International Relations This Week: 08 Feb to 14 Feb 2023

International relations is a very important segment of the UPSC syllabus. In this series, we present an analysis of the most important international issues and developments that occurred over the past week relevant for the IAS exam. In this article, you can learn more about India-US Space Cooperation,India-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meet,India’s Buddhist Diplomacy, Paris Club, Turkey and Syria.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. India-US Space Cooperation
2. India-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meet
3. India’s Buddhist Diplomacy
4. Paris Club
5. Turkey and Syria

1. India-US Space Cooperation

Context: An India-US group met in January 2023 to advance bilateral space collaboration.

Introduction:

• India and the United States have agreed to advance space collaboration in several areas, under the ‘Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies’ (iCET).
• This includes human space exploration and commercial space partnership in the areas of global navigation satellite systems, spaceflight safety and space situational awareness, and policies for commercial space.

Read more on the Recent meeting of the India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group

History of India – US Space Cooperation:

• India has been a major trading partner of the US in space technologies.
• Indo-US space cooperation has a long history. Within four years of the establishment of a full-fledged American space programme, in 1962, India became one of the first partners of NASA and had set up the Equatorial Rocket Launching Station at Thumba. 
• During 1975-1976, NASA and ISRO conducted the Satellite Instrumental Television Experiment, known as SITE. Under this program, NASA’s ATS-6 satellite beamed educational programmes via television sets to over two thousand remote Indian villages.
• During the 1980s, the US helped India to launch its own satellite telecommunications system – INSAT – with satellites purchased from Ford Aerospace. 
• In 1982 and 1990, the US launched Indian satellites atop American rockets, and in 1983, a US space shuttle deployed an Indian satellite. 
• However, after 1998, India-US relations in the area of space technology reached a low point, following the Pokhran nuclear tests. 
• The US imposed trade, economic and military sanctions which, in turn, hampered progress at ISRO. 
• The sanctions imposed in these areas slowed the pace of the growth of space technologies. However, Indian scientists overcame these difficulties by indigenously designing and developing these systems.
• After 2004, India – US relations transformed. Both countries are engaged in a space security dialogue, which began in 2015. 
  • This was a first for India with another country.  
• During the 3rd India-U.S ‘2+2 dialogue’ in 2020 both countries signed a  Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness (SSA), creating a framework for sharing data and services to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities in what can protect each other’s satellites from man-made or natural threats.
• The biggest cooperation between the United States and India in civil space currently is the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Earth science mission, which features a jointly-developed SAR payload that will be integrated into an Indian-built satellite and launched by India in 2024.

2. India-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meet

Context:  ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting was held recently.

Key Details:

• The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held on a virtual platform. 
• The theme of the meeting was “Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future”.
• The meeting focused on enhancing the relationship between India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
• India emphasised its reforms to promote fair competition and increase broadband and telecom connectivity.
  • The significance of digital transformation was also highlighted as a means of creating an inclusive and equitable society, promoting sustainable development, and empowering citizens through digital means.
• It approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023. 
• The work plan includes capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
• The ongoing and proposed projects in ICTs will strengthen collaboration between India and ASEAN by leveraging complementary strengths of each other.
• In 2022, ASEAN India Friendship Year was celebrated, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations with ASEAN which culminated in ASEAN and India elevating their Strategic Partnership to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). 

About ADGMIN:

• The ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting is annually conducted in order to ascertain ways to expand the usage of Information and communication technology (ICT).
• This involves the telecom ministers from ten ASEAN countries namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and dialogue partner countries—Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, UK and US. 

3. India’s Buddhist Diplomacy

Context: A group of 108 Buddhist pilgrims from South Korea is on a 43-day tour of Buddhist holy sites in India and Nepal from February 9, 2023

Introduction:

• A group of 108 Buddhist pilgrims from South Korea have embarked on a 1,167-km walk to trace Lord Buddha’s footsteps in India.
• The pilgrimage will mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and South Korea and aims to increase friendship and collaboration between the two countries. 
• The pilgrims, which include monks, will pay homage to eight major Buddhist holy sites, experience Indian Buddhism and culture, and hold a bilateral meeting of religious leaders and a prayer assembly for world peace.
• The pilgrimage aims to increase friendship and collaboration between India and South Korea, as well as help the tourists experience the teachings of Lord Buddha.
• The tour includes visits to Bodh Gaya, Nalanda University, the Buddha’s Relic Stupa Site in Vaishali, the Mahaparinirvana Temple and Ramabhar Stupa in Kushinagar, and the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal. 

