NATO Summit in Vilnius

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Semiconductor manufacturing in India
• Need for domestic manufacturing of semiconductors
• Steps taken by the Govt to promote indigenous semiconductor industry 
• News Summary: Foxconn pulls out of $19.5-billion chip plan with Vedanta
• Background:
• What is the status of other proposals?

Why in news?

• The 2023 NATO summit took place from 11–12 July 2023, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
  • The 2022 summit was held in Madrid, Spain.
• The participating leaders discussed the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as Ukraine and Sweden’s prospective memberships into NATO.

What is NATO?

• About
  • Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 31 countries from North America and Europe.
  • In April 2023, Finland joined the alliance as its 31^st member.
  • NATO’s fundamental goal is to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means.
  • It is a system of collective defence where independent member states agree for mutual defence in case of any attack by external party.
    • Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all.
    • This article forms the core of the Alliance, a promise of collective defense.
• Headquarter – Brussels, Belgium.
• Functions
  • Political  
    • NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
  • Military
    • NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. 
    • If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.

News Summary: NATO Summit in Vilnius

Key outcomes of the NATO summit 2023 

• New forum for deepening ties with Ukraine
  • NATO leaders launched a new forum for deepening ties with Ukraine, known as the NATO-Ukraine Council. 
  • This council is intended to serve as a permanent body where the alliance’s 31 members and Ukraine can hold consultations and call for meetings in emergency situations.
  • The setting is part of NATO’s effort to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the military alliance without actually joining it.
• Ukraine won new security assurances from the U.S. and its allies
  • A joint declaration issued by the G-7, issued during the summit, lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term.
• No clear path for Ukraine’s membership in NATO
  • The summit did not provide a firm timeline for when the Ukrainians will become official members.
  • In their communique summarising the summit’s conclusions, the leaders said that Ukraine can join when allies agree and conditions are met.
    • Experts say that quick admittance of Ukraine to NATO could potentially increase Russian aggression and drag out the war even farther.
    • Hence, the membership of Ukraine is being delayed.
• Membership of Sweden
  • Recently, Turkey withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance. 
  • This paves ways for Sweden to join the alliance as the new entries must be approved by all existing members.
  • NATO had formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance at Madrid summit held in 2022.
  • However, Turkey had raised objection regarding the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO. 
    • Turkey, which has been a member of NATO since 1952, had repeatedly opposed Finland and Sweden’s entry.
    • It accused the two Nordic countries of supporting Kurdish militant groups. which it deems to be terrorist organizations.
  • In March 2023, Tukey withdrew its objection to Finland and later, in April 2023, Finland became the 31^st member of grouping.

Q1) What is Article 5 of Washington Treaty?

Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, also known as the North Atlantic Treaty, is a key provision that forms the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Washington Treaty was signed on April 4, 1949, and established NATO as an intergovernmental military alliance.

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Q2) What is the geographical location of Lithuania?

Lithuania is a country located in Northern Europe, specifically in the Baltic region. Geographically, Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) to the southwest.

Source: G7 pledges security deals with Ukraine as its NATO membership remains elusive | NATO | Aljazeera | BBC | Reuters