Modi questions UN position in Covid fight
Making a strong case for a significant role for India in the United Nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the need for changes in the international body and questioned its position in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
He also assured the global community that India will provide corona vaccine to the world as it is the world’s biggest pharmaceutical drugs manufacturer.
Addressing the 75th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly virtually in Hindi, Modi said India has already supplied relevant drugs to more than 150 countries in the past few months since the outbreak of the pandemic. He said while the world is fighting it for the last eight to nine months, “where is the UN in this joint fight. Where is the effective response.”
Focussing on a more prominent role for India in the UN and fight against corona, the Prime Minister avoided making any reference to ongoing tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and frosty ties with Pakistan in his 20-minute speech. He also did not respond to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks about India in his speech.
However, Modi put a question mark on the UN role by stating that though the third world war did not take place so far but the past years saw several wars and civil strifes besides terrorist attacks killing scores of innocent people.
The PM acknowledged that while the UN had several notable achievements to its name in the 75 years of its experience, including the prevention of a third world war, “we can’t deny terrorist attacks shook the world”.
“We have successfully avoided a third world war but we cannot deny many wars happened, many civil wars happened. Terrorist attack shook the world. Blood was spilled. Those were killed were like you and me. Children left the world prematurely,” he said.
Strongly pitching a greater position for India, he said when the UN was formed in 1945 the world was significantly different. Challenges in the 21st century and future are now different and the UN has to change to keep pace with changing times, Modi said adding the global forum needed to introspect.
Underlining that the UN commands respect in India, Modi, however, said the countrymen were anxious as to when will the much awaited reforms take place in the body. “They are worried whether the process will reach a logical end. Till when will India be kept away from the UN’s decision-making process?” he said.
“When we were weak, we didn’t trouble the world. When we became strong, we didn’t become a bojh (burden) on the world. Till when do we have to wait? India has sent soldiers to UN peace-keeping missions and India has lost the most number of soldiers. India has always thought about the welfare of the world,” the PM said in strong opening remarks.
He said 130 crore Indians still believed in the ideals of the UN but added the global body needed to adapt and change to stay relevant in current times.
His remarks came in the backdrop of India elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the highest-decision making forum.
There are five permanent members - the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France. India was elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for a two-year term in June, along with Ireland, Mexico and Norway and will assume the new responsibility from January next year.
He also said India took the lead in marking October 2 as International Day of non-violence and June 22 as International Day of Yoga. India has always thought about the welfare of the world. “From our neighbourhood first policy to look-east policy, are all guided by these principles,” the Prime Minister said.
A regards India’s efforts against corona, Modi said vaccine production here will help in bringing the world out of the pandemic. “We are moving towards Phase 3 of clinical trials. We are increasing infrastructure and will help others increase it,” he said.
On its role as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Modi said India will use its experience as the world’s largest democracy for the benefit of the world. “India will stand for shanti, suraksha and samriddhi. We will always oppose drugs, illegal weapons, money laundering. India’s experience will strengthen the way for vishwa-kalyan (good for the world).”
Highlighting the achievements in the last four to five years, Modi said India brought changes through Reform-Perform-Transform process. In the last few years, linking 400-500 million people with the banking system was not easy. India is one of the leaders in digital transactions globally. India is working on making country tuberculosis-free by 2025. India has initiated a huge process of connecting villages with optical fibre, he said.
