KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES - The vision of ECOWAS is the creation of a “borderless region” that is well-integrated.

Get the detailed coverage.
#ksgias #ksgcurrentaffairs #internationalrelations #KsgCurrentConnect #Ecowas #KSGDailyheadlines #UPSC #CSE #UpscGeneralstudies

1.1K viewsKOL KSG India, 07:00

Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
Malabar naval exercise held

GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

India, Japan, the United States and Australia hold the Malabar navy exercise off the coast of Sydney on 11 August 2023, the first time the war games previously held in the Indian Ocean have taken place in Australia. Japanese and Indian navy vessels stopped in Pacific Island countries Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea on the way to Sydney, highlighting the strategic importance of the region at a time of friction between China and the United States.

More about the Exercise

The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet said in Sydney the exercise was "not pointed toward any one country" and would improve the ability of the four forces to work with each other.
The deterrence that our four nations provide as we operate together as a Quad is a foundation for all the other nations operating in this region.
Oceania, the island nations that are just northeast of Australia...all of our nations now are focusing on those countries.
Indian Navy Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said there had been large changes in the world since the United States and India held the first Malabar Exercise in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. When Australia participated for the first time in 2007, it "sent some signals around the world".
Australia dropped out of the so-called Quad in 2008 after protests from China over its participation in Malabar.
The Quad was revived and Australia rejoined Malabar in 2020, although China continues to criticise the grouping as an attempt to contain it.
Ships from the four nations were joined by Australian F-35 fighter jets, as well as P-8 surveillance aircraft and submarines.
The underwater battlespace is seen to be the front line in terms of competition and potential future conflicts.
Malabar is being held off the east coast of Australia, instead of the west coast which faces the Indian Ocean, because ships were nearby after the larger Talisman Sabre exercise involving 13 nations which closed recently.

#upsc #news #headline #malabar #naval #internationalrelations #japan #australia #japanese #indiannavy #solomon #island #papua #newguinea #wargames #indianocean #china #US #island #coldwar #aircraft #survillance #fighter #battlespace #talisman #world

1.2K viewsKOL KSG India, 07:02

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

Today's Headlines - 25 August 2023
BRICS currency in BRICS Summit
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Brazil's President called for the BRICS nations to create a common currency for trade and investment between each other, as a means of reducing their vulnerability to dollar exchange rate fluctuations. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made the proposal at a BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Officials and economists have pointed out the difficulties involved in such a project, given the economic, political and geographic disparities between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Why does Brazil want a BRICS currency?

Brazil's president doesn't believe nations that don't use the dollar should be forced to trade in the currency, and he has also advocated for a common currency in the Mercosur bloc of South American countries.
A BRICS currency "increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities," he told the summit's opening plenary session.
What do other BRICS Leaders think?

South African officials had said a BRICS currency was not on the agenda for the summit.
In July, India's foreign minister said, "there is no idea of a BRICS currency". Its foreign secretary said before departing for the summit that boosting trade in national currencies would be discussed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the gathering, which he attended via videolink, would discuss switching trade between member countries away from the dollar to national currencies.
China has not commented on the idea. President Xi Jinping spoke at the summit of promoting "the reform of the international financial and monetary system".
Is the US Dollar in trouble?

BRICS leaders have said they want to use their national currencies more instead of the dollar, which strengthened sharply last year as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and Russia invaded Ukraine, making dollar debt and many imports more expensive.
Russia's sanctions-imposed exile from global financial systems last year also fuelled speculation that non-western allies would shift away from the dollar.
The objective, irreversible process of de-dollarisation of our economic ties is gaining momentum, Putin told the summit.

#upsc #news #headline #brics #currency #summit #internationalrelations #bricsnations #investment #ratefluctuations #vulnerability #lunae #economic #political #geographic #disparities #brazil #russia #india #china #southafrica #currency #mercosur #southamerican #leaders #videolink #trade #indiaforeignminister #USDOLLAR #ukraine #globalfinancial #economic

1.3K viewsKOL KSG India, 05:00

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

Today's Headlines - 26 August 2023
BRICS gets six new members
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

The five-member BRICS invited six more countries to join the alliance, in a move which can strengthen its claim of being a ‘voice of the Global South’ on one hand, while raising concerns about China’s increasing dominance on the other. BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In its ongoing summit at Johannesburg, South Africa, it has invited Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Their membership will begin in January.

