MBA Aspirants are expected to know the happenings around globe which might affect Indian foreign policy, thus impacting all of us. Today, you will read on: Ramifications of PM's visit at UN
This year, a number of political and economic events around the world dominated the United Nations General Assembly meeting, which opened on September 17, 2013. At the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh touched upon the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan.
Both the countries have had their share of differences and this time, the Indian Prime Minister declared his commitment to resolving all issues with Pakistan, including ensuring that the land of Pakistan is not used for aiding terrorism directed at India. On a similar note, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon all members to renew their commitment to eradicate terrorism.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly meeting brought light and hope to the relations between Pakistan and India. He expressed hope of meeting Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discussing the issues of terrorism and border disputes.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly meeting paved the path for cordial relations between Pakistan and India through the discussion on bilateral dialogue on the basis of the Shimla Agreement.
At the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shared with the members as to how India is promoting inclusive development. There have been changes in the Indian legal system to ensure that more people have access to education and are able to secure their livelihoods. India is on its way to building the world’s largest programme for food security.
On this note, India urged the member states of the United Nations to make ‘eradication of poverty’ the main focus of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. He said member states need to tackle problems related to food and nutrition, healthcare, education, infrastructure, sanitation, energy as well as discrimination against women.
Prime Minister also shared with the member states as to how India has been cooperating with African states and least developed states in the world to alleviate poverty. In fact, the Indian government is building 100 institutions in Africa and will be providing scholarships and education aid of over Rs 587 billion (US$ 9.5 billion). This way, India not only enlightened member states on how they can help developing countries but also provided an avenue to do so.
One of the most discussed topics at the United Nations General Assembly meeting was the Syrian crisis. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that lethal conflicts that threaten regional security cannot be solved by military intervention. At the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh endorsed the efforts undertaken by the United States and Russia to destroy the weapons in Syria. By doing so, he paved the way for enhanced relations between India and Russia and India and the United States.
Last but not least, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed the importance of including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan in the United Nations Security Council as permanent members. Currently, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council include China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Countries in Asia are booming but only one Asian country is included in the United Nations Security Council as the permanent member. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that the criteria for the United Nations Security Council should be changed to include emerging economies.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly meeting provided a ray of optimism for developing countries in the world, and helped open avenues for discussion between India and Pakistan. Also, the prime minister conveyed the importance of changing the structure of the United Nations Security Council to include India and other emerging economies as the permanent members.