By Ayushi Agarwal
New York [US], September 19 : Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's global stature, the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said that his, as well as India's, voice in diplomacy is a very loud and important one.
Dujarric said that he is pleased about PM Modi's upcoming visit to the US, and added that India is a strong and powerful voice globally, especially for the Global South.
While speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview in New York, Dujarric said, "The voice of PM Modi, the voice of India in diplomacy, is a very loud one and very important one."
"I think we all share the goal, to find an end to these conflicts in line with the Charter of the United Nations, in line with international law, in line with the territorial integrity of nations," he said on the ongoing conflicts and India's role.
PM Modi will address the 'Summit of the Future' at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23. The theme of the Summit is 'Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow'.
Dujarric said that if one looks at India, this Summit is very important because it will talk about Security Council reforms.
He said, "We are very pleased that the Prime Minister will be here. India is such a strong & powerful voice globally but also especially for the global south. We have also seen India's leadership most recently in the G20 on all sorts of issues."
"I think, if you look at India, this Summit is so important because it will talk about Security Council reform and we know how important that is to India. It will talk about issues of digital cooperation. We know the kind of leadership role that India has in this and on the reform of the international financial institutions, which is also critically important to India," Dujarric added.
He described the Summit as a "critical inflexion point" and underscored that it is important to build a better world through better cooperation among nations.
"The Summit is a critical inflexion point in our efforts to build in our efforts to build a better world through better cooperation through nations. It will look at issues of peace & security, notably Security Council reform. We hope we will see some of the most progressive moves towards Security Council reforms since the 1960s," he said.
"It will look at issues of the architecture of the international financial institution, how to make it fairer, more representative and better equipped to finance the sustainable development goals; a lot on the digital front, on Artificial Intelligence, on digital cooperation," Dujarric underlined.
"So, if you look at sustainable development goals that were adopted in 2015, they were the 'why' - why do we need to build a better world on issues of health, of human rights, on the environment, on gender, all of these issues. This Summit will lay out the 'how' - how do we do it..." he told ANI.
Speaking further on the Security Council, Dujarric further noted there are still many regions, as well as under-represented countries.
"What is clear to the Secretary-General is that the Security Council, as it is today, is representative of the world of 1945 not of 2024. So many countries, when the Security Council was established when the Charter was established, were not even at the table. India was not at the table...There are so many regions, so many under-represented countries, whose voices are not heard," the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said.
"We very much hope that Member States will find the path forward to ensure that we have a Security Council that is much more reflective of the world we live in," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from September 21 to 23 during which he will take part in the Quad Summit and address the 'Summit of the Future' at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
PM Modi will take part in the fourth Quad Leaders' Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, which is being hosted by US President Joe Biden on September 21. Following the request of the US side to host the Quad Summit this year, India has agreed to host the next Quad Summit in 2025.
At the Quad Summit, the leaders will review the progress achieved by the Quad over the last one year and set the agenda for the year ahead to assist the countries of the Indo-Pacific region in meeting their development goals and aspirations, a Ministry of External Affairs release said.
The Prime Minister will address a gathering of the Indian community on September 22 in New York.
The Prime Minister would also be interacting with CEOs of leading US-based companies to foster greater collaborations between the two countries in the cutting-edge areas of AI, quantum computing, semiconductors and biotechnology, the release said.
He is also expected to interact with thought leaders and other stakeholders active in the India-US bilateral landscape.