‘Multilateralism with reformed UN at its centre can meet human aspirations’: PM Modi

The Prime Minister urged all participating nations, while celebrating 75 years of the United Nations, to pledge to reform the global multilateral system.

Emphasizing that multilateralism could provide solutions and meet the aspirations of mankind; Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India firmly believes that the path to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity is through multilateralism.

The Prime Minister said a lot had changed since the formation of the global peace keeping body, and at the same time the UN now brings together 193 member countries. (ANI PHOTO.)

The Prime Minister urged all participating nations, while celebrating 75 years of the United Nations, to pledge to reform the global multilateral system. He was addressing a high-level segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) session via a video conference.

“The United Nations’ 75th anniversary is the occasion to assess its role and relevance in today’s world. Multilateralism needs to represent the reality of the contemporary world. Only reformed multilateralism with the reformed UN at its centre can meet aspirations of humanity,” PM Modi said at the virtual global summit.

In a reference to the raging Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected more than 185 countries in the world, Prime Minister Modi said, “The United Nations was originally born from the furies of the Second World War. Today, the fury of the pandemic provides the context for the rebirth and reform of the United Nations. Let us not lose this chance.”

At the global forum, PM Modi emphasized that in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s grass-root health system has helped the country to ensure one of the best recovery rates from the viral infection in the world, despite reporting a large number of daily coronavirus cases.

The Prime Minister said a lot had changed since the formation of the global peace keeping body, and at the same time the UN now brings together 193 member countries and along with its membership, certain expectations from the international organisation have also grown and raised hopes among member countries.

His address was the first since India was unanimously elected as a non-permanent member of the powerful Security Council last month.

PM Modi also urged for increasing the UN’s relevance, its effectiveness, and to make it the basis of a new type of human-centric globalization.