Opinion

India's new global mandate as it assumes presidency of G20, UNSC

India assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1st December 2022. On the same day, the country also assumed the presidency of G20. Both these events further lead to very significant visibility for India on the global stage.

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, briefed the media on the occasion and informed them about the upcoming signature events and highlighted the strategy of India as the president of UNSC. Further, India has been a non-permanent member of the security council for around two years now, and will now preside over the Council with its presidency.

Two Important themes of consideration

Highlighting the two important themes, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj informed that India will focus on two major themes. First will be an all-encompassing theme focused on building a new orientation towards reformed multilateralism, while the second theme will focus on an approach towards global counter-terrorism.

During the press brief, she reiterated that the current structure of United Nations is in pressing need of reform and said that ‘UN of today is far from reflective of the true diversity of the UN’s wider membership’. India has long been stressing about the reforms in United Nations and made several compelling arguments, that highlight the legitimacy of India’s candidacy for permanent membership of UNSC. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been very vocal about the reforms the UN needs as to how India has the right to be a permanent member of UNSC.

Earlier this year, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar, also said that ‘India not sitting as a permanent member of the UNSC is “not good for us” only, but also not good for the global body and its transformation is overdue’.

While giving the details about the upcoming events, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj notified that Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar is going to chair an open debate of the security council on 14th December, with an aim to have a discussion on reviving multilateralism in the current scenario. In addition, EAM is also scheduled to have a brief of the security council on 15th December on global counter-terrorism.

Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi

Symbolizing peace and non-violence, on 14th December 2022, the United Nations will witness the inauguration of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, at the prestigious North Lawns of the UN building. UN Secretary-General and India’s EAM Dr. S Jaishankar will grace the occasion and are going to inaugurate the bust. Moreover, the event will take place in the presence of council members, including the five incoming members of the Security Council, or the I5.

Simultaneously, the ‘Group of Friends for accountability for crimes against UN peacekeepers’ will also be launched, which in the future, can play an instrumental role in more robust peacekeeping.

India’s G20 Presidency

On 1st December 2023, India assumed yet another major presidency i.e of the G20 or the Group of twenty. India will hold the presidency for a period of one year and is set to play a crucial role in shaping the agenda on the world stage. The G20 is a premier group that focuses on international economic cooperation and collectively accounts for 85% of the world’s GDP and 75% of global trade.

The theme of India's G20 Presidency is going to be “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One Future”. Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defined the agenda of India’s Presidency as ambitious, decisive, and all-inclusive, which holds a lot of relevance in the current global scenario.

 

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