India's External Affairs Minister Addresses the UN General Assembly on Global Challenges

State of the United Nations and Global Challenges

• 🌍 The UN, founded to prevent war and build peace, faces significant challenges eight decades later, with ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
• 📉 The SDG agenda 2030 shows slow progress, climate commitments are often recirculated with creative accounting, and pandemic responses revealed discrimination in access to vaccines and travel.
• ⚠️ Energy and food security have been severely impacted by conflict, leading to a disparity where wealthier nations insulate themselves while the less fortunate struggle.
• 📈 Non-market practices in trade, technology controls, and supply chain sensitivities are increasing, necessitating more international cooperation despite current trends.

Fostering Understanding and Addressing Threats

• 🤝 The UN's principle of sovereign equals requires fostering understanding and respect by resisting political interference, economic pressures, and prejudiced narratives.
• 🚫 Double standards must be eliminated, and pluralism truly appreciated for diverse cultures and traditions to coexist and enrich each other.
• आतंकवाद India highlights countering terrorism as a priority, noting its long-standing confrontation with a neighbor that is an epicenter of global terrorism.
• 💥 Terrorist attacks are traced back to a specific country, with its nationals frequently appearing on UN's designated terrorist lists, underscoring the need for unequivocal condemnation and choking of terrorism financing.

Reforming Multilateralism and India's Role

• ⚖️ The UN is in a state of crisis, with its ability to forge common ground diminishing, leading to a receding belief in multilateralism.
• 🌍 Reforming the UN, including expanding permanent and non-permanent council membership to be more representative, is imperative to address historical injustices and current gridlock.
• 💡 India, under Prime Minister Modi, is committed to contributing to the global south through development projects, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief (HADR) operations.
• 🕊️ India actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations and supports initiatives for peace, advocating for an end to hostilities in conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza.

India's Vision: Atma and Self-Confidence

• 🚀 India's foreign policy is centered on sharing its experiences and tools, leveraging digital public infrastructure, AI for human welfare, and fostering innovation.
• 🇮🇳 Guided by three concepts: Atma Nirbhar (self-reliance) in developing capabilities, Atma Raksha (securing oneself) with zero tolerance for terrorism and border defense, and Atma Vishwas (self-confidence) as a civilizational state and major economy.
• 🌐 Bharat will always maintain its freedom of choice and serve as a voice for the global south, advocating for reformed multilateralism and international cooperation to prevail over turbulence.