Why New Members

Adding new members strengthens the group’s heft as a spokesperson of the developing world. BRICS currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s GDP.
With the additions, it will represent almost half the world’s population, and will include three of the world’s biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.
The rush towards BRICS is driven by two basic impulses: “First, there is considerable anti-US sentiment in the world, and all these countries are looking for a grouping where they can use that sentiment to gather together.
Second, there is a lot of appetite for multipolarity, for a platform where countries of the Global South can express their solidarity.”
The formation of BRICS in 2009 was driven by the idea that the four emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China would be the future economic powerhouses of the world. South Africa was added a year later.
While the economic performance of BRICS has been mixed, the war in Ukraine — which has brought the West together on the one hand and strengthened the China-Russia partnership on the other — has turned it into an aspiring bloc that can challenge the western geopolitical view, and emerge as a counterweight to Western-led fora like the Group of 7 and the World Bank.
What this means for India

If India’s presence at the recent G7 summit in Hiroshima, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi also participated in an informal Quad summit, was seen as a sign of New Delhi’s US tilt, it continues to attach importance to the “anti-West” BRICS.
India is also part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and despite problems, it has relations with Russia, with China.
While China does want BRICS to be an anti-western group, the Indian view is that it is a “non-western” group and should stay that way.
Among the new members, while India looks at all of them as partnerships worth developing, concerns have been raised that the group could become more pro-China and sideline New Delhi’s voice and interests.

#upsc #news #headline #brics #newmembers #internationalrelations #globalsouth #china #brazil #russia #india #southafrica #johannesburg #iran #egypt #ethiopia #world #GDP #population #quarter #economics #ukraine #worldbank #hiroshima #shanghaicooperation #organisation #SCO #NEWDELHI #prochina #interests #developing

1.3K viewsKOL KSG India, 04:30

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

Today's Headlines - 04 September 2023
G20 agree to boost information flow to small business
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Trade ministers from G20 nations agreed to a ‘Jaipur Call for Action’ to boost information flow to small businesses to increase their participation, while seeking to build a ‘generic framework’ for mapping global value chains, cautioning against concentration of suppliers and markets.

More about the agreement

In addition, 10 high level principles on digitisation of trade documents were also agreed upon as countries seek to reduce the cost of trading across borders.
Although a communique could not be issued given the divergent position on Ukraine with Russia and China sticking to their stands, and the G7 seeking to highlight the conflict, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that the contents of the outcome document and the chairs summary were decided unanimously.
Every country has agreed to all the issues… only paragraph 32, which is less than a quarter of a page out of a 17-page document, is an area where we could not get consensus for obvious reasons.
Since the first G20 ministerial meeting under India’s presidency, a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru, the Ukraine conflict has driven a wedge between the members of the all-powerful alliance.
In the coming years, various agencies will work on putting together the framework to implement the decisions.
The move on global value chains will help all developing countries and cited the example of mobile manufacturing in India, arguing that it will help create a production eco-system and also generate jobs and investment.
The minister underlined the importance of MSMEs, an issue that was flagged by PM Narendra Modi.
There are concerns over Big Tech and its dominance. Equal and affordable access for all has to be ensured.
The push is in line with the government’s initiatives such as ONDC and UPI, which are open source frameworks offering ease to consumers as well as a level playing field to businesses.
The outcome document took note of theuncertain near-term outlook for global trade and investments and underlined the need for “rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral system, with WTO at its core”.
It also called for apredictable and transparent regime for services trade, with easier rules for movement of professionals across borders —an issue which is of particular interest to India.

#upsc #news #headline #G20 #boost #smallbusiness #internationalrelations #tadeministers #nations #jaipur #generic #framework #global #valuechains #markets #broders #levelprinciples #divergent #ukraine #russia #china #paragraph32 #document #ministerial #india #presidency #trading #borders #digitisations #decisions #ONDC #UPI #equitable #WTO

1.3K viewsKOL KSG India, 06:01

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialised agency of the United Nations, was one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference in Rome.
The conference was organised by the United Nations in response to the food crises of the early 1970s, when global food shortages were causing widespread famine and malnutrition.
Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Established in 1991 on the eve of the 1992 Rio Summit, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides grant funds to developing countries for projects and activities that aim to protect the global environment.
This is to cover areas like biodiversity, climate change, international waters, ozone depletion, land degradation, primarily desertification, deforestation and persistent organic pollutants.
African Development Bank (AfDB)

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) comprises (i) the African Development Bank, (ii) the African Development Fund and (iii) the Nigeria Trust Fund. It was established in 1963 with membership being open only to regional countries, initially.
To mobilise external resources for the development of Regional Member Countries, AFDB extended its membership.

