Knowledge about Important Summits and Conferences in India and the world is important for the IAS Exam. Questions from international summits and conferences can be asked in UPSC Prelims. Also, the relevant facts about such international summits can be useful for IAS Mains examination too.
The topic, ‘Important International Summits and Conferences’ forms an important part of current affairs.
Here we are giving the details of the major summits and conferences held along with their themes. This will help your UPSC preparation and help in the last minute revision.
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International Summits and Conferences 2021-22
The list of important summits and conferences are given below:
1. Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) 2021
- The 38th ASEAN Summit is scheduled to be conducted in April 2021 and the 39th in November 2021. The Summit will be hosted in Brunie, Bandar Seri Begawan under the leadership of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
ASEAN Summit 2020
- The 37th meeting started on 12th November 2020.
- It was a virtual meeting that was presided by Viet Nam Prime Minister against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
- Theme – Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN
Read more about ASEAN in the linked article.
2. BRICS Summit 2020
- It is the 12 BRICS Summit
- It was held virtually due to the outbreak of COVID-19 on 17th November 2020.
- It was scheduled to take place in July 2020 in Saint Petersburg (Russia.)
- Theme – BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth
Read more about BRICS at the linked article.
3. G-20 Leaders’ Summit 2021
- G-20 Leader Summit 2021 will be hosted in Italy, Rome under the leadership of Giuseppe Conte on 30-31st October 2021.
G-20 Leaders’ Summit 2020
- G20 Leaders’ Summit 2020 was held virtually on 20th and 21st November 2020 and was presided by Saudi Arabia.
- Theme: Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century For All
- G20 Leaders’ Summit 2021 is scheduled to take place in Italy.
Learn more about G20 and list of its summits in the articles linked below:
| G20 |
| G20 Talks on Economic Crisis: RSTV |
| List of G20 Summits |
4. G7 Summit 2021
The 47th G7 summit is intended to be held during the summer of 2021 in the United Kingdom.
G7 Summit 2020
- The G7 Summit 2020 was scheduled to take place in the US from 10th to 12th June 2020, however, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been cancelled.
Read more about G7 in the linked article.
5. Southasian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC Summit 2020)
- The last SAARC summit was held in 2014. Subsequent SAARC summits have been cancelled.
- On 24th September 2020, foreign ministers of SAARC countries met at an informal meeting on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA.)
Read more about SAARC at the linked article.
6. India Science Congress 2021
Pune hosted the 108th Indian Science Congress in January 2021.
Indian Science Congress 2020
- It took place between 3rd and 7th January 2020 at Bengaluru (Karnataka.)
- It was the 107th Indian Science Congress.
- The theme was ‘Science & Technology: Rural Development’
7. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2021
The SCO- Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2021 will be chaired by Tajikistan in Dushanbe. The date of SCO Summit 2021 is yet to be announced.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2020
- The SCO Summit 2020 was held virtually on 10th November 2020. Read RSTV Big Picture’s take on SCO Summit 2020 in the linked article.
- It was chaired by Russia.
- Theme – Reformed Multilateralism
Read in detail about the SCO in the linked article.
8. East Asia Summit 2021
16th East Asia Summit 2021 will be hosted in Brunie, Bandar Seri Begawan under the leadership of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
East Asia Summit 2020
- The 15th East Asia Summit was held virtually on 10th November 2020.
- It was chaired by Veit Nam Prime Minister.
Read in detail about the East Asia Summit (EAS) in the linked article.
9. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2021
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will host the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2021 in November in Newzealand, Auckland.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2020
- It was held virtually on 21st November.
- It was chaired by the Malaysian Prime Minister.
- Theme – “Optimising Human Potential Towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity: Pivot. Prioritise. Progress”.
Read in detail about APEC in the linked article.
10. BIMSTEC Summit 2020
- The 5th BIMSTEC Summit that was scheduled to take place in December 2020 has been cancelled. It was scheduled to take place in January 2021.
Read BIMSTEC-related topics from the links provided below:
| BIMSTEC | RSTV: BIMSTEC |
| BIMSTEC vs. SAARC | BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise 2020 |
11. Nuclear Security Conference 2021
International Conference on Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Security is scheduled in March 25th and 26th, 2021 to be hosted in Madrid, Spain
Nuclear Security Conference 2020
- It took place from 10th-14th February at Vienna, Austria.
Read more about Nuclear Security Summit in the linked article.
12. OPEC Summit 2021
- The latest summit – 179th OPEC Conference (2020) was held virtually on 6th June 2020.
Learn more about OPEC in the linked article.
13. NATO Summit 2021
- The latest meeting of NATO took place on 3rd and 4th December 2019 in United Kingdom (UK.)
- Theme – 70 Years of NATO.
Learn more about NATO at the linked article.
14. Earth Hour 2021
Earth Hour 2021 is scheduled to take place on March 27th, 2021.
Earth Hour 2020
- It took place digitally on 28th March 2020.
- The theme was, ‘Climate Action and Sustainable Development.’
