Hours after India was elected to the UN Security Council with an overwhelming majority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was grateful to the support shown by the global community and added that India will work to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity.
“Deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India’s membership of the UN Security Council. India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity,” Modi said in a tweet.
His remarks came after India was elected to the Security Council with an overwhelming majority of 184 votes running on a platform of fighting terrorism and promoting the ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family.
Wednesday’s elections took place against the backdrop of the conflict in Ladakh with China, whom it will join on the Council in January.
New Delhi won the Asia Pacific seat on the highest decision-making body of the UN with the unanimous support of the countries in the 55-member group, with China and Pakistan, at least openly, conceding support in the face of an overwhelming backing for India from the others.
Top priorities
India will work for “reformed multilateralism, a must for the post-COVID19 era”, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, MEA.
“A rapidly shifting global security landscape, persistence of traditional security challenges and emergence of new and complicated challenges, all demand a coherent, pragmatic, nimble and effective platform for collaboration to ensure sustainable peace,” says a document listing India’s priorities as an incoming member of the UN Security Council, released by External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
“Such a role must be more effectively undertaken by the Security Council, in the post-COVID19 context,” and this will be among India’s top priority as a new Council member. “India calls for greater involvement of women and youth to shape a new paradigm,” according to the MEA document.
India won 184 out of 192 votes cast in the UN General Assembly, which elects five of its 10 non-permanent members every year for a two-year term. India secured more than the mandatory two-thirds majority of votes for one of two seats reserved for the Africa-Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Gulf and the broader Arab world.
Voting for the second Africa-Asia-Pacific seat was inconclusive because neither Kenya nor Djibouti, which were in the race secured the required two-thirds majority of members present and voting today. A second round of balloting will take place on Friday for this seat.
India will replace Indonesia in the Security Council on January 1 and join Tunisia which is now the only Arab country in the Council. Tunisia’s term will run till end of 2021.
In today’s voting, Mexico was the only country which won more votes than India in the General Assembly. Mexico got 187 votes for a seat reserved for Latin America. Ireland and Norway were also elected as non-permanent members from the West European and Others Group, WEOG.
India’s campaign for the non-permanent seat was spearheaded by its Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti, who until recently handled the Gulf and the Arab world at the MEA. An Arabic speaker, Tirumurti earlier served as India’s first Representative to the Palestinian Authority.