Current Affairs - India And Its Bilateral Relations

India held the first-ever Security and Defence Consultations with European Union on 10th June 2022 at Brussels, capital city of Belgium.

• The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of their defence relations and evolving security situation in Europe, India’s neighbourhood and the Indo-Pacific.

During the recent visit of Indian Defence Minister to Vietnam, the two countries signed the 'Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030', which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation.

• Also, a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also inked.

On 2nd April, 2022, India and Australia signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). The negotiations for India-Australia ECTA were formally re-launched on 30 September 2021 and concluded on a fast-track basis by the end of March 2022.

On 11th March, 2022, India and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment (MDTI) in New Delhi.

• The robust trade and economic relationship between India and Canada was highlighted and both countries resolved to further strengthen the bilateral ties and economic partnership.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format on 27 January 2022, which was attended by Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.

• This first India-Central Asia coincided with the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries.

At the India-Sri Lanka 5th Joint Committee on S&T Cooperation held on January 20, 2022, India and Sri Lanka extended the existing cooperation in science and technology.

Key Highlights

• Both countries mutually agreed to extend the Programme of Cooperation (POC) for another 3 years and identified new areas such as waste-water technologies, industry and biotech, sustainable agriculture, aerospace engineering, robotics, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence to be included in the POC.

In 2021, the bilateral trade between India and China stood at 125.66 billion USD, up 43.3% from 2020.

• China’s exports to India were 97.52 billion USD while China’s imports from India were 28.14 billion USD in 2021.

The 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 19th December 2021 under the chairmanship of the External Affairs Minister of India.

• Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the meeting.

• On 27th September 2021, Admiral Saif bin Nasser bin Mohsen Al-Rahbi, Commander of Royal Navy of Oman (CRNO) and Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy signed an MoU for exchange of White Shipping Information.
• The MoU was signed at Maritime Security Center (MSC), Muscat during the ongoing visit of the CNS to Oman.

• The 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was held between 17-28 August in Geneva, Switzerland.