Another high-level delegate to praise India was Jamaica Foreign Minister Kamina J Smith, who expressed gratitude towards India for its assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic…reports Asian Lite News
At the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session India has been winning praise from several developing and developed nations both for its economic and foreign policy.
Some of the most powerful voices, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron have referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India in a positive light. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also acknowledged the key role India can play in the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Countries like France, Jamaica and Portugal also heaped praise on India.
“It is not for revenge against the West or for opposing the West against the east. It is the time for a collective time for our sovereign equal states. To cope together with challenges, we face,” Macron said while referring to the conversation between PM Modi and Putin during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Samarkand.
UN chief Guterres, in his message to a special ‘India@75’ event on showcasing the ‘India-UN Partnership in Action’, underlined that as home to the largest youth generation in history, India will be decisive in the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “explicitly’ backed India for a permanent seat, straight 60 minutes after he met up with his Indian counterpart. Addressing the UNGA session, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said that the country sees India as a “key international actor” and a “worthy candidate for permanent membership within the Council.”
Another high-level delegate to praise India was Jamaica Foreign Minister Kamina J Smith, who expressed gratitude towards India for its assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guyana Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd also hailed India in UNGA. “Small countries like Guyana would have benefitted immensely from India’s growth trajectory as it has always been an economy that focuses on human development, putting humans ahead of any other form of development,” he said.
UNGA concludes general debate
This year’s general debate of the UN General Assembly concluded, after representatives of 190 member states spoke around the theme of “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”.
Csaba Korosi, President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, said on Monday in his closing remarks that 126 heads of state and government took part in this year’s general debate.
“The sheer number of you who took part in this debate points to the importance that the general debate holds in international affairs,” Korosi added.
He said he got five messages from the member states during the general debate.
The first is the growing awareness that humanity has entered a new era, he added.
“Facing complex challenges and multi-layer crises, we reached a time of paradigm shift, because the movements, the adjustments that we see around us cannot be called mere modifications any longer: they are significant transformations in the making,” he said.
The second message is that the conflict in Ukraine should end, said Korosi.
“You also pointed out that its effect is being felt around the world. You described the pain of shortages, inflation, the impact of refugees as far as South America and Africa, concerns about the safety of nuclear plants, and fears of a nuclear attack. You also highlighted the dangers of misinformation and propaganda,” the UNGA President added.
The third message is that climate change is gradually destroying humanity, he said.
“We heard about countries simultaneously experiencing droughts and flooding. We spoke about unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, eating up the fish and filling our waters with plastics, even as waves of rising seas drown shorelines. We heard calls to achieve global net-zero (emissions) and appeals to assist the countries most affected by climate change, not of their own making. We heard clearly the calls for climate justice and honouring commitments,” he said.
Fourth, calls for improving the state of human rights and meeting the needs of those most vulnerable to exploitation were heard, Korosi added.
The fifth key issue, for which there is strong support, is the need to modernise the United Nations, revitalise the General Assembly and reform the Security Council, he said.
Korosi called for collective action to tackle the challenges.
“We are all in agreement on the main challenges. We want a peaceful post-Covid world with increased trust, where we can work together to mitigate and adapt to climate change,” he added.
Korosi said he plans to launch a series of consultations with many actors, including the scientific community, after the conclusion of the general debate, with the aim to strengthen universally accepted and owned foundation for action.
The general debate is an annual gathering of heads of state and government as well as other high-level representatives of UN member states at the beginning of the new session of the General Assembly.
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