Current Affairs - International

PM Modi is scheduled to visit Thailand on April 3 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, which will be held in Bangkok on April 4. BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is an international organization comprising seven nations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The summit’s theme is "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC," focusing on regional cooperation and sustainable development. Thailand, as the host country, plays a key role in facilitating these discussions.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is set to revise the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to officially recognize crypto assets as legal financial products. This move aims to bring crypto under the purview of insider trading laws, ensuring the protection against the misuse of confidential information. A related bill is expected to be presented to Parliament by 2026 for formal implementation, highlighting Japan's proactive stance in regulating the crypto industry.

The Strengthening Multimodal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem (SMILE) Program in India is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This initiative aims to enhance India’s logistics infrastructure, reduce logistics costs, and improve efficiency through multimodal transportation, warehousing standardization, and digital transformation in trade logistics. The SMILE Program supports the National Logistics Policy (NLP) and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, contributing to India’s goal of becoming a global manufacturing and supply chain hub. ADB’s support is vital for aligning India’s logistics sector with international standards and boosting global competitiveness.

The ‘Nutrition for Growth’ event, where UNESCO released the report "Education and Nutrition: Learn to Eat Well," was hosted by France on March 27-28, 2025. The report focuses on the nutritional quality of school meals globally, urging governments to enhance food standards in schools. It highlights the importance of nutritious meals in reducing child undernourishment and boosting academic performance. The event underscored the global need for improved school meal programs, with France playing a key role in promoting nutrition-focused initiatives worldwide.

The Gaia mission, which mapped 2 billion stars, was conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission concluded on January 15, 2025, after 12 years of operation due to the depletion of its cold gas propellant. Gaia provided the most detailed 3D map of the Milky Way, uncovering insights into galactic collisions, star clusters, and black holes. Launched in December 2013, Gaia operated around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, offering an unparalleled view of our galaxy.