October 2025
In short: International current affairs for October 2025 - summits, indices, appointments, awards, bilateral ties, defence, world sport and organisations.
Current Affairs — India › International Affairs · 16 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu
Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.
International current affairs - October 2025: the 2025 Nobel Prizes, the Gaza Peace Summit and Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the 47th ASEAN and 22nd ASEAN-India Summits with Timor-Leste joining ASEAN, UK PM Starmer's missile deal, India's first-ever hosting of the World Para Athletics Championships, and India's rise into the SDG Index top 100.
A Nobel Prize gold medal - representative of the 2025 Nobel Prizes; the Peace Prize went to Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado for her democracy and human-rights struggle · Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
October 2025 - At a Glance
October 2025 was one of the busiest international months of the year. The 2025 Nobel Prizes were announced, a US-brokered 20-point plan produced an Israel-Hamas ceasefire sealed at the Gaza Peace Summit, ASEAN met in Kuala Lumpur and admitted Timor-Leste as its 11th member, UK PM Starmer visited India with a missile deal, India hosted the World Para Athletics Championships for the first time, and India entered the SDG Index top 100.
1. Summits & Conferences
For each summit, fix the host city or country, the main outcome, and India's role. October's two big events were the ASEAN Summits in Kuala Lumpur and the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt.
- 47th ASEAN + 22nd ASEAN-India Summits, Kuala Lumpur — Chaired by Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim (Oct 2025); 2026 was declared the 'ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation'. At the summit, Timor-Leste (East Timor) was admitted as ASEAN's 11th member.
- Gaza Peace Summit, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt — Co-chaired by US President Trump and Egypt's President el-Sisi (Oct 2025) after an Israel-Hamas ceasefire; India was represented by a Minister of State. The summit sealed a US-brokered 20-point peace plan (ceasefire plus a hostage-prisoner exchange).
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - host of the 47th ASEAN and 22nd ASEAN-India Summits, where Timor-Leste was admitted as ASEAN's 11th member. Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur · Someformofhuman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
2. Awards & Honours - the 2025 Nobel Prizes
The 2025 Nobel Prizes were announced in October. For the exam, remember the Peace and Literature laureates by name, and the science prizes by their field.
The 2025 Nobel Prizes (announced October 2025)| Category | Laureate(s) | For |
|---|
| Peace | Maria Corina Machado (Venezuela) | Democracy & human-rights struggle |
| Literature | Laszlo Krasznahorkai (Hungary) | 2nd Hungarian literature laureate |
| Medicine | Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, Shimon Sakaguchi | Peripheral immune tolerance (regulatory T cells) |
| Physics | John Clarke, Michel Devoret, John Martinis | Macroscopic quantum tunnelling in superconducting circuits |
| Chemistry | Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi | Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) |
| Economics | Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt | Innovation-driven economic growth ('creative destruction') |
Maria Corina Machado (Venezuela) - winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her democracy and human-rights struggle. María Corina Machado · SantanaZ / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Sonali Ghosh wins the Kenton R. Miller Award
- Who & what — Sonali Ghosh, Director of Kaziranga National Park, became the first Indian to win the Kenton R. Miller Award of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (Oct 2025).
3. Global Indices & Reports
India in the global indices (Oct 2025)| Index (issuing body) | India | Note |
|---|
| SDG Index 2025 (SDSN) | 99th | India entered the top 100 for the first time, score 67/100. |
| State of the World's Forests (FAO) | 4th (forest carbon) | India 4th in forest carbon storage; China 1st in annual forest-area gain. |
4. Bilateral Relations & Visits
- UK PM Keir Starmer visits India (Oct 2025) — Keir Starmer's first India trip since 2024; India signed a £350 million deal to buy Lightweight Multirole Missiles from the UK, and the two sides advanced their trade partnership.
- Mongolia President Khurelsukh visits India (Oct 2025) — Mongolia's President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh paid a visit to India, reviewing the 'spiritual neighbour' partnership that spans Buddhism, defence training and development cooperation.
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - his October 2025 India visit sealed a £350 million Lightweight Multirole Missiles deal. Official portrait of Keir Starmer · Chris McAndrew / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
5. Defence Exercises & Global Sport
Joint exercises in the news (Oct 2025)| Exercise | Partner / type | Where |
|---|
| AUSTRAHIND | India-Australia (Army) | Perth, Australia |
| Konkan-25 | India-UK (Navy, carrier strike group) | Off India's west coast |
- World Para Athletics Championships 2025, New Delhi — India hosted for the first time (New Delhi, Oct 2025) and won a record 22 medals (including 6 gold) - its best-ever showing at the event.
6. Organisations & the World in Brief
- ASEAN grows to 11 members — Timor-Leste (East Timor) was admitted as the 11th member of ASEAN at the 47th Summit in Kuala Lumpur (Oct 2025) - the bloc's first expansion since Cambodia joined in 1999.
- Gaza ceasefire & the 20-point plan — After two years of war, a US-brokered 20-point peace plan produced an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange, sealed at the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit (Oct 2025).
- Sudan - RSF seizes El-Fasher — Sudan's civil war between the army and the paramilitary RSF worsened; the RSF seizure of El-Fasher (Darfur) drew reports of mass atrocities, deepening the world's largest displacement crisis (Oct-Nov 2025).