United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today said that India has always been a living advocate for the concerns and aspirations of developing countries.
Delivering a talk at IIT Bombay on India-UN Partnership Strengthening South-South Cooperation, Mr. Guterres said, India’s recent development journey is characterized by high impact programme delivered at scale, which includes world’s largest food-based social protection scheme and the massive expansion access to clean water and sanitation services. He informed that India is among the biggest provider of military and police personnel to UN missions, that includes the first all-women police contingent peace-keeping mission. He said, over two hundred thousand Indian men and women have served in 49 peace keeping missions since 1948.
Mr. Guterres expressed serious concerns about the impact caused on mankind by climate change, Covid-19, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He said, old and new conflicts have displaced more than one hundred million people all around the world. He pointed out that some of the fundamental sustainable development goals have reversed instead of moving ahead, adding that there are more people who are living in poverty than a few years ago.
He also appreciated India’s role during the Covid-19 pandemic. Highlighting India’s donation of medicines, equipment, and vaccines at the height of Covid-19 pandemic, he also noted that humanitarian assistance and finance in Afghanistan and Srilanka is increasing India’s impact on the international stage as a reason India is today a partner of choice to the United Nations.
The UN secretary General also counted on India’s support in mobilizing G20 countries around debt relief.
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