June 2017 Harf Facts - Final

Raj Malhotra’s IAS Study Group
Obama to bring together global entrepreneurs and innovators, and India will be hosting its next edition. The
event was expected to be a show of camaraderie between the two countries, and with Ms. Trump’s
participation, it would be gaining gravitas. “I’m excited to report that the Prime Minister has invited my
daughter, Ivanka, to lead the U.S. delegation,” said Mr. Trump.
Pulling up Pakistan: The joint statement by Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi on Monday went beyond the earlier
American position while pulling up Pakistan. “The leaders called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not
used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. They further called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to
justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other cross-border terrorist attacks perpetrated
by Pakistan-based groups,” said the joint statement.
Astana Summit: India and Pakistan to become Full members of SCO
Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan
today became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping
that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to
NATO.India’s membership was strongly pushed by Russia
while Pakistan’s entry into the grouping was backed by
China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will
now represent over 40% of humanity and nearly 20% of
the global GDP. As an SCO member, India is expected to
have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to
security and defence in the region. India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also
likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries
have huge reserves of oil and natural gas. The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the
Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran and Pakistan
were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit.The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the
moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a
counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) India feels that as an SCO member, it will be
able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.
India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism
Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India has been an observer
at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which
focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
Trump pulls US out of Paris climate pact, hits out at China, India
The Paris climate agreement gives undue advantage to
India and China at the cost of the Unite States' interests,
President Donald Trump said, announcing America’s
withdrawal from the pact. “China will be allowed to build
hundreds of additional coal plants. So we can’t build the
plants, but they can, according to this agreement. India
will be allowed to double its coal production by 2020.
We’re supposed to get rid of ours,” the President said,
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