UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz : International Relations MCQs on Gulf Cooperation Council, ASEAN and more (Week 134)

QUESTION 1

With reference to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), consider the following statements:

1. The 47th ASEAN Summit, 2025, was recently concluded in Jakarta.

2. ASEAN has a total membership of 8 countries.

3. Timor-Leste is the recent nation to join the grouping.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Explanation

— The 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits concluded in Kuala Lumpur on October 28. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a grouping of 11 countries — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the recently added East Timor or Timor Leste. Hence, statement 2 is not correct and statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 2

Consider the following countries:

1. Oman

2. Yemen

3. Jordan

4. Qatar

5. Saudi Arabia

Which of the countries given above are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)?

(a) 1, 2, 3 and 4

(b) 2, 3, 4 and 5

(c) 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 4 and 5

Explanation

— US President Donald Trump will host Ahmad al-Sharaa for talks, a first-ever visit by a Syrian president to the White House. Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May in what was the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years. Syria continues to struggle to emerge from decades of international isolation.

— The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump’s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, was seen as a major turn of events for a Syria that is still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family.

About GCC

— The Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States, often called the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is one of the most important regional organisations in the Gulf and the wider Middle East region.

— The six member states of the GCC, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, came together in 1981 to form the regional grouping in the light of the tumultuous politics at the time to develop collective mechanisms to deal with political, security and economic challenges facing the member states.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

(Read more: India-GCC relations: From historical bonds to strategic dialogue)

QUESTION 3

The Rafah border, which is currently closed, connects:

(a) Israel and Lebanon

(b) Egypt and Israel

(c) Jordan and Gaza

(d) Egypt and Gaza

Explanation

— Israel has said the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will remain closed until further notice, contradicting an earlier announcement by the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, which had declared plans to reopen the route.

— As Israel retains control of the Gaza side of the crossing, the Rafah border crossing is now blocked to both human traffic and humanitarian aid entrance.

— The Israeli military presently controls the Gaza side of the crossing. Egypt controls its side and has refused to coordinate the crossing’s reopening with Israel, arguing that it should be administered by Palestinian authority.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 4

The city of Pokrovsk was recently in the news. It is located in:

(a) Russia

(b) Ukraine

(c) Spain

(d) Turkey

Explanation

— Ukraine’s top military commander said his troops were still holding out in the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk, which Moscow said its forces were at last enclosing in a pincer movement after more than a year of fighting.

— Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk”, since mid-2024 in its campaign to control the entirety of Donetsk, a Ukrainian province it claims to have annexed. The city, home to 70,000 people before the war, has been all but completely destroyed and depopulated.

— Capturing Pokrovsk would be the most important Russian territorial gain inside Ukraine since Moscow took the ruined city of Avdiivka in early 2024 after one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 5

Which of the following Indian States is successful in exporting its indigenous black sticky rice to the international market?

(a) Bihar

(b) Tripura

(c) Manipur

(d) Sikkim

Explanation

— Manipur is set to introduce another variety of Chakhao (white sticky rice) to the international market after successfully exporting its indigenous black sticky rice.

— The Department of Agriculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan for the trial export of 20 metric tonnes of the white sticky rice. The pact was signed during the 1st Bharat International Rice Conference organised by APEDA at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on October 30 to 31.

— Manipur is famed for its unique black sticky rice, also known as Chak-Hao, which has a distinct aroma, colour, and high nutritional content.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 128)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 134)

Daily subject-wise quiz —  Science and Technology (Week 134)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 134)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 134)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 133)

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