Current Affairs MCQs – Page 2 (Q11-20)

The World Trade Organization came into being on January 1, 1995, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, which had governed international trade rules since 1947. It was created following the Uruguay Round of negotiations, which ran from 1986 to 1994 and produced the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. 1947 itself is offered as a tempting distractor since that is when GATT, the WTO's direct predecessor, was originally signed. The WTO is headquartered in Geneva and now oversees a much broader range of trade issues than GATT ever did, including services and intellectual property.

The WTO was created as the formal successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, which had governed international trade rules on a provisional basis since 1947. GATT itself was never a full-fledged international organization but rather a multilateral treaty administered through periodic negotiating rounds. The final and most ambitious of these, the Uruguay Round from 1986 to 1994, produced the Marrakesh Agreement that formally established the WTO in 1995. Bretton Woods is a tempting distractor since that 1944 conference produced the IMF and World Bank, not GATT, which emerged separately in 1947.

NATO's headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium, the same city that hosts the European Union's main institutions, making the Belgian capital a major hub of international diplomacy. The alliance's headquarters actually began in Paris but relocated to Brussels in 1967 after France withdrew from NATO's integrated military command in 1966 under President Charles de Gaulle. NATO's political headquarters should not be confused with its military command, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, which is based in Mons, Belgium. NATO now comprises 32 member states following Finland's and Sweden's accessions in 2023 and 2024.

NATO was founded on April 4, 1949, with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington D.C., establishing a collective-defense alliance between North American and European states during the early Cold War. Its core principle, Article 5, holds that an armed attack against one member is an attack against all. 1945 is a tempting distractor as that marks the end of World War II, the conflict whose aftermath and the emerging Soviet threat set the stage for NATO's creation four years later. The Soviet-led counterpart, the Warsaw Pact, was not formed until 1955.

NATO was founded in 1949 by twelve countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and several other Western European states, united against the perceived threat of Soviet expansion. The alliance has since expanded dramatically through multiple rounds of enlargement, especially after the Cold War ended, now numbering 32 members. Ten is a tempting distractor since it is close to the real figure but undercounts the founding group by two. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952, becoming the first states to join after the original founding twelve.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, rather than the capital Riyadh, reflecting Jeddah's historical role as a gateway city near the holy city of Mecca. The OIC is the second-largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the United Nations, with 57 member states across four continents. It was formed in response to an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 1969. Istanbul is a plausible distractor since Turkey hosts several OIC-affiliated bodies, but the organization's main secretariat has always been in Jeddah.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation was established in 1969, formed shortly after an arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that year galvanized Muslim-majority states to coordinate a collective response. It was originally called the Organisation of the Islamic Conference before being renamed in 2011. The OIC now has 57 member states and describes itself as the collective voice of the Muslim world, working to safeguard Islamic values and promote solidarity among members. Its charter commits members to cooperation in economic, social, cultural and scientific fields.

SAARC's headquarters is located in Kathmandu, Nepal, even though Nepal was not the group's largest or most powerful founding member, reflecting a deliberate choice of a smaller, neutral capital. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was established to promote economic and regional integration among South Asian nations. Islamabad, Dhaka and New Delhi are plausible distractors since they are capitals of major member states, but none of them houses the SAARC secretariat. SAARC summits have often been disrupted by tensions between India and Pakistan, its two largest members.

SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, was founded in 1985 when its charter was adopted at a summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The idea for the grouping is credited to Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman, who proposed regional cooperation in the late 1970s. 1980 is a tempting distractor since that is roughly when the initial proposal began circulating among South Asian governments, five years before the organization was formally established. SAARC's secretariat was subsequently set up in Kathmandu, Nepal, where it remains today.

SAARC was founded in 1985 by seven countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, forming a bloc aimed at accelerating regional economic and social cooperation. Afghanistan later joined as an eighth member in 2007, more than two decades after the original founding. Six is a tempting distractor because it is close to the real figure but omits one of the seven original founders. Despite its ambitions, SAARC's effectiveness has often been limited by ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.