1. 10th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting held in New York
Tags: International Relations Summits International News
The 10th India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting was held in New York on 21 September.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil Carlos Alberto Franco França and Minister of Health of South Africa Dr Joe Phaahla were also present during the meeting.
The Ministers reviewed the entire gamut of IBSA cooperation.
The aspirations of African countries to have a permanent presence on the UN Security Council were endorsed by the ministers.
They also supported the efforts of India and Brazil to obtain permanent membership in the Security Council.
India will host the sixth IBSA summit on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November this year.
Agenda of the meeting :
The agenda of the meeting was on mutual interests including cooperation in multilateral organizations, South-South cooperation, UNSC reform, 2030 agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, countering terrorism, and financing for developmental activities.
They held discussions on regional issues like the African Union, the Middle East peace process, and the situation in Ukraine.
About IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission :
It is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.
This grouping was formally renamed the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the foreign ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia (Brazil) on 6 June 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
2. Priyanka Chopra advocates children's rights in an address to the United Nation General Assembly
Tags: Person in news International News
Indian actress and the Global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 19 September 2022 in New York.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Priyanka Chopra who was appointed UNICEF Goodwill ambassador in 2016 talked about Children's rights at the 77th UNGA High Level Week.
- The 77th UNGA opened on 13 September 2022 and the High Level Weeks will be held from 19-23 September in New York.
- High Level weeks is a five day event where invited speakers, speaks on topics selected by the United Nations like Sustainable Development Goals, Transforming Education Summits etc.
- Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation at the 77th UNGA.
3. Rajnath Singh signs MoU with Egypt on Defence Cooperation
Tags: International Relations International News
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Egypt, met the Egyptian Defence Minister, General Mohamed Zaki in Cairo on 20 September and signed a MoU on Defence Cooperation to further expand the bilateral defence ties between the two countries.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- During the meeting, both sides discussed steps to strengthen defense ties and a consensus was reached for joint military exercises and training, especially in the area of counter-terrorism.
In addition, they also exchanged views on regional security and acknowledged the contribution of India and Egypt to peace and stability in the world.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation and security aspects.
Singh has also invited his Egyptian counterpart to the India-Africa Defence Dialogue and the IOR Defence Ministers' Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Gujarat from October 18-22 this year as part of the 12th DefExpo.
Egypt is one of the largest investment destinations for India in the region with an existing Indian investment of USD 3.15 billion.
India - Egypt defence cooperation :
To boost defence cooperation between the two countries, an Indian Air Force team arrived in Egypt on 22 June to participate in a bilateral 'Strategic Leadership Program' with the Egyptian Air Force.
The year 2022 has special significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt.
There was close cooperation between the Air Forces of both countries, with efforts at jointly developing a fighter aircraft in the 1960s.
Indian Air Force pilots had also trained Egyptian pilots from the 1960s until 1984.
In recent times, since 2015, there have been a number of high-level exchanges of visits by defense delegations.
4. Nanmadol Typhoon wreaks havoc in Japan, high alert issued
Tags: International News
Due to the Nanmadol typhoon in Japan, people living in the southwest have been warned to move to safer places.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Due to the storm, there has been heavy rain with strong winds throughout the night of 19 September and landslides have also occurred at many places.
One person was killed and fifty others were injured as the storm passed through the island of Kyushu.
Government sources have said that Prime Minister Fomyo Kishida was to attend the UN General Assembly but has stopped to take stock of the damage caused by the storm and will now go a day later.
Nanmadol is the 14th Pacific hurricane of the season, and the largest to hit Japan.
5. India Overtakes China To Become Sri Lanka's Largest Lender
Tags: International Relations International News
According to a media report, India has emerged as the largest bilateral lender to Sri Lanka, overtaking China in the process, with a total loan of USD 968 million in the four months of 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- In the last five years from 2017-2021, China has been the largest bilateral lender to Sri Lanka.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been the largest multilateral lender in the past five years and disbursed funds amounting to 610 million dollars in year 2021.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj had said that India has provided food and financial assistance of about $ 4 billion to Sri Lanka.
On 22 August, India provided 21,000 tonnes of fertilizers to the beleaguered Sri Lanka.
India has been at the forefront of providing financial assistance to Sri Lanka as per requirements of this country and is one of the countries which has provided maximum assistance in times of need.
Since the beginning of 2022, Sri Lanka has been grappling with an economic crisis.
6. Defence Minister reaches Cairo on two-day official visit to Egypt
Tags: International Relations International News
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached Cairo on 19 September on a two-day official visit to Egypt.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- During the visit, Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with the Minister of Defence and Defence Production, General Mohammad Zaki.
Rajnath Singh's visit aims to further strengthen defence cooperation and friendship between India and Egypt.
The two ministers will review bilateral defence ties, explore new initiatives to intensify military ties and focus on deepening cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries.
An MoU will also be signed to promote defence cooperation between India and Egypt.
Singh will also meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
India - Egypt Relations :
Egypt is one of the largest investment destinations for India with the current Indian investment of USD 3.15 billion.
Indian companies are working on several projects in Egypt.
To strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries, an Indian Air Force team arrived in Egypt on 22 June to participate in a bilateral 'Strategic Leadership Program' with the Egyptian Air Force.
Earlier in November last year, Chief of Air Staff Chief Marshal VR Chowdhury had gone to Egypt for his five-day visit to attend the Air Power Symposium and Defence Exhibition (EDEX) in Cairo.