#UPSC #headline #news #G20 #summit #newdelhi #internationalrelations #forum #world #bank #group #system #mission #IBRD #JOBS #CORPORATE #investments #WTO

1.3K viewsKOL KSG India, 06:01

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

Today's Headlines - 08 September 2023
G20 agrees to give African Union membership
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Group of 20 nations agreed to grant the African Union permanent membership status, and leaders are expected to announce the decision during a summit in India. The move would give the 55-member African Union, which is currently classified as an “invited international organization,” the same status as the EU. It’s part of a drive to provide African countries with a stronger voice on global issues such as climate change and emerging-market debt, particularly as emerging markets in the so-called Global South take on a more prominent role in world affairs.

More about the News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is hosting the G20 summit, has made it a priority to grant the African Union full membership.
Countries like Germany, Brazil, and Canada have also expressed their support for African Union membership to the G20.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.
The members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The European Union is keen to take some credit for the G20 step. Leaders from the bloc plan to hold a high-level meeting with African leaders on the sidelines of the summit, which is being skipped by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Dubbed a “mini-summit,” the Europe-Africa meeting will include a discussion of the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine on global food security — a situation that threatens to escalate after Putin refused to revive a UN-backed deal to allow grain shipments after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Other topics include efforts to reform the global financial architecture, improving conditions for private investments and infrastructure projects in Africa, as well as the situation in the Sahel region.
Flashback
The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

#upsc #news #headline #G20 #African #union #membership #internationalrelations #20nations #leaders #climatechange #market #organization #global #south #news #primeminister #NarenderaModi #G20Summit #germany #brazil #canada #intergovermentalforum #GDP #world #population #european #vladimirputin #projects #AU #55members #unity

1.4K viewsKOL KSG India, 04:31

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

Today's Headlines - 12 September 2023
A new member in G20
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

The African Union (AU) was admitted as a new member of the G20, barely three months after India floated the idea of including the organisation. The development took place at the ongoing 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi.

What is the AU?

The AU is an intergovernmental organisation of the 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.
The grouping is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.
Although the AU was officially launched on 9 July 2002, its roots go back to the 1960s when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established.
The OAU was also an intergovernmental organisation and it aimed to bring African nations together and resolve common issues through collective action.
Its main focus, however, was to help liberate the colonised countries in the continent. To do so, OAU mustered diplomatic support and provided logistical aid to liberation movements across Africa.
Notably, the man spearheading the idea of the AU was the Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
He also did more than any other leader to ensure the creation of the African Union (AU) in 2002, hosting several meetings, and forcing Nigeria and South Africa to react to his frantic drive towards creating a federal body, an analysis published in The Guardian said.
What are the objectives of the AU?

Unlike the OAU, the AU concentrates its energy and resources on achieving greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their people.
It seeks to accelerate the process of the political and socio-economic integration of the continent.
Moreover, the AU addresses the multifaceted social, economic and political problems that the African nations have been facing.
Its key objectives also include promoting peace, stability, and security across the region. Protecting and promoting human rights are also part of the agenda.
What are the notable achievements of the AU?

Many of the AU’s peacekeeping missions have helped governments tackle terrorism across Africa, from the Sahel to northern Mozambique. Over the years, the organisation’s interventions have prevented violence in countries like Burundi, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Darfur, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Mali.
AU’s diplomatic efforts have also resulted in resolving conflicts in Africa. Last year, it brokered a peace deal between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in South Africa, almost two years after the two entities began fighting.
The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into force in 2021, is yet another achievement of the organisation.
With 54 member countries as signatories, AfCFTA is the world’s largest new free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994.

#upsc #news #headline #newmember #G20 #internationalrelations #AU #newdelhi #africa #peaceful #prosperous #libyan #dictator #muammargaddafi #resources #unity #stability #peace #achivements #TPLF #AFCFTA #WTO #trade #area #social #economic #integration #resources #members

1.4K viewsKOL KSG India, 04:33

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

PT Facts and concepts: The India China Border | Ankit Sir | IR | Class Excerpts | KSG INDIA

https://youtu.be/pv3d4d1WJhA

759 views05:02

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

YouTube

Learn about the PGII (Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment), a G7-led initiative aimed at countering China's Belt and Road Initiative by investing in global infrastructure projects.

#PGIIExplained #GlobalInfrastructure #G7Initiative #BeltAndRoad…

802 views09:02

KSG IAS - KSG India (Official Telegram Channel)

768 views09:02

About

Blog

Apps

Platform