Source: WION | Title: World order is under serious stress, India tells UN Security Council
Highlighting how “security challenges” have changed, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar told United Nations Security Council that the world order built “following the Second World War is under serious stress”.
He added, “Nature of threats faced by member states when the United Nations was founded 75 years ago has also changed” and is “not limited to territorial or political disputes, but transcend physical or political boundaries”.
This is the third time the Indian minister has spoken at the high table since January. India became non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for two years starting January 1.
Jaishankar was speaking at an event on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations.
During his address, he mentioned India’s ties with groupings like ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and African Union. He called India’s relationship with ASEAN a “key pillar of its foreign policy” and the “foundation of its Act East Policy”.
India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive region is based on “ASEAN centrality”.
Pointing out to India’s “close cooperation with the African Union”, EAM said, it was aimed at “development partnership initiatives”.
India has been engaging with Africa, with high-level visits. Interestingly, this year has seen the foreign ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia visiting Delhi, with a focus on many things including a briefing on the Tigray crisis.
During the address, EAM batted for BIMSTEC grouping, saying India remained “committed to further building on the momentum of regional cooperation” under the grouping that makes it “stronger, vibrant, and more effective and result-oriented”.
BIMSTEC or Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a more than 20 years old grouping formed in 1997 and has seven members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
In 2019, India had invited the heads of the group to the oath-taking ceremony of PM Narendra Modi for the second term.