The year 2022 has special significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About Egypt :
Capital - Cairo
President - Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Official Language - Arabic
Official Religion - Islam
Currency - Egyptian pound
7. MAS and IFSCA sign agreement to advance cross-border fintech innovations
Tags: Economy/Finance International News
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on 18 September signed a FinTech Co-operation Agreement (CA) to facilitate regulatory collaboration and partnership in FinTech.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- This formal treaty is called the Fintech Cooperation Agreement (CA).
Sopanedu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, MAS and Joseph Joshi, Chief Technology Officer, IFSCA were present at the signing of the agreement.
Objectives of agreement :
Through the CA, the two collaborating bodies aim to overlook sandbox collaboration and promote objectives such as the dissemination of information.
MAS and IFSCA will maximise the use of existing sandboxes in their respective jurisdictions.
This is to support the use of technological innovations.
What steps will be taken to achieve this ?
Both bodies will refer and connect companies to each others’ sandboxes.
They will innovatie cross-border experimentation in both jurisdictions.
This agreement will allow IFSCA and MAS to determine suitable use cases which could benefit from these kinds of cross-border experiments.
Inviting relevant jurisdictions to participate in this global regulation would be another initiative taken under this agreement.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
What is Financial Technology (Fintech) ?
Fintech refers to the integration of technology by financial services companies to improve their use and delivery to consumers.
Fintech is used to help companies, business owners and consumers to better manage their financial operations and processes etc.
Examples of fintech applications are - robo advisors, payments apps, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending apps, investment apps, and crypto apps etc.
8. Union Minister Jitendra Singh to lead Indian delegation at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum meeting in America
Tags: place in news Science and Technology Summits International News
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh will lead a Joint Indian Ministerial official delegation of Ministry of Power, New & Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Science & Technology on a 5-day (19-23 September) visit to USA, to participate in Global Clean Energy Action Forum. The delegation includes Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Meeting in the United States of America :
- They will take part in the joint convening of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and Mission Innovation (MI-7) which will take place from 21st to 23rd September at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
- They will also participate in the 1st Roundtable on Sustainable Bioenergy and Bio-refineries and the 2nd Roundtable on Net Zero Built Environment with Connected Communities.
- At the Clean Energy Action Forum the ministers are likely to underline India's commitment to a low-carbon future that aims to transform the energy landscape of the country by accelerating clean energy innovations.
India’s commitment on clean energy :
- The government of India has committed itself to reach 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and increase the contribution of renewable energy in total energy to 50%.
- It has also committed to reduce carbon emissions by one billion tons, reduce carbon intensity of the economy by 45 per cent over 2005 levels and finally achieve net zero emissions by 2070.
9. Tajikistan -Kyrgyzstan border clash at ‘Vorukh’ leaves at least 54 people dead
Tags: place in news International News
The old border dispute at Vorukh area between the two former Soviet Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan flared up again on 16 September leading to the death of at least 54 persons. The bloody clash in the Vorukh area has seen frequent clashes between the two sides.
Both the sides accused each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket artillery and assault drones to attack outposts and nearby settlements.
The border clash came at the time when the leaders of both the countries, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov were attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Border Dispute :
- Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were part of the Soviet Union. Both gained Independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- The current boundary dispute between the two countries lies in the demarcation of boundaries during the Soviet era.
- Vorukh is an enclave of Tajik territory surrounded by Kyrgyzstan. Many times there have been clashes over the issue of the access of the Tajiks living in Vorukh to Tajikistan. The Tajiks living in the Vorukh territory has to cross the Kyrgyz territory to go to Tajikistan.
- Tajikistan has proposed an exchange of territory with Kyrgyzstan so that Vorukh can have access to Tajikistan but so far Kyrgyzstan has refused to accept this offer.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Kyrgyzstan :
- Capital: Bishkek
- Currency: Kyrgyzstan Som
- President: Sadyr Japarov
- Tajikistan
- Capital: Dushanbe
- Currency: Somoni
- President: Emomali Rakhmon
10. Kazakhstan renames its capital to Astana and bars second term for President
Tags: place in news International News
The Parliament of Kazakhstan voted to amend the constitution on 16 September 2022 to revert back the name of the nation’s capital to Astana. It also extended the term of the President and barred a person from becoming President more than once.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Term of the President :
- The term of the President has been extended to seven years from the present five years.
- Also a person can become the President of Kazakhstan only once. Earlier a person can become the President for a maximum two consecutive times.
Renaming of the Capital :
- It also passed a constitutional amendment to change the name of the capital to Astana from Nur-Sultan.
- Kazakhstan moved its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997 after it became an Independent country in 1991. In Soviet times Astana was called Tselinograd.
- Later when Kazakhstan first President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev resigned after being in power for almost thirty years in 2019, his successor the current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in honour of the ex-leader.
- However, now again the name has been changed back to Astana.
Parliament of Kazakhstan :
- The Parliament of Kazakhstan is bicameral. It consists of the upper house senate and a lower house called National Assembly (Mazhilis).
Republic of Kazakhstan :
- Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union which gained Independence on 16 December 1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
- It lies in Central Asia. It is the largest country in central Asia and 9th largest country in the world.
- It has the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is the world’s first spaceport. The Soviet Union used to launch its space rocket from here.
- The first Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma was launched into space from here on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 rocket on 3 April 1984.
- Now it has been leased to the Russians.
- Capital: Astana
- Currency: Tenge
- President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
