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PM Modi turned his back on the USA to participate in the 6th Quad Leaders’ Summit and to address the UN’s ‘Future Summit’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring the message of India’s example of progress to a historic conference on the future at the United Nations next week, the country’s envoy said on Friday.
“I think his message will be India’s example of our domestic development story,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish told PTI in an exclusive interview. Modi is scheduled to arrive in the US on Saturday for a three-day visit that will begin with the Quad Leaders Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Indian leader will then travel to New York where he will address a major public event on Long Island on September 22, followed by his speech at the UN Summit on the Future on September 23 before heading to India. At the conference, UN Member States will unanimously adopt the Future Agreement, with annexes – the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations.
‘India, with 1.4 billion people’
Harish emphasized that the Conference focuses on the youth who are the future of the world. “India, with a population of 1.4 billion, and most of our people are young people, brings this message to our youth. When the Prime Minister speaks, he brings the message of Indian youth to the whole world,” he said.
“How can we engage our youth and build their stake in the future? How can we involve them in management processes? As the largest democratic country in the world, I think there is no better example than that of India, in the way we have empowered our youth to participate in political, economic and development programs, and become true partners in the development and growth of the nation,” he said.
The Future Conference, followed by the annual UN General Assembly’s high-level week, comes amid heightened tensions between Israel-Hezbollah and the war in Ukraine, as well as the chronic challenges of climate change, inequality, and the country’s deep divisions.
Outlining India’s priorities and focus for the upcoming 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Harish said that for the country, one of the key issues will be how the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, the crises and wars that followed disrupted the world. progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.
“We have slipped, even the leaders see that,” he said, adding that related to this is the issue of financing development. “This has become a big issue for countries as they are facing huge debts.” The ambassador said that the international establishment of joint institutions is “obsolete” and one must think of ways to renew them.
“What can we do to make them ready to face today’s challenges? This is not limited to UN organizations, but also to financial institutions and development banks in many countries,” he said. There will also be an emphasis on new technologies of the future, and artificial intelligence.
“What can we do to ensure that the divisions of the previous era do not enter this new technology? How do we prevent the progress and deepening of the haves and have-nots,” he said. Another focus for India will be climate change and South-South cooperation. “India has always been a champion of South-South cooperation,” Harish said, highlighting India’s slogan Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – or The World is One Family.
“We have never shied away from making available whatever we have achieved, the kind of digital platforms, the technology we have used to make it available to our friends in the Global South. We did not own the copyright. We have put it in the open domain as open source so they can use it,” added Harish.
He said that terrorism is still an important problem in India. which requires international cooperation. “We and our partners want to have a united movement in the fight against terrorism and the financing of terrorism.” He also noted that the entire construction of peace and security needs a “restart.” “We are looking for a reformed United Nations and international financial structures to fit the purpose of the new era… We want a reform process that is timely, document-based and objective,” he said.
UN officials said the Pact of the Future provides “foundational” language about long-term changes to the Security Council, including expanding “the Security Council to represent the current membership of the UN and reflect the realities of today’s world.” Harish referred to the words of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who said: “We will not be able to create a future suitable for our grandchildren with the plans built for our grandparents.”
(This story was not edited by News18 staff and was published by the syndicated news agency – PTI)