India has been calling for the reform of UNSC in accordance with the changed world situation and contemporary challenges

The world order that has been built following the Second World War is under serious threat, External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday.

“The world order that we built following the Second World War is under serious stress. The nature of threats faced by member states when the United Nations was founded 75 years ago has also changed,” he remarked while speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on Cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations.

“Contemporary security challenges are not limited to territorial or political disputes, but transcend physical or political boundaries. In today’s globalized world, terrorism, radicalization, drug trafficking and organised crime have a growing salience. The security implications of new technologies cannot be disregarded,” the Minister substantiated.

“To face such diverse challenges, we need coordinated and concerted action across borders. We think that enhanced cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations will be an important factor in successfully addressing such contemporary challenges and conflicts,” he argued.

In this context, a rational evaluation of the cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-organizations during the last 75 years will provide a good basis for our future engagements, EAM Jaishankar noted.

Regional and sub-regional organizations have demonstrated their important role in the maintenance of international peace and security, he pointed out.

With their deep knowledge of local factors and complexities, regional and sub-regional organizations are uniquely placed to contribute to finding better solutions to conflicts in their respective regions, Jaishankar highlighted.

He told UNSC that, India has traditionally maintained close and friendly cooperation with regional organizations. India’s relationship with the ASEAN is a key pillar of its foreign policy and the foundation of its Act East Policy, the Indian Minister for External Affairs stated.

India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive region, underpinned by international law and rules based order, is premised on ASEAN centrality and the common pursuit of progress and prosperity, he added.

According to him, India remains committed to further building on the momentum of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and make that organization stronger, vibrant, and more effective and result oriented.

“Our relationship with Africa spans centuries, and we have had close cooperation with the African Union, especially for development partnership initiatives. In addition to our large peacekeeping presence in Africa, India has been deeply committed to peace building and sustaining peace through large UN peacekeeping operations in Africa,” he further explained.