Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (International Relations) – July 1, 2020

Both India and Pakistan have exchanged their list of nuclear installations under the bilateral agreement.

• The list was handed over in accordance with Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India, signed on December 31, 1988, the Foreign Office (FO).
• The agreement was entered into force on January 27, 1991, provides, inter alia, that the two countries inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year.

Following the killing of Iranian military and intelligence commander Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in a drone attack carried out by the United States, the Iranian government registered its protest with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

• Switzerland represents the interests of the US in Iran. This is because the US itself does not have an embassy there. Iran’s interests in the United States, on the other hand, are represented by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
• In an arrangement such as this, Switzerland is the “Protecting Power” of the United States’ interests in Iran. The instrument of Protecting Powers is provided for under the 1961 and 1963 Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations.
• “If diplomatic relations are broken off between two States, or if a mission is permanently or temporarily recalled… the sending State may entrust the protection of its interests and those of its nationals to a third State acceptable to the receiving State,” the 1961 Vienna Convention states.
• And the 1963 Convention reiterates: “A sending State may with the prior consent of a receiving State, and at the request of a third State not represented in the receiving State, undertake the temporary protection of the interests of the third State and of its nationals.”

The East Asia Summit is a unique Leaders-led forum of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region formed to further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity.

• It has evolved as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern and plays an important role in the regional architecture.
• Established in 2005, EAS allows the principal players in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss issues of common interest and concern, in an open and transparent manner, at the highest level.
• The membership of EAS consists of ten ASEAN Member States (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA.
• EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.
• There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS. These are – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and ASEAN Connectivity.
• India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

• This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
• It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.
• Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
• Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
• With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February 2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).

The Maldives re-joined the Commonwealth, more than three years after the Indian Ocean island nation quit the association amid mounting criticism of its human rights record then.

• In 2016, the Maldives pulled out of the Commonwealth terming “unjust” the grouping’s decision to penalise the country over former President Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial ouster in 2012.
• It followed the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s warning to Maldives of suspension from the bloc, voicing “deep disappointment” over the country’s lack of progress in resolving the political crisis during former President Abdulla Yameen’s presidency, whose authoritarian slant sparked concern domestically and internationally.

The Group of Twenty, or the G20, is the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

• The G20 brings together the leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent. ​
• Collectively, G20 members represent around 80% of the world’s economic output, two-thirds of global population and three-quarters of international trade.
• Throughout the year, representatives from G20 countries gather to discuss financial and socioeconomic issues.​
• Originated in 1999 at the level of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, the G20 gathered for high-level discussions on macro-financial issues.
• In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20 was elevated to include the leaders of member countries.
• The first G20 Leaders’ Summit took place in Washington D.C. in November 2008.
• Consequently, the G20 agenda expanded beyond macro-financial issues, to include socio-economic and development issues.

In a significant development for the region, the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (“the Quad”) between India, Australia, Japan and the U.S. held its first Minister-level meeting since it was revived in 2017.

• The group is seen as a regional counter-weight to China and has only met at the Joint or Assistant Secretary level since 2017.
• Members of the Quad, barring Australia, are currently engaged in the annual Malabar exercises – military exercises that started between India and the U.S. in 1994 and became trilateral (with Japan) in 2015.
• India has not permitted Australia to participate in these exercises, concerned about what message it would send to China, which is wary of the exercise.

The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) is the largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) worldwide.

• It is established on October 14, 2013 in Song-do, South Korea and the permanent secretariat is located at Seoul.
• Representatives from election bodies in over 50 countries will congregate in Bengaluru to share their electoral experience with programmes connected to the Fourth General Assembly of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
• Currently, the A-WEB has 115 members and 20 regional associations/ organizations as associate members.
• The members include 24 from Asia, 37 from Africa, 31 from America, 17 from Europe, and six from Oceania.
• The ECI will continue to remain on the executive board of the A-WEB for 2021–23 in its capacity as immediate former chair of the A-WEB.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) first met in November 1975 in London, and is thus popularly referred to as the “London Club”. It is a Group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.

Baltic States, the northeastern region of Europe, includes the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu concluded his 5-day tour to the three Baltic nations Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in August 2019.
• The visit was aimed at strengthening the bilateral engagements with the three nations, besides giving the relationships a fresh impetus in the context of a changing global order.
• Besides considering the strategic interests, the focus of the visit was also on improving cooperation in the fields of security, especially countering terrorism.