Summits and Conferences | Current Affairs Compilation for UPSC Prelims 2022 | Part 2

Dear Friends,

This post is a part of our current affairs series for the UPSC IAS Prelims 2022. In this series, we are covering important current affairs for UPSC Prelims 2022. This post covers all the current affairs linked to important Summits and Conferences in September, October 2021 and April 2022 months.

To Read Other Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC Prelims 2022 – Click here

Summits and Conferences

6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) Summit

News

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas has led a delegation to Russia to participate in the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) Summit in Vladivostok.

About Eastern Economic Forum(EEF)

Established by: Based on the decree of the President of Russia in 2015.

Aim: To support the economic development of Russia’s Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The summit takes place each year in Vladivostok, a city in Russia.

India-Russia Energy Ties

India and Russia have robust and growing bilateral energy cooperation, which is a key pillar of Special and Privileged Strategic partnership. Russia is the largest investment destination for the Indian oil and gas companies. Indian public sector companies have made investments in Russia of about US$ 16 billion, including in the Far East in oil and gas assets such as Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-Yuryakh.

Largest investor in India’s Oil & Gas Sector

Russia is also the largest investor in India’s oil & gas sector and India is encouraging further investments by Russian companies in India’s oil and gas sector, especially in gas infrastructure.

India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was established following a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit in the year 2018. Its aim is to identify the most promising areas to improve bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation and to define joint projects in the framework of national programmes.

13th BRICS Summit

News

Indian PM chaired the 13th BRICS Summit, which was held virtually. The Summit stressed the need to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks against other countries, as well as a sanctuary for terrorists. The BRICS nations also collectively adopted the “New Delhi Declaration“.

Theme: BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus. The Theme is chosen by India.

Initiatives/key provisions of the New Delhi Declaration

Terrorism: It suggested adopting a comprehensive approach for the whole international community to effectively curb terrorist activities.

BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan: It is aimed at implementing the counter-terrorism strategy and defines the approach and actions of the five countries towards counter-terrorism cooperation. This includes ensuring coordinated efforts to understand, identify and collaboratively respond to persistent and emerging terrorist threats.

Space cooperation: BRICS countries signed an Agreement on Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation among the space agencies of BRICS countries.

“Inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue”: Under it, leaders stressed the need to ensure peace, stability and order in Afghanistan. They also condemned the terrorist attacks at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

In the declaration, they called for addressing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. They urged the need to uphold the rights of women, children and minorities.

International System: BRICS countries pledged “to promote a more inclusive, equitable and representative multipolar international system with the United Nations at its center.

Post-Covid Global Recovery: Indian PM urged for BRICS cooperation under the motto of ‘Build-back Resiliently, Innovatively, Credibly and sustainably’.

It stressed the need for accelerating:

‘Build-back’ by enhancing speed and accessibility of vaccination.

‘Resilience’ by diversifying pharma and vaccine production capacities beyond the developed world.

Fostering ‘innovation’ by creatively using digital tools for the public good, ensuring reform of multilateral institutions to enhance their ‘credibility’

Promoting ‘sustainable’ development by articulating a common BRICS voice on environmental and climate issues.

Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures(CICA)

News

India’s External Affairs Minister has attended the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures(CICA) Ministerial 2021 in Kazakhstan.

About the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures(CICA)

CICA is a multinational forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.

The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Members: To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia. Presently, CICA has 27 Member States, accounting for nearly ninety percent of the territory and population of Asia. India has been a member since its inception in 1999.

Summits: The CICA Heads of the State Summit is convened every four years in order to conduct consultations, review the progress of, and set priorities for CICA activities. The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.

Secretariat: The CICA Secretariat is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Current Chairman: The current chairman of CICA is Kazakhstan.

Stockholm+50 Meeting

News

The United Nations General Assembly has agreed on the way forward for plans to host Stockholm+50 at the highest possible level in Stockholm, Sweden in June 2022.

About the Stockholm+50

Stockholm+50 is an international meeting to be hosted by the Government of Sweden and convened by the United Nations General Assembly in Stockholm, Sweden.

Theme: A healthy planet for the prosperity of all — our responsibility, our opportunity.

The meeting will commemorate 50 years since the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, which made the environment a pressing global issue for the first time.

Objectives of the Stockholm+50 meeting

The meeting has the following objectives.

To reflect on the urgent need for actions towards a healthy planet and prosperity of all,

To achieve a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,

To accelerate the implementation of the environmental dimension of Sustainable Development in the context of the Decade of Action.

About the Stockholm Conference

The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm was the first world conference to make the environment a major issue.

During the conference, participants adopted the Stockholm Declaration, which placed environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns. The conference also marked the start of a dialogue between industrialized and developing countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the air, water and oceans and the well-being of people around the world.

One of the major results of the Stockholm conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

16th East Asia Summit

News

Prime Minister recently participated in the “16th East Asia Summit” via video conference, hosted by “Brunei” as EAS and ASEAN Chair. India has been an active participant of EAS.

