Topics Covered:
Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
Eurasian Economic Forum
What to study?
For Prelims and mains: EAEU- composition, objectives and significance.
Context: India has skipped a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which was organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Xi’an in China.
Why India did not attend?
The entire event was organized to discuss and deliberate upon China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Outcome:
The forum promoted the revival of the ancient Great Silk Road in Eurasia in a new, modern format.
Belt and Road Initiative:
It is a mammoth infrastructure project unveiled by China in 2017, which plans to connect the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
The ‘Belt’ part refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt, consisting of three overland routes.
- A link between China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
- A link through Central Asia and West Asia linking China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.
- A connection from China to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean.
The ‘Road’ part refers to the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, creating maritime trade channels from China through the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific.
India’s opposition:
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an important part of the BRI, passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
About Eurasian economic union:
- It is an international organization for regional economic integration.
- It has international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.
- Composition: Includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
- It has free movement of goods, services and labour.
- It has its own bureaucratic structure.
Various bodies under it:
- Supreme Council is the Union’s supreme authority. The Heads of the Member-States form the Supreme Council.
- Intergovernmental Council is a Union’s body consisting of the Heads of the Member-States Governments.
- Eurasian Economic Commission is a permanent supranational regulatory body of the Union. The core tasks of the Commission are fostering the conditions to support the operation and development of the Union, and drafting proposals in the field of economic integration within the Union.
- Court of the Eurasian Economic Union is the court of justice of the Eurasian Economic Union, which ensures the uniform application of the EAEU Treaty and other Union treaties by the Union Member-States and bodies.
Sources: the Hindu.
