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,