania Trump, was elected Slovenia's first woman President.
Pirc Musar is a journalist and lawyer contested as an independent candidate with the backing of Slovenia's centre-left government. She ran against the ex-foreign minister and veteran leader Anze Logar.
Pirc Musar, who is known to have headed the country's data protection authority for a decade, won almost 54 per cent vote against Logar who received 46 per cent.

Nov 14, 2022

US Removes India from Its Currency Monitoring List

India is among the few countries removed from the United States' Currency Monitoring List, released by the Department of Treasury. In its biannual report to Congress, the US' Treasury Department announced that it also removed Italy, Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand from the list.
India's removal from US' Currency Monitoring List) means that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can now take robust measures to manage the exchange rates effectively, without being tagged as a currency manipulator. This is a big win from a markets standpoint and also signifies the growing role of India in global growth. To manage exchange rates amid the rupee fall, the RBI recently took actions like buying dollars at the time of excess inflows and selling dollars at the time of outflows. For India, it is good news as we were designated a currency manipulator. The rupee could appreciate on account of this.

Israeli President Herzog Invites Benjamin Netanyahu to Form New Government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially invited former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the new government.
Netanyahu, who had won the backing of 64 Members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), was assigned the task to form the next government.
Netanyahu will have 28 days to form the government. If an extension is required, the President has the legal authority to grant an extension of up to fourteen additional days.
Israel's longest-serving leader, Netanyahu has won a record five elections to hold office five times - more than any other Prime Minister in the country's 74-year history.

WHO Releases First Data on Global Vaccine Market Since COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report that shows that inequitable distribution is not unique to COVID-19 vaccines, with poorer countries consistently struggling to access vaccines that are in-demand by wealthier countries.
WHO's Global Vaccine Market Report 2022, revealed that limited vaccine supply and unequal distribution drive global disparities.
According to WHO, affordability is also an obstacle to vaccine access. Although prices tend to be tiered by income, price disparities see "middle-income countries paying as much – or even more – than wealthier ones for several vaccine products."

Year 2022 Declared as ASEAN-India Friendship Year

The year 2022 was declared as the ASEAN-India Friendship year, as ASEAN and India commemorate 30 years of partnership. A series of events has been planned to celebrate the occasion throughout the year. As a part of this programme, Indian media delegation is on a visit to Singapore and Cambodia under the ASEAN-INDIA Media exchange programme from 8th November to 13th November.
On the first leg of the visit the delegation visited the Singapore-India Chambers of Commerce and Industries (SICCI) and had an exchange of thoughts on topics such as India-Singapore relations with a specific focus on business-friendly policies and the expectations of business community in Singapore from India.
As a precursor to the visit of the Vice President of India to Cambodia for the ASEAN Summit, the delegation visited the Angkor Vat and Ta Prohm temple complexes and witnessed the prominent role played by the Government of India and the Archeological Survey of India in restoring these UNESCO World Heritage sites there. Vice President would be inaugurating the newly restored portions of the Ta Prohm temple complex during the visit.

ASEAN Agrees in Principle to Admit East Timor as 11th Member

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the group's 11th member, the bloc said in a statement on Friday, more than a decade after the country requested membership.
The half-island nation, officially called Timor Leste, will also be granted observer status at high-level ASEAN meetings, the bloc said after regional leaders met in Phnom Penh for a summit.
ASEAN added that next steps would include a "roadmap for full membership" to be submitted at next year's summit.
The country would be the first new member of the regional grouping in more than two decades, since Cambodia was admitted in 1999.

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