15. NAM Summit 2021
Azerbaijan will hold the NAM presidency for 3 years until the 19th summit in 2022. 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held October 25 and 26, 2019 in Baku.
NAM Summit 2020
- It was held online on 4th May 2020.
- It was chaired by Azerbaijan’s President.
- Theme – “United against COVID-19”
Read in detail about Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in the linked article.
16. CHOGM Summit 2020-21 (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting)
- It was scheduled for 26th and 27th June 2020 but was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
- CHOGM Summit 2021 will now take place on 21st June 2021. Rwanda will chair the CHOGM Summit 2021.
17. Indo-Africa Summit 2020
- It was a virtual summit that was held in February 2020.
Read about India-Africa Relations in the linked article.
18. COP26 – UNFCCC (2021)
COP26 – UNFCCC, scheduled to take place in November 2020 got postponed due to COVID-19 and now will take place in November 2021 from 1st to 12th.
COP25 – UNFCCC (2020)
- The 25th COP to UNFCCC met on 2nd to 3rd December 2019 in Madrid, Spain.
- Chile presided over COP25.
Read more about COP25 in the linked article.
Objective type questions based on these important Summits and Conferences have been asked multiple types in the prelims examination and constitute an integral part of the UPSC Syllabus. Thus, candidates must read about each of these in detail for a comprehensive understanding.
International Summits 2019
The list will be updated for 2021 summits as and when they will take place.
| Name of organization/ grouping | Aim/ Theme of summit 2019 | Summit held at |
| Association of Southeast Asian Nation | “Advancing Partnership for sustainability.” | 35th ASEAN Summit 2019 – Thailand, Bangkok. |
| BRICS | Economic Growth for an Innovative Future’. | 11th BRICS Summit 2019- Brasilia |
| G-20 | 8 themes of G 20 Summit – “Global Economy”, “Trade and Investment”, “Innovation”, “Environment and Energy”, “Employment”, “Women’s empowerment”, “Development” and “Health”. | 14th G 20 Summit 2019 – Osaka, Japan |
| G-7 | “fighting income and gender inequality and protecting biodiversity” | 45th G7 Summit 2019 – Biarritz, France |
| South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation | _ | 19th SAARC Summit 2019 – canceled. 20th SAARC Summit 2020 to be host in Islamabad |
| Indian Science Congress | “Future India: Science and Technology” | 106th Indian Science Congress – Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab. |
| Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | — | 19th SCO summit 2019- Kyrgyzstan capital, Bishkek |
| East Asia Summit | — | 14th East Asia Summit 2019 – Thailand, Bangkok |
| Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation | “Connecting People, Building the Future” | APEC Summit 2019 – Santiago, Chile |
| BIMSTEC | – | 5th BIMSTEC Summit 2019 – Srilanka (to be held) |
| Nuclear Security Summit | “Towards New National Cyber Security Strategy” | 12th NSS 2019 – New Delhi |
| OPEC | ‘Petroleum – cooperation for a sustainable future’ | 7th OPEC International Seminar – Vienna, Austria |
| NATO | – | NATO Summit 2019 – United kingdom, London. (to be held in December 2019) |
| Earth Hour | “Reduce, Reuse, Change the Way We Live” | Global earth hour 2019- Australia |
| NAM Summit 2019 | “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”. | 18th NAM summit 2019 was held in Caracas, Venezuela. |
| CHOGM Summit | Delivering A Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’ | CHOGM 2019 Meeting – Rwanda |
| Indo-Africa Summit | “India and Africa: Deepening the Security Engagement” | 4th Indo-Africa Forum Summit 2018 – New Delhi. This Summit is held in every 3 years |
| COP (UNFCCC) | – | COP 25th 2019- Madrid, Spain (to be held in December) |
| World Government Summit | ‘Shaping Future Governments’ | 7th World Government Summit- Dubai |
| Maritime Summit | Regional maritime safety | Regional Maritime Safety Conference 2019 – Mumbai |
| HEMCE- High Energy Materials Society of India | “Exploring the innate inclusive potentials of high energy materials” | 12th High Energy Materials Conference 2019 – IIT Madras, Chennai, India. |
| 3rd Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation | Tiger conservation | New Delhi |
Important summits and conferences is an important static GK topic. For information on various static GK topics check the article linked here.
Aspirants must remember that such conferences and summits are important as per the UPSC Prelims syllabus as objective type questions based on the same can be asked in the paper.
Interested candidates must also acquaint themselves with the IAS Salary and other perks of becoming a civil servant to boost their preparation and confidence to crack the exam.
Also, check UPSC FAQ on IAS Exam at the linked article.
Frequently Asked Questions on Important Summits and Conferences
Q 1. What is the objective of the G20 Summit?
most important aspects of the international economic and financial agenda. Its objectives are:
Q 2. What is BRICS and what is its purpose?
Related Article:
| Important Headquarters of International Organisations | List of Reports Published By International Organizations |
| Important Environment Conventions and Protocols | India’s Rankings in Global Indices |
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