Ahead of the convening of the 73rd session of the U.N. General Assembly, India has indicated that the campaign against global terrorism will be on top of its U.N. agenda.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed India’s concerns regarding the issue to the visiting U.N.GA president María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, who maintained that there is not yet a consensus among the member-states about the definition of terrorism.
U.N.SC reforms
“The External Affairs Minister emphasised the need for U.N. Security Council (UNSC) reforms, especially continuation of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations, as well as early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” said the MEA in an official press release, following the meeting between the delegations of the Minister and the U.N. president.
Ms. Garces, the fourth woman president in the history of the largest organ of the U.N. interacted with Ms. Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her four-day visit.
In an interaction at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), she said India’s demand for expansion of the U.N.SC featured in the discussion with the Prime Minister and indicated that she would try to build consensus among all U.N. member-states regarding issues such as expansion of the UNSC and counter-terrorism.
Ms. Garces said she will appoint two co-facilitators to help her address reform issues.
The U.N. is currently in the process of implementing reform process on fronts such as peace and security, development and management reforms and better coordination among the principal organs of the U.N.
The visit also provided Indian decision makers to inform the U.N. official about India’s continued commitment on South-South cooperation.
In a meeting organised by the Research and Information System in Developing Societies (RIS) T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) of the MEA said, “South-South Cooperation has traditionally been an important pillar of India’s foreign policy, covering areas like development, defence and security…It will only continue to strengthen as we reach out even more to our development partners, in our neighbourhood, Africa, the Arab world, Small Island States, Southeast Asia and beyond.”