It saw the participation of leaders from ASEAN countries and other EAS Participating Countries including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, USA(first time since 2017) and India.

Key takeaways from the summit

The EAS leaders adopted three Statements on Mental Health, Economic recovery through Tourism and Sustainable Recovery, which have been co-sponsored by India.

Discussion on important regional and international issues including Indo-Pacifc, South China Sea, UNCLOS, terrorism, and situation in Korean Peninsula and Myanmar was seen.

About East Asia Summit

It was established in 2005. It is a premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region dealing with issues relating to security and defence.

Members: It comprises the ten member states of the ASEAN countries along with 8 members Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.

Priority Areas: There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS which are a) Environment and Energy b) Education c) Finance d) Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases e) Natural Disaster Management and f) ASEAN Connectivity.

Significance: The members of the EAS together represent 54% of the world population and account for 58% of the global GDP.

18th India-ASEAN Summit

About 18th India-ASEAN Summit

The 18th ASEAN-India Summit was held via video conference. The Summit was chaired by the Sultan of Brunei, the current Chair of ASEAN.

Key highlights of the summit

Firstly, the summit highlighted the milestone of the 30th anniversary of the India-ASEAN Partnership. It announced the Year 2022 as India-ASEAN Friendship Year.

Secondly, building upon the synergies between ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative(IPOI), PM and ASEAN leaders welcomed the adoption of the India-ASEAN Joint Statement on cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Thirdly, to further strengthen India-ASEAN cultural connectivity, the Prime Minister announced India’s support for establishing the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List.

Raisina Dialogue

News

The Prime Minister of India has inaugurated the seventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2022.

About Raisina Dialogue

The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference of India on geopolitics and geoeconomics. It addresses issues facing the global community. It takes its name from Raisina Hill, the seat of the Indian government.

Since its inception in 2016, the Raisina Dialogue has emerged as a leading global conference on international affairs featuring the participation of heads of state, ministers, journalists, academics and researchers.

Hosted by: Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Theme for 2022: “Terranova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperiled”

Significance of Raisina Dialogue

Firstly, the dialogue helps in finding ways to move toward a global order that is inclusive and rules-based.

Secondly, it serves as an opportunity to discuss the big ideas defining the emerging global realities.”

Thirdly, the dialogue is a platform that brings together India’s friends and partners seeking common ground.

India-Turkmenistan meet

News

The Indian President visited Turkmenistan. This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan.

Key highlights from the India-Turkmenistan meet

Agreements: The two countries signed four agreements, including in financial intelligence and disaster management, and agreed to expand bilateral trade and energy cooperation to further strengthen the multifaceted partnership.

INSTC: President of Turkmenistan conveyed his readiness to join the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). He proposed that the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway line could be a linked corridor of the INSTC to streamline the movement of goods between Turkmenistan and India and beyond.

India proposed that the Chabahar port built by India in Iran could be used to improve trade between India and Central Asia.

TAPI Pipeline: India suggested that issues related to the security of the Turkmenistan -Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline may be addressed in Technical and Expert level meetings.

UNSC: India thanked Turkmenistan for its support to India’s permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council as well as for India’s initiatives as a non-permanent member of UNSC for the period of 2021-22.

Importance of Turkmenistan for India

​​Turkmenistan is an important partner for India in the India-Central Asia Summit framework, the first of which India hosted virtually in January 2022.

Turkmenistan possesses very large reserves of natural gas.

Turkmenistan is also strategically placed in Central Asia, and connectivity is something on which India feels a partnership with Turkmenistan will pay dividends.

Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit

News

The Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit(GAIIS) concluded with the Ayush sector witnessing letter of intents (LoIs) of over Rs 9,000 crore.

About the Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit

Organized by: Ministry of Ayush, Government of India

Aim: To attract the world’s attention to India’s ancient wisdom and traditional knowledge and capitalize on it to pave the way for a sustainable future.

The Summit was organized in line with Sustainable Development Goal Number 3 of promoting “Good Health and Well-being.”

DefConnect 2.0

News

The Defence Minister has launched Innovations for Defence Excellence(iDEX) Prime and sixth Defence India Start-up Challenge(DISC 6) during DefConnect 2.0 in New Delhi.

About DefConnect 2.0

Organized by: Innovations for Defence Excellence(iDEX), Defence Innovation Organisation(DIO), under the aegis of the Department of Defense Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence(MoD).

Purpose: To bring together start-ups, big companies and armed forces personnel to boost indigenous innovation in the defence sector.

Initiatives launched at this event

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Prime: It is aimed at supporting projects, requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore in the ever-growing defence start-ups.

Defence India Start-up Challenge(DISC 6): It has been launched under the ongoing iDEX initiative. It aims to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in the defence and aerospace sectors.

Innovate4Defence internship (i4D): It is an acceleration program for students of Higher Educational Institutions(HEIs). It is an opportunity for them to learn about developing their ideas, creating innovative Defence products and eventually becoming a part of the Indian Defence ecosystem and procurement.