20-21 May 2023 – Current Affairs

Daily Current Capsules

20-21 May 2023

International Organisations

Quad Leaders’ Summit

What’s the NEWS

• Prime Minister of India participated in the third in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on 20 May 2023, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Joseph Biden of the United States of America
• The meeting was moved to the sidelines of the Group of Seven nations summit in Japan’s Hiroshima after U.S. President Joe Biden postponed his trip to Australia to return to Washington, amid ongoing negotiations over raising the U.S. debt limit.
• The Leaders agreed to continue their regular dialogue and maintain the momentum of Quad engagement.
• In this context, Prime Minister invited Quad Leaders to India for the next Quad Summit in 2024.
• The Quad’s mission is to advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region

Summit Highlights

• Guided by their vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, they reiterated the importance of upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
• In this context, they released the Quad Leaders’ Vision Statement – Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific” which articulates their principled approach. 
   

To strengthen the resilience and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific the Leaders announced the following initiatives that would complement the development priorities of the region:

• Clean Energy Supply Chains Initiative
  Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Programme
• Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience
• Quad support for a small-scale ORAN deployment in Palau, the first in the Pacific region.
• Quad Investors’ Network has been launched as a private sector-led platform to facilitate investments in strategic technologies. 
• The Leaders welcomed the progress of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, announced at their Summit last year in Tokyo.

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD)

• The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), commonly known as the Quad, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.
• The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
• The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar.
• The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power.

Bilateral Relations

Prime Minister’s Trip to Papua New Guinea, Australia

What’s the NEWS

• After wrapping up the G7 Summit in Japan’s Hiroshima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Papua New Guinea for the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation(FIPIC)

Visit Highlights

• Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his three-nation tour is the first ever by any Indian prime minister.
• He arrived here from Japan where he attended the summit of the G7 advanced economies and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders.
• PM Modi will proceed to Port Moresby where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape on May 22
• Modi will then visit Sydney in Australia from May 22 to 24 to attend the Quad Summit.
• The summit, hosted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, will also be attended by US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)

• It was launched during Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit to Fiji in November 2014
• It is a multinational grouping developed in 2014 for cooperation between India and 14 Pacific Islands nations which include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
• All heads of state or heads of government of the above countries met in Suva, Fiji in November 2014 for the first time where the annual summit was conceptualized
• India’s engagement with the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) is part of India’s Act East Policy. FIPIC includes 14 island countries

Know! about G 7

• The 49th G7 summit was held from 19 to 21 May 2023 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
• The G7 Summit is an international forum held annually for the leaders of the G7 member states
• The G7 currently consists of the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy, plus the European Union as a “non-enumerated member,” but the forum has over the years invited participation by non-member countries such as India, Poland, and Spain.
• This year, leaders from 16 countries, plus the EU, are attending the three-day summit.
• Apart from the G7 members and the EU, leaders are attending from India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, South Korea, and Comoros and Cook Islands – the latter two also representing the African Union and Pacific Islands Forum, respectively, as their current chairs.

Environment

International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB)

What’s the NEWS

• Every year, May 22 is observed as International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to promote comprehension and consciousness of biodiversity concerns.
• This global event, also referred to as World Biodiversity Day, revolves around acknowledging biodiversity’s vital role in supporting our nourishment and well-being, and as a fundamental driver for enhancing food systems and human health.

WHAT IS A BIODIVERSITY?

• Biological diversity, known as biodiversity, encompasses the wide array of life forms and the intricate patterns they create within the natural world.
• The existing biodiversity we observe today is the result of billions of years of evolutionary processes, influenced both by natural mechanisms and increasingly by human activities.
• It constitutes the interconnected tapestry of life, in which we are an inseparable component, and upon which we rely entirely.
• Biodiversity also encompasses the genetic variations present within each species, exemplified by the diverse crop varieties and livestock breeds.
• The chromosomes, genes, and DNA, which serve as the fundamental building blocks of life, contribute to the distinctiveness of individuals and species alike.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 2023: HISTORY

• The origins of the International Day for Biological Diversity can be traced back to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, commonly referred to as the Earth Summit, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
• It was during this momentous gathering that global leaders acknowledged the pressing necessity to confront the worldwide decline of biodiversity. Consequently, on May 22, 1992, a substantial number of nations adopted the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 2023: SIGNIFICANCE

• The International Day for Biological Diversity functions as a worldwide stage to emphasize the vital significance of biodiversity in upholding life on our planet.
• Biodiversity encompasses a remarkable range of plants, animals, and microorganisms, along with the ecosystems they reside in.
• It plays a critical role in delivering essential ecosystem services, including pollination, nutrient recycling, water purification, and climate regulation.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 2023: THEME

• The chosen theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity in 2023 is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity.”

Prelims Factoids

INSV TARINI TO RETURN TO INDIAN SHORES AFTER 17000NM VOYAGE

What’s the NEWS

• The Indian Navy is all set to receive its six-member crew of INSV Tarini, including two women officers, at the ‘Flag in’ ceremony on 23 May 23 at the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), INS Mandovi, Goa.
• INSV Tarini is returning home after successfully completing a 17000-nm long trans-ocean inter-continental voyage in seven months.

Know! about the mission

• The Indian Navy has embarked on a mission to circumnavigate the globe to promote ocean sailing in a big way.
• Captain Dilip Donde was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2009-2010.
• Subsequently, Cdr Abhilash Tomy was the first Asian skipper to participate in two circumnavigations.
• Recently during Golden Globe Race 2022, GGR, an eastbound non-stop circumnavigation race starting and finishing in Les Sables d’ Olonne France and which bars participants from using modern cutting-edge navigational equipment, Cdr Abhilash Tomy (retd) accomplished the rare feat of getting a podium finish completing the grueling course in second position.
• The Navika Sagar Parikrama by six women naval officers increased the popularity of ocean sailing within the navy and the country further.
• The current sailing expedition of INSV Tarini is part of the run-up towards the Navy’s next big project to send a woman to circumnavigate the globe – Solo.
• This expedition was conducted under the aegis of the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA) based in New Delhi.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP