International Summits & Conferences for Trade

International Summits & Conferences for Trade

This article on International Summits & Conferences will help you in your preparation of banking, SSC, and other Government Exams. You will find important information on member countries, foundation year, important meetings held, agenda of meetings etc.

International Summits & Conferences :-

Keeping international trade and commerce in mind, India participates and hosts a battery of summits and conferences. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India actively participates in most international summits and conferences to give a boost to the Indian economy. Although most of the summits and conferences have business implications, trade relations are also strengthened during these meetings. Some of the most important summits and conferences are BIMSTEC, OPEC, ASEAN, G20, SAARC, etc. Let’s delve into some of the most important summits and conferences that India participates in.

BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) :-

• BIMSTEC is a regional organization that comprises seven member states – they are – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.
• The 5th Meeting of the BIMSTEC Sub-Group on Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and precursor Chemicals will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 23rd May 2018.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) :-

• The active members of OPEC are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
• OPEC will be hosting the 7th OPEC International Seminar at the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, on 20−21 June 2018.
• The theme for this seminar is “Petroleum – Cooperation for a sustainable future.
• India sends its top diplomats for such seminars to voice out our suggestions and concerns.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) :-

• The ASEAN Summit is held semi-annually to discuss the economic, political, security and socio-cultural development of Southeast Asian countries. ASEAN comprises 10 member countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
• The ASEAN-INDIA Commemorative Summit was held in New Delhi (January 25-26, 2018).

SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) :-

• The SAARC member countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
• The first SAARC Summit was held on 9th-10th December 1985, Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2018, the 20thmeeting of SAARC will happen in Bengaluru.

G20 :-

• The G20 group was founded in the year 1999. The member countries are Argentina, Germany, Australia, Republic of Korea, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom, France, South Africa, United States, and the European Union.
• The first G20 Summit was held on 14-15th November 2008 in Washington D.C., USA

More such important summits and their details are summed up in the table below: