Recent 6 months news in International

President Droupadi Murmu visited Romania at the invitation of NicuSor Dan, the President of Romania. She was conferred with the 'Doctor Honoris Causa' award by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES).

India and Romania signed 3 MoUs in the sectors of science and technology, education, and sports. Both nations declared 2028 as the 'India-Romania Year of Innovation' to commemorate 80 years of diplomatic relations.

Andy Burnham has assumed office as the 59th Prime Minister (PM) of the United Kingdom (UK), succeeding Keir Starmer who resigned from the position.

He was invited by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to form a new government in a traditional ceremony known as 'kissing hands.'

The Chinese aerospace company, Orienspace, has successfully launched its 'Gravity-1 Y4' carrier rocket from a sea-based platform in the East China Sea. The mission successfully deployed 9 satellites into their intended orbits.

It is to be noted that this was the 3rd flight of the rocket and its 1st long-range sea launch.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the President of Senegal, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He was elected during the 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Sierra Leone. He succeeds the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, for a one-year term.

The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) has been officially launched in Shanghai, China. Proposed by China, it is an intergovernmental body designed to foster global AI cooperation, develop civilian AI regulations, and bridge the technological compute divide.

It is headquartered in Shanghai. A total of 29 countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have signed its founding convention.

Hussein Ali Mwinyi, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, visited India at the invitation of Vice President CP Radhakrishnan.

The visit reinforced the India-Tanzania Strategic Partnership, focusing on bilateral trade, investment, and capacity building.

Mwinyi met Union Minister S Jaishankar to review development partnerships, including the IIT Madras Zanzibar, which serves as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for higher education in Africa.

During the visit, he attended the 63rd convocation of IIT Madras and unveiled the master plan for the 200-acre IIT Madras Zanzibar campus at Fumba Peninsula.

It is to be noted that this is the first international IIT campus of India.

The 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting was held in Chandigarh under the BRICS Chairship of India for 2026. The meeting was held under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability' to strengthen cooperation in public health priorities and global health architecture.

Additionally, under the BRICS Presidency of India for 2026, the Ministry of Education convened the International Governing Board (IGB) meeting of the BRICS Network University (BRICS NU) in a virtual format.

India hosted the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies Meeting in Guwahati, Assam.

During the meeting, member nations adopted the 'Guwahati Declaration', and India proposed the establishment of a dedicated BRICS Virtual Working Group (VWG) to address evolving drug trafficking trends and enhance cross-border training initiatives.

India also organized the 'GO-BRICS India-Russia Energy-o-thon 2026' in Bengaluru, which is the world's first hackathon involving BRICS nations. Additionally, the BRICS Academic Thematic Conference, themed 'Strengthening BRICS Connectivity: Fostering Cooperation', was jointly organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the BRICS Expert Council Russia in Moscow, Russia.

Union Minister S Jaishankar has launched India's campaign for election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2028-29 term at the UN Headquarters in New York. The campaign is themed "SHANTI: Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity".

It is to be noted that the UNSC comprises 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power (China, France, Russia, UK, and USA) and 10 non-permanent members. India has served as a non-permanent member of the UNSC eight times.

India has deposited its Instrument of Acceptance for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS), becoming a party to the agreement. India is the 123rd member to deposit its acceptance for the same.

The AFS, adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva in 2022, is the first multilateral WTO agreement with an environmental sustainability objective.

It prohibits government support for illegal fishing and overexploitation of stocks, contributing to the protection of marine life. It is to be noted that the agreement entered into force in September 2025, following acceptance by two-thirds of WTO members.

Mindaugas Sinkevicius, the leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), has been sworn in as the 20th Prime Minister (PM) of Lithuania. He succeeds Inga Ruginiene.

The Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) has approved the appointment of Sergii Koretskyi as the new Prime Minister (PM). He succeeds Yulia Svyrydenko.

India hosted the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting (WMM) in Kochi, Kerala under its BRICS Chairship 2026. During the meeting, member nations reached a consensus on two initiatives proposed by India: the 'BRICS Digital Repository of Best Practices' and 'BRICS Digital Capacity Building'.

India also hosted the 3rd BRICS Transport Ministers' Meeting (TMM) in Nagpur, Maharashtra, chaired by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The meeting concluded with the unanimous adoption of the Ministerial Declaration.

PM Narendra Modi has visited New Zealand at the invitation of PM Christopher Luxon, marking the final leg of his 3-nation tour which also included Indonesia and Australia. He received a traditional Maori powhiri ceremonial welcome at the Government House in Auckland, followed by bilateral talks.

The meeting resulted in 18 major outcomes, including the signing of 10 MoUs and the elevation of India-New Zealand bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership (SP). Both nations also adopted the 'Roadmap to 2030'.

Key announcements included a target to double bilateral trade to NZD 7 billion (₹35,000 crore) by 2030 and the establishment of a Maritime Security Dialogue. It is to be noted that New Zealand has nominated Maritime Security as a priority pillar under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and has officially joined the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), led by India.

PM Narendra Modi visited Australia at the invitation of PM Anthony Albanese, where he received a ceremonial welcome and met the Governor of Victoria, Margaret Gardner AC in Melbourne.

Both leaders addressed the Australia-India CEOs Forum (established in 2012, relaunched in 2023). AustralianSuper, the largest pension fund of Australia, pledged an investment of AUD 500 million in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India, raising its total investment in the country to AUD 3.3 billion.

The two nations launched the Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chains (PACTS), replacing the 2020 Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation. PACTS is based on 5 pillars: supply chain resilience, critical technology, cybersecurity, digital resilience, and defence research and collaboration.

India and Australia finalized the Administrative Arrangement of the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Agreement (signed in 2014) and signed a Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation (JDDSC), replacing the 2009 joint declaration on security.

Australia also announced the voluntary repatriation of 3 Indian artefacts: an 11th-12th century granite Nandi sculpture, an 11th-century bronze trident of Goddess Bhadrakali, and a 12th-century basalt sculpture of a six-headed Skanda (Karttikeya).

The Centre for Studies of International Relations (CSIR), New Delhi, in collaboration with the Manas National Academy, has established the International Centre for Civilizational Studies 'Manas and Mahabharata' in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The inauguration ceremony also marked the release of the first Hindi translation of the Kyrgyz epic 'Manas', translated by Hem Chandra Pande and Ramakant Dwivedi.

Australia is replacing its traditional paper arrival card system with a new digital declaration system.

The new "Travel Declaration" system allows eligible international travellers to submit Customs and biosecurity information online before arrival. This digital transition aims to reduce paperwork and expedite entry procedures for travellers.

PM Narendra Modi has visited Indonesia at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto to strengthen bilateral ties and strategic cooperation between the two nations.

He became the first Indian PM to address the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta, where he unveiled the 'Ganga-Mahakam Vision' to foster a long-term strategic partnership. During the visit, he was conferred with the 'Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia,' the highest civilian honour of the country.

PM Modi visited the Prambanan Temple and inaugurated its restoration project, which is proposed to be led by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). India has agreed to establish a branch campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore in Jakarta. The visit resulted in 20 key outcomes, including the signing of 14 MoUs and agreements.

The India-led Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) has launched its flagship Global Biofuel Champion Fellowship (GBCF) programme at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

The GBA has selected 15 early-career researchers from leading global universities and research institutions to serve as GBA Ambassadors for a tenure of 2 years. Each fellow will receive a research grant of $15,000. The selected cohort includes 2 researchers from India: Ruchi Agrawal from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi, and Abhishek Sahoo from the IIT Delhi.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has visited France to strengthen the strategic partnership and promote economic cooperation between the two nations.

She co-chaired the France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) at Aix-en-Provence with Roland Lescure, the Minister of France. They committed to using the EFD as a key platform for addressing issues, and agreed to explore conducting the next edition of the dialogue in 2027.

Both nations agreed to enhance cooperation on critical minerals to ensure resilient supply chains. During her visit, she also toured the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project at Cadarache to reinforce scientific and technological cooperation between India and France.