23 nd India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation Held at Manila

The 2nd meeting of the India- Philippines joint commission on bilateral cooperation was held on 21 October 2013 in Manila. The meeting was co-chaired by the Albert F. Del Rosario, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines and the Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs of the of India.

During the meeting they discussed on political, defense, security, economic and cultural cooperation, and reviewed the progress of the Joint Working Groups on Trade and Investment, Tourism, Agriculture, Health and Medicine, Joint Committee on Renewable Energy and of the Joint Defense Cooperation Committee. 

Highlights of the 2nd India-Philippines Joint Commission meeting

• The Ministers affirmed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated their commitment to expand and deepen cooperation in counter terrorism. In this regard, they agreed to convene the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism in New Delhi in 2014 to discuss all issues related to terrorism and other transnational crimes.
• India and Philippines agreed to commence negotiations on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters (MLAT) in December 2013 and consider a Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement (TSP).
• The Ministers welcomed the convening of the 2nd meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC) in November 2013 in New Delhi. 
• They also committed to increase exchanges in military training and education.
• The Ministers agreed to step up cooperation in combating non-traditional threats through exchange of experiences and capacity building in the areas of disaster management, food security and pandemics. 
• The Philippines side welcomed the cash support of 100000 US Dollar provided by the Indian Government for disaster relief following the recent devastating earthquake in the Philippines.
• The Ministers committed to increase bilateral trade and investments between India and Philippines and to fully maximize the potential of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment to bring their bilateral trade to an even higher level. 
• They welcomed the results of the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Tourism and agreed to review the 1949 Bilateral Air Services Agreement.
• The Ministers agreed to convene the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture and the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Working Group in Health and Medicine as soon as possible.
• They also agreed that the 1987 Agreement for Cooperation in Science and Technology must be tapped and implemented through a Program of Cooperation.
• They also agreed to discuss a new Executive Program on Cultural Exchange for the years 2014 to 2016.
• The Ministers agreed that the 3rd Meeting of the Joint Commission will be held in 2015 in New Delhi.

22 OCT 2013 United Nation’s Security Council Elected 5 New Non-Permanent Members

Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia elected to seats as non-permanent members by the United Nations Security Council in the 15-member Council on 17 October 2013.

These members have been elected for two-year term which would start from January 2014.

The New Council members will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.

Non-permanent members Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea and Rwanda will remain on the Council until the end of 2014. India had served as a non-permanent member at the council in 2011-2012.

There are six principal organisations of UN which maintains peace and security of the world. The Organisations are-General Assembly, the Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the  International Court of Justice and the Secretariat.

Structure of Security Council

Article 23 of chapter V of United Nations Charter provides for the composition of United Nations Security Council. The council is composed of 15 members. There are 5 permanent members of Security Council and 10 non –permanent members. Five permanent members are: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Ten non-permanent members are elected for 2 years term by General Assembly and these members can not be immediately re –elected.

Objective of the Security Council

The Objective of UNSC is to maintain peacekeeping operations, the establishments of international   sanctions and the authorization of military action.
The powers of UNSC are exercised through United Nations Security Council resolutions.
All Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

21 OCT 2012 World Osteoporosis Day was Celebrated

World Osteoporosis day was celebrated across the world on 20 October 2013. Osteoporosis occurs when there is a loss in the peak bone mass and loss of calcium leading to hip, knee and shoulder fractures. World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on 20 October, and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. It is organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). 

World Osteoporosis Day was launched on 20 October 1996 by the United Kingdom’s National Osteoporosis Society and supported by the European Commission. Since 1997, the day was organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation. In 1998 and 1999, the World Health Organization acted as co-sponsor of World Osteoporosis Day.