Buddhist Circuit in India:

• The Buddhist circuit is a route that follows in the footsteps of the Buddha from Lumbini in Nepal where he was born, through Bihar in India where he attained enlightenment, to Sarnath and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh in India, where he gave his first teachings and died.
• The Buddhist Circuit project was announced by the Union government in 2016.
• It is the first transnational tourist circuit. It is an attempt to attract Buddhist tourists to India, alongside Sri Lanka and Nepal with the Buddhist circuit spanning all three countries.
• The Buddhist circuit gets a special push from the government because, while Buddhism originated in India and seven of the eight main Buddhist pilgrimage sites are in India, it gets not even one percent of Buddhist pilgrims in the world. 
• Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Thailand are getting a major chunk of Buddhism-related tourists while India lags behind, mostly due to a lack of infrastructure and awareness.

Buddhist Diplomacy:

• Today, India is leveraging its Buddhist heritage to enhance its diplomatic engagement with the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The Buddhist faith, due to its emphasis on peaceful co-existence and its wide pan-Asian presence, lends itself well to soft-power diplomacy. 
• India’s Buddhist diplomacy has three main objectives: promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges, fostering economic ties, and promoting regional peace and stability.
• Firstly, India’s Buddhist diplomacy seeks to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges with countries in the region. India has been organising cultural events, such as the International Buddhist Conclave, to showcase its Buddhist heritage and to encourage people-to-people exchanges. 
  • The Conclave brings together Buddhists from different countries to exchange ideas, share experiences, and promote interfaith harmony. 
• Secondly, India’s Buddhist diplomacy seeks to foster economic ties with countries in the region. India has been promoting trade and investment with countries that have significant Buddhist populations. 
  • For instance, India has been actively engaged in the development of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, which aims to connect the northeastern states of India with Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries. 
• Thirdly, India’s Buddhist diplomacy seeks to promote regional peace and stability. India has been using its Buddhist heritage to promote interfaith harmony and to encourage dialogue between different communities. 
  • India has been engaging with countries in the region to address shared challenges, such as terrorism, climate change, and maritime security. 

• India has been working with other countries to promote the principles of the Buddha, such as nonviolence, compassion, and peaceful coexistence.
• However, India’s Buddhist diplomacy faces several challenges. One of the challenges is the perception that India’s Buddhist diplomacy is a tool to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
  • China in recent decades has taken up the prospects of faith diplomacy as part of its outreach to south Asia and southeast Asia.

4. Paris Club

Key Details:

• The Paris Club of creditors has given financing assurances to support the International Monetary Fund’s approval of an extended fund facility for Sri Lanka.
• Paris Club is an informal group of creditor nations.
  • The objective is to find workable solutions to payment problems faced by debtor nations 
  • It has 22 members including the US, UK, India, China, etc. 

Read more on Paris Club

5. Turkey and Syria

Image Source:nationsonline.org

• Turkey is a country on the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia with a small enclave in Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. The main portion of the Turkish state is located on the Anatolian peninsula, also known as Asia Minor, the westernmost part of Asia.
• The country is bounded by the Aegean Sea in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Black Sea in the north. 
• Turkey borders Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) in the east, Georgia in the northeast, Bulgaria and Greece in the northwest, and Iraq and Syria in the southeast.
• Turkey shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.
• There are two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which connect the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.
• The highest mountain in Turkey is Mount Ararat, at 5,137 m (16,854 ft).
• Turkey has a population of 84.7 million people (in 2022).
  • Largest city is Istanbul, and the second-largest city and national capital is Ankara.

Syria:

• Syria is a country in the Middle East, with a coastline at the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, and it shares maritime borders with Cyprus.
• Syria has a population of 24 million people, and the capital city is Damascus.
• The country is home to a variety of ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, and Druze. Syria is a country with a predominantly Muslim population, 12% of Syrians are Alawite Shia and 74% Arab Sunni.
• The Kurdish population of Syria is the country’s largest ethnic minority, usually estimated at around 10% of the Syrian population and 5% of the total Kurdish population.
• Syria’s area includes territory in the Golan Heights that has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Read more on recent Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

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