countries for the election of Judge Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice.
           Five countries of LAC region, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru and
      Venezuela, have so far signed the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance, a
      joint initiative of India and France.
      United Nations and International Organizations
           The tempo of India’s engagement with the United Nations system continued as in the
      previous years.
           India continued with its multilateral engagements at the United Nations and international
      organisation on all issues of interest including climate change, sustainable development, human
      rights, and culture. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism under the UN Human
      Rights Council, the UN Oceans Conference, the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on
      Sustainable Development of ECOSOC, and the 23rd Conference of Parties of the United Nations
      Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are among the major meetings
      participated by India during the period of the Report. At the United Nations Economic and
      Security Council (ECOSOC) HLPF, India presented its Voluntary National Review (VNR) on
      the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India also accepted the Doha
      Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
      Change (UNFCCC). Finally, India was elected to major UN bodies and international
      organisation including, inter alia, the International Court of justice (ICJ), International Tribunal
      for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Executive Board of
      United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and UN Habitat
      Governing Council.
      Disarmament and International Security Affairs
           India actively participated in various disarmament, arms control and international security
      related forums held during the year. A number of civil nuclear cooperation agreements entered
      into force, namely, with Bangladesh, Japan and Vietnam. As part of an active engagement with
      various export control regimes, India became the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement.
      International Solar Alliance
           The Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in New Delhi
      in 2018. It may be recalled that the ISA became an international entity in 2017.
      Multilateral Economic Relations
           BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]:                                    India
      participated in the Ninth BRICS Summitt in 2017 in Xiamen. The leaders held discussions on
      economic and finance cooperation, global economic governance, and international peace and
      security. The outcomes of the Summit included the Xiamen Declaration, in which strong
      sentiments were expressed by leaders on terrorism.
           Twelfth G20 Summit:               Indian delegation attended the Twelfth G20 Summit in
      Hamburg, Germany in 2017. The agenda of the Summit included global growth and trade,