United Nations: Commending India for being a very important player in the multilateral system, UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa has said the country is a “leading force” in areas of climate action and poverty eradication.
Espinosa underscored that given India’s large population, its actions and success on issues such as climate change and poverty eradication is “extremely important.” “India is a very important player in the multi-lateral system. It is a very strong reliable partner of the system. This should be acknowledged,” Espinosa told PTI in an interview here.
Lauding India for its “constructive” role in the multilateral sphere, she said the country is a very good ally to boost role of the UN and to strengthen the multi-lateral system. “I commend India for that. On the climate agenda, India is a leading actor, it has a strong commitment to renewable energies, push for solar power, poverty eradication agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India is really a leading force,” she said.
“India has a very important role to play when we talk about counter-terrorism. It is a very important and key partner,” she said, adding that as the President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly, she is “very much looking forward to working with India” in the new year “in terms of rights-based approach, in terms of everything that has to do with our agenda.”
Before assuming office as the UNGA President in September last year, Espinosa visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials. Recalling her visit to India, she had said she was touched to see how the SDGs were being implemented on the ground in the country. During the visit she met NGOs and groups of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and said it was heartening to see them organizing their communities using the SDGs as a framework.
Last year, Espinosa also underscored that India’s success in achieving the SDGs can “change the face of the world.” In an era of rising unilateralism and nationalism, Espinosa emphasised that multilateralism is very important, relevant and needed, “especially today.” She stressed that countries can look after their national interests while at the same time contributing to a multi-lateral world order. There is a perception that a nation either preserves and takes care of its national interest or espouses multi-lateral responses to global challenges, she said.
“This either/or is not real because you can have both. National leaders, heads of nation can really take care of national interest when at the same time they can take part in the international community and have shared responsibilities and global leadership on global issues. Both can co-exist in a very healthy way.” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had told PTI last month that during the course of 2018, India stressed that issues such as migration and climate action require multilateral solutions.
“We are among those who are fully committed to multilateralism because we feel these issues can only be addressed multi-laterally. You cannot address them in a segmented form,” he had said. Espinosa stressed that she agrees with the Indian Ambassador’s view that issues such as climate change, migration, counter-terrorism can only be addressed through a multilateral response. “There is no way that one country alone can face these challenges, no matter how big or powerful the country,” she said.
The threat to multilateralism as witnessed across the globe drew calls for renewed commitment to a rules-based global order. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, addressing word leaders at the start of the high-level General Debate in September last year, had warned that the world is suffering from a bad case of “Trust Deficit Disorder” where polarisation is on the rise and cooperation among nations is more difficult. The UN chief underscored that challenges across the globe are growing outward, while many people are turning inward. “Multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most,” he